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Slideshow
New Dandelyan menu inspired by witch doctors
Dandelyan at Mondrian London has released a new cocktail menu inspired by hunters, gatherers, witch doctors and explorers, and how they shaped what we eat and drink.
Split into four sections – Hunter, Gatherer, Shaman and Explorer – each references a discipline through which botany has shaped history.
“As hunters and as gatherers, food and drink has shaped our species and provided stimulation and stimulus to explore new horizons,” says Dandelyan founder Ryan Chetiyawardana.
S is for… shaman
Always keen to push the boundaries, his menu includes unusual ingredients like plant haemoglobin and zedoary root, which was once used as an antidote to cobra venom.
Championing “closed loop” cocktails that use ingredients bartenders would usually bin, the whole of the mimosa, zedoary and parsley plant are used in the cocktails, along with coco husks, pistachio-shells orgeat and “mummified” citrus.
In the Hunter section, the Pinnacle Point Fix blends Olmeco Blanco Tequila, blue corn, sloe berries, ginger bitters, sour pineapple and soda.
The 13th Century Boy meanwhile, in the Shaman section, features Mr Lyan Gin, palm and pine cordial and “mummified” citrus.
The menu also includes a quartet of non-alcoholic cocktails, which were made with equal care and attention to detail as their boozy counterparts, such as the Apple Sours-Less made with apple, Dandelyan capillaire and acid.
Dandelyan launched in October 2014 and has gone on to win a number of awards including Best New International Cocktail Bar’ at last year’s Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards.
The bar’s inaugural menu focused on seasonal field guides divided up into cereal, vegetal, mineral and floral cocktails. Its last menu explored the flavour profiles of pine, birch and oak.
Click through for a sneaky peek at some of the cocktails on the new menu.
Natural Born Gatherer
Ford’s Gin, melon wine, truffle aperitivo, elderflower and soda
The truffle hunt, as well as the foraging for wild elderflower and cacao, requires knowledge of the landscape and an innate relationship with the people inhabiting it. Hunting flora using fauna.
One for the Fox
Oat Jameson, Redbreast, green apple pulp, La Gitana Manzanilla and chamomile
A toast – usually of Port or Sherry – to the fox is made in a stirrup cup prior to the hunt. But the urban fox is cunning, and develops its own sedative to throw off and placate the hunters. The cocktail is a complex hark back to old-style oat whiskey and natural relaxants.
Diamond Daisy
Bacardi Carta Blanca, Riesling, pandan, cavolo nero and lime
Pandan is high in silicon dioxide due to the conditions in which it thrives – conditions that can hint towards the location of diamonds hidden within the earth, and have unsurprisingly attracted explorers ever since.
Love & Money
Fennel Ketel One Vodka, parsley root wine, lemon, grape and carrot powder
Silphium (an extinct relative of fennel) was a Roman plant with a unique shape that evolved into our vision of the love heart. The plant was used as a contraceptive and became so valuable it was used as currency.
The Night Watchman
Plantain Plantation Rum, Mr Lyan Rum, pistachio shell orgeat, coffee distillate and Ancho Reyes Chile
The Colombian ‘gatherer’ diet is formed with sustenance based on local savoury and sweet ingredients for balanced nutrition. This goes hand-in-hand with stimulants like coffee and chili – reflective of the landscape and conditions.
The Bradsell
Cold brew Square Mile coffee, malt syrup, chai spices
This non-alcoholic drink is inspired by the gatherers that created Covent Garden market and the intellectuals who’d use coffee and spices to stimulate discussion of new ideas.