After New Year I felt I need a break in my long season of whisky and gin consumption. For me, the best way to forget about single malts or gin-based cocktails is to create new and unusual cocktail using exotic components.

This time I’ve took Van Gogh Açai-Blueberry Vodka for my next exercise.

When I bought this spirit, I’ve visited Van Gogh Vodka website and get disappointed with it. Recipe I saw there were too dull and trite. So since that time I started to make my own cocktails with Van Gogh Açai-Blueberry Vodka.

This exotic product really surprises with sour-and-sweet taste and unusual tart and dry nuts-like finish (I think that’s the açai flavour).

I intended to mix this flavour with good French vermouth such as Noilly Prat. It was very interesting to see how exotic berries vodka can combine with the vermouth’s quiet aroma.

Also there was another thing I should take into consideration. The vodka is sweetened, and the sweetness has to be balanced. Bitters are known as the best ingredients to add some extra bitterness and sharpness to the taste, and here I’ve selected another rare bitter liqueur called Riga Black Balsam, an extraordinary Baltic strong mixture of herbs and berries.

Rain Forest Martini

The appearance is quite exotic: golden coloured with green, brown and violet shades. That’s why I called it «Rain Forest». Sweet nose comes with blueberries and hints of spices.

The sip begins on the sweet side with strong influence from vermouth herbal aroma. A moment later tart and bitter flavour substitutes for sweetness, and on the swallow the cocktail develops its subtle, a little dry and bitter aftertaste.

Berries exotic sweetness comes to harmony with mellow spicy vermouth. Noilly Prat brings here Martini-like features: winy undertones, herbs delicate dryness and velvet texture. And Riga Black Balsam completes the harmony adding a new dimension of bitterness to my Martini. I was very surprised seeing how much nuances one dash of the balsam can bring to the cocktail. Nice addition.

So that was my Rain Forest Martini, one more tribute to exotic Van Gogh Açai-Blueberry Vodka I love so much.