Quaglino's launches 'world's most sustainable cocktail' – where even the cup can be consumed

Blossoming romance: Quaglino's new zero-waste concoction
Kapranos PR

An upscale London brasserie has launched what they're claiming is the "world's most sustainable cocktail" – and even the cup can be consumed.

The new concoction is available from today at Mayfair's Quaglino's, with bar manager Marco Sangion revealing the project has been bubbling behind the scenes since last September.

Speaking exclusively to the Standard, Sangion said: “We wanted to reinforce that there are alternative ways of creating cocktails that can tick all boxes on a sustainability front.

“The ingredients are all locally-sourced, to eliminate transportation costs and pollution, and they are also healthy. This is a light cocktail, containing just 30ml of vodka – the idea is to create something unique, environmentally conscious and, of course, delicious.”

The drink, named Blossom, is grounded in off-cuts from Quaglino’s restaurant, with every element of it waste-free. The base sees organic vodka infused with purple carrot peel previously destined for the compost bin, meant to endow the spirit with seasonal "earthiness". The carrots themselves feature on the food menu as a side dish, roasted with almonds and coriander.

Added to the vodka is homemade jasmine rice milk, with a handful overcooked rice enough to create 500ml of the creamy milk. “A little goes a long way,” said Sangion, "we're stretching ingredients to their maximum potential."

London's best sustainable restaurants

1/10

Mandarin skins – from fruit separately squeezed for the bar’s Fur Farm cocktail – are concentrated into a cordial to add a citrus bite to the mix. The drink is topped off with a dash of mint stick oil, made from mint stems – which bars typically ignore – blitzed with olive oil.

Sangion and his team have even created a new kind of container for the mix.

“I wanted the vessel to be edible, so considered making it out of coconut flesh or chocolate, but that would have involved special ingredients, which goes against our commitment to minimal transportation," he said.

“I came up with the idea for of pasta, because we can easily make it using local eggs and flour that we buy anyway for the restaurant.”

Bar staff shape the pasta into the form of a glass before cooking it, with guests are actively encouraged to polish it off once they finish their drink – or during, if they’re feeling daring.

The Blossom cocktail will not feature on Quaglino’s regular bar menu but instead is offered on a day-to-day basis, subject to availability, priced at £16.

16 Bury Street, SW1Y 6AJ, quaglinos-restaurant.co.uk

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in