FIRST JOURNEYS - A RACE  AROUND THE WORLD 2020 - PIN 22  OF 23

AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME.

PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE


 Day 13...


I haven't quite made it back to London yet after my race around the world for WWD, but I am very close and, having routed myself over the North Pole, I've decided to stop briefly on the west coast of Norway.


It is here, in the dense forests where the sunlight struggles to penetrate to the ground and where legends and folklore have their origins, that Stig Bareksten forages for the botanicals for his spirits in hidden locations that only he knows.


Having distilled all sorts of botanicals from a young age, he has a mental catalogue of every scent, taste and mouthfeel you can imagine and, with this knowledge, he has managed to create a complex and beautiful gin. The botanical list goes on and on and includes your regular suspects, of course, but also many local organic ingredients including fennel, rosehips, rose flowers, elderflowers, lingonberries, citrus, spices, lavender and many more.


The black bottle, with its twisted branches depicted across it, is dark and dramatic, yet inside the liquid is fragrant, delicate and clean. It is intended to represent the essence of Norway — a sweet and seductive liquid born from the harsh Nordic forests where the Huldra forest spirits live beneath the roots of old trees.

The Huldra are one of several guardians of the forest and are beautiful women with flowing blonde hair who lure men into the forest with their singing. They are sometimes naked, but often dressed in long white robes and blue petticoats, which hide their cow's tail and hollow, bark-like back.


The Huldra is a protector of the cattle on the mountainsides and, according to the folklore, offers rewards to those who satisfy her and death to those who don't. It is said that should a Huldra convince a human man to marry her, as long as her tail remains hidden during the courtship, it will fall off on their wedding day — although he will also never be seen again!


The branding and folklore are intertwined and, whilst both dark and playful, capture audiences worldwide. I've decided to play on this and create a cocktail with the light and white frothy liquid representing the Huldra's hair and robes, but with just a little bit of her blue petticoat showing as well.


Her tail? Well, it's considered impolite to point out if it is visible, so I would rather not say anything if you can see it!


And now, surely, London can't be far away... can it?!


"Botanical Heaven"



THE HULDRA (WHITE LADY)

45ml gin
20ml triple sec
10ml lemon juice
10ml lime juice
10ml sugar syrup
Egg white or foamer
Blue Curaçao for the petticoat

Dry shake, then add ice and shake again. Strain and carefully add a little blue Curaçao to create the petticoat effect.



"Show me a bottle

and I'll tell you a story."