Cocktail breaks record with 71 ingredients

A record-breaking cocktail featuring 71 different ingredients sourced from every Commonwealth nation has been created to commemorate the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Created by Glasgow-based mixologist Mal Spence, the “commonwealth cocktail” contains more ingredients than any other in the world from exotic Tanzanian cloves, Belizean dragonfruit and Malaysian galangal to English red apple and Scottish wild strawberry.

The Scotch whisky-based cocktail was stirred in partnership by Spence and the  Glasgow City Marketing Bureau to commemorate the Commonwealth games which will see 4,500 of the commonwealth’s finest athletes competing in 17 sports over 11 days.

With most cocktails featuring just three or four ingredients, creating the Commonwealth Cocktail and finding a way to balance such a vast number of flavours was a challenge mixologist Spence said he could not resist.

“It’s been a case of trial and error as many of the combinations of ingredients just didn’t work – I went through over 300 different ingredients before finding the final perfect blend. I feel that the results are well worth it – the drink tastes great and is a celebration of all the nations and territories making their way to Glasgow this month,” he said.

Visitors to Glasgow will be able to try the creation for themselves at Mal’s Kelvingrove Café in Glasgow, where Spence will be giving away a limited run of 71 Commonwealth Cocktails from the start of the Games on Wednesday, 23 July.

See below for a full list of the cocktail’s ingredients.

Africas

Botswana: devils claw  (genus clerodendrum)

Cameroon: bitter leaf (piper umbellatum)

Ghana: taro (psidium guajava)
Kenya: chives

Lesotho: rosehip

Malawi: cacao (pycreuscyperaceae)

Mauritius: wild raspberry  (rubus rosifolius)

Mozambique: cassava

Namibia: prickly pear

Nigeria: utazi leaves

Rwanda: papaya

Seychelles: citronella

Sierra Leone: cashew nut (piassava)

South Africa: roobus

Swaziland: sycamore fig

Tanzania: cloves

Uganda: nakati eggplant

Zambia: sorrel

Americas

Belize: dragonfruit

Bermuda: arabica coffee beans

Canada: logan berry

Falkland Islands: bitter cress

Guyana: sugar cane

St. Helena: St. Helena tea plant

Asia

Bangladesh: jujubi

Brunei Darussalam: durian fruit

India: mangosteen

Malaysia: galangal

Maldives: pomegranate  (annaaru)

Pakistan: saffron

Singapore: rambutan

Sri Lanka: ripe jakfruit

Caribbean

Anguilla: mango

Antigua & Barbuda: tamarind

Bahamas: egg fruit

Barbados: sour cherry

British Virgin Islands: noni

Cayman Islands: sage  (salvia caymanensis)

Dominica: guava leaf

Grenada: lemon grass

Jamaica: okra

Montserrat: devil’s horse whip

St. Kitts & Nevis: tamon

St. Lucia: Sweet basil

St. Vincent & The Grenadines: arrowroot

Trinidad & Tobago: tonka bean

Turks & Caicos Islands: sapodilla

Europe

Cyprus: basil-thyme (Άκινος)

England: red apple

Gibraltar: maqui berry

Guernsey: blueberries

Isle of Man: new potatoes

Jersey: lavender

Malta: star anise

Northern Ireland: bog rosemary

Scotland: wild Scottish strawberry

Wales: wild cotoneaster

Oceania

Australia: aniseed myrtle (syzygium anisatum) (gundabluie) (bardi bush)

Cook Islands: custard apple seeds  (annona reticulata)

Kiribati: dried coconut meat  (copra)

Nauru: pumpkin seeds

New Zealand: manuka honey

Niue: paw paw

Norfolk Island: yam

Papua New Guinea: taro  (colocasia esculenta)

Samoa: ladies finger  (small, sweet banana)

Solomon Islands: taro leaves

Tonga: avocado (avoka)

Tuvalu: breadfruit

Vanuatu: plantain

Fiji: kava root