Lychee vodka being filtered

When Lucy Raubertas, the writer behind Indieperfumes and the inspiration for the Clarimonde Project, asked me if I'd be interested in conjuring up some cocktails for a book release party for a perfume writer I had to say yes. The connection between fragrance and cocktail crafting has become somewhat seamless lately. My liquor cabinet is overflowing with fragrant tinctured vodkas, some of which have wound up in a few of my cologne experiments this summer.

After some seriously delicious cocktails at NoMad with Lucy, the author Alyssa Harad, and Maria McElroy of Aroma M Perfumes it was decided that Maria and I would come up with two cocktails based on two of her perfumes. She decided on Geisha Blanche and Geisha Green, Blanche being a fresh, summery fragrance of white flowers and lychee, while Green is a creative take on absinthe, although mellowed with black currant, mandarin and violet.

Lychees macerating in vodka for First Blush

After our first meeting we had a general idea of how the two drinks would be and had a list of possible ingredients to have on hand for Cocktail Lab. I brought in veteran Lab assistant Lori Firpo to sit in with Maria, Lucy and I.

For Geisha Blanche we settled on lychee vodka to start. After struggling to find a good mixer that would still fit the fragrance profile we settled on champagne with a little lychee juice. We decided on tuberose and jasmine to mimic the white flowers in the perfume which are added to the drink as well as misted over the top before serving. We call it First Blush

Black currant vodka was the basis for our rendition of Geisha Green. Boylan's Creme Soda was the perfect compliment and picked up the tonka note in the perfume beautifully. Wormwood and the natural isolate alpha ionone (with the characteristic scent of violet) were added to tone down the sweetness of the drink and pick up the absinthe notes of the perfume. Meet Jaded!

First Blush

one jigger lychee vodka

one generous jigger lychee juice (Ceres brand)

one jigger champagne

two drops jasmine dilution, 5%

two drops tuberose dilution, 5%

spray of tuberose and jasmine

Combine the vodka, juice and dilutions in a shaker, mix well and add champagne. Pour into a martini glass and spray with tuberose and jasmine.

Jaded

one jigger black currant vodka

two ounces Boyland Creme Soda

one drop alpha ionone dilution, 10%

one drop wormwood dilution, 5%

Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, shake well and serve strained in a martini glass.

Black currant vodka is made by finely chopping 1/3 cup dried black currants and pouring one cup of vodka over them in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake daily and macerate for up to one month. Strain and store in an airtight bottle.

Lychee vodka is made by peeling and chopping 1/3 cup fresh lychees (including any juice) and placing them in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Pour one cup vodka over and shake daily for up to two weeks. Strain and store.