Ex-Artesian bartenders launch modern liqueur range

A trio of bartenders, two of which were formally the brains behind the bar voted ‘World’s Best’ for four years running, have launched a new liqueur brand in the hopes of redefining the category for the modern bartender.

Muyu, launched by bartenders Alex Kratena, Monica Berg and Simone Caporale, is a range of three modern liqueurs made with natural ingredients inspired by the Amazon rainforest, presented in a bottle reminiscent of the perfume industry, and focused on the team’s own cocktail philosophy on sustainability.

Muyu will actively promote biodiversity through responsible sourcing, with a share of profits from each bottle going towards NGOs doing meaningful work in the Amazon.

“We first visited the Amazon in 2016 to explore the potential of Amazonian produce in cocktails, and we were so inspired by what we saw, but also realised we would contribute to the rainforest’s destruction if we sourced directly from there,” said Monica Berg.

“Therefore we collaborate with leading experts to help us source, concentrate and capture aromatic substances of plants, flowers and fruits. The individual components either come from Grasse, a French town nicknamed the perfume capital of the world, or Schiedam, a Dutch city known for its historic distilleries such as our partners De Kuyper.

“This process allows us to create a liqueur brand that enables bartenders to work with some of the most extraordinary ingredients available in the world, without taking anything away from the rainforest.”

Taking its name from the word for ‘seed’ in Quechan languages, the trio have each designed one of the Muyu liqueurs – Jasmine Verte (Morica), Chinotto Nero (Caporale) and Vetiver Gris (Kratena) working closely with De Kuyper Royal Distillers.

Taking inspiration from the perfume industry, each liqueur is composed much like a ‘nose’ in perfumery. Each liquid begins with the extraction of a single note, then the secondary sequence of ingredients are “wrapped around each note to create a completely developed and complex liquid”. A number of different techniques, including enfleurage, steam distillation, C02 extraction, and resinoïds, are used to extract the chosen flavours. These are then blended with alcohol, sugar, acids and water to create the final liquid.

Muyu Jasmine Verte is a 24% abv and is described as “floral, blooming, fresh, sensual and luminous” with notes of jasmine, neroli, patchouli, yuzu and iris. The 24% abv Muyu Chinotto Nero is “citrusy, opulent, zesty, lush and mystical” with notes of cinchona, oak moss, curacao orange and cacao. While the 22% Muyu Vetiver Gris is “earthy, woody, mystical, intriguing and endless” with notes of vetiver, timur, patchouli, petit grains and cedarwood.

Alex and Simone met whilst working together at the Artesian, London, where they led the team and the bar to unrivalled success as it was named World’s Best Bar for four years in a row from 2012 up until their departure in 2015. Monica is one of the leading bartenders coming out of Scandanavia, having previously worked for the Jason Atherton group and Oslo’s award-winning bar Himkok.

Their liqueurs will be celebrated with a pop-up Muyu Boutique at 67 Neal Street, Seven Dials, London WC2 9PJ, from February 19-23 (1pm-9pm), where people will be able to drop in to buy a bottle or take part in a product tasting with Alex, Simone and Monica. All three expressions will be available to buy from the boutique for £24.95 per bottle.