Aphrodite
Inspired by the greatest love of all - the one you find within.
At first, I thought about making a Taylor Swift engagement inspired cocktail, given they have one of the loudest and greatest love stories of our generation. But then I realized... I can’t relate to that lol I have no idea where to even start. As pathetic as it may sound, I can barely remember what it’s like to fall in love with someone else. But one thing I do know very well is the feeling of falling in love with yourself. Cheers to that.
And as a farewell in liquid form to the space I’ve called home since 2023, this drink is also a reflection of who I’ve become: a cocktail artist. My inspiration used to be chaotic and external, but now it has turned inward. From Red Flag to Aphrodite, what a difference two years makes.
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, is deeply tied to the divine feminine and self-love, every spiritual girly knows this. A vodka-sake martini layered with macadamia nut, rice, and chocolate, seafoam in color (yes, I cheated with a dash of blue). Crowned with a sculptural Italian meringue, abstract in form.
May it remind you that love is not something to chase outside yourself - it’s something you can always create, nurture, and wear like a crown.
Here’s to your connection with the divine feminine. Cheers.
Garnish - Italian meringue
As someone who loves creating sculptural garnishes, I knew I wanted to experiment with meringue since it resembles clay and can be shaped into anything I imagine. But baking was a completely new territory for me, and I learned so much along the way. I first tried Swiss meringue but failed miserably, I just couldn’t get it to stiff peaks after countless attempts. So I switched to Italian meringue, which turned out to be even more stable than Swiss. Here’s a recipe I found that works pretty well but I reduced the cream of tartar to 1/4 teaspoon and lemon juice to 1/2 table spoon, the original recipe tasted too tart for me.
Here’s the first mockup:
Recipe here, make sure to read the detailed instruction from the site and make sure to cook sugar to 240F
3 egg whites - room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Once you hit stiff peak, I piped and then bake at 200°F for 90 minutes.
I probably piped at least 50 different garnishes since as a beginner I had no idea what to do but I really enjoyed figuring out what line, shape and movement I prefer. I was picturing feathers from wings and petals from flowers and just pieced them together in an abstract way.
Spirit - Belvedere Vodka + Daiginjo Sake Tears of Dawn
I used to believe vodka was too basic in terms of flavor profile, but the more I experiment with flavors, the more I see it as a blank canvas.
I just know I want a macadamia nut flavored martini. So the flavor notes are macadamia nut, rice and white chocolate.
Macadamia oils are more delicate, and their flavor degrades faster than most oils I’ve used in the past. Here’s a method I developed to preserve the flavor for at least three-five days (lessons from everdeen cocktail)
Roast 10g of macadamia nuts at 110°F for 30 minutes, then crush them to release the oils.
Roast 40g of macadamia nuts at 400°F for 5 minutes, then grind them into a fine paste.
Combine 50g of macadamia nuts with 240g of vodka in a container at room temperature for 12 hours.
Transfer to the freezer for another 12 hours.
Filter.
I also tried using shelf stable macadamia oil directly from the bottle, you can barely taste any macadamia nut flavor after washing, you really need to do the oven method. It’s time consuming but so worth it!
Base - Sake vodka macadamia nut martini
I really like the flavor combo of the sake and the macadamia nut vodka, so elegant! and 2 bar spoon of white cocoa liqueur to tie it all together! I also tried different bitters, and express different oil, I honestly think just the following is sufficient, the grapefruit oil or lemon oil kind of cut through the sweetness too much for me.
It took me a couple of trial when I first tried 1:1 of sake and the macadamia nut, the nutty note was too overpowering that no matter how much I tried to balance it just tasted very flat. Here’s the recipe and I really love how it turned out
Daiginjo Sake Tears of dawn - 2oz
Macadamia nut infused vodka - 1oz
White cocoa liqueur 2 bar spoon
Orange bitters 2 dashes ( I recommend to try it without first)
one tiny dash of blue food coloring
I also felt like cheating since it’s the first time I’ve ever used food coloring in my drinks. But I tried other options, like liquid chlorophyll, it’s too greenish rather than the seafoam color I wanted. To achieve the artistic vision without compromising the flavor, a tiny drop of blue food coloring was needed.
I’m proud of how it turned out, it feels like the perfect way to close this chapter as I move on to the next. I also love seeing how my creations have evolved over the past couple of years. What a blessing it is to be able to create. Cheers to many more and to an exciting new chapter!
