We’re going to guess that the bright-pink drink you see in the coupe here, which is made with figs, eggplant, saffron, bitter cress, okra, potatoes, pumpkin seeds, coffee, sour cherries, lemongrass, and 61 other plant-world things, is probably the strongest-ever contender for a round of “Stump the Bartender.” The Commonwealth Cocktail was designed to commemorate the XX Commonwealth Games, taking place right now in Glasgow, and its ingredient list encompasses just one thing carefully sourced from each of the 71 Commonwealth countries, meaning that it likely just edges out that eight-drink megacockatil at the NoMad in terms of labor-intensiveness. On the plus side, though, anyone who orders this monstrosity can claim they detect notes of wild Welsh cotoneaster or a slight Tongan avocado nose and be entirely correct.
Scotch whisky is mentioned in the press materials, but it’s sort of unclear how much of any of the alcohols is in this thing, total, but that doesn’t seem to be the point: Creator Mal Spence of Kelvingrove Café, where this Commonwealth Cocktail is being served in very limited amounts through August 3, says he went through 300 different iterations before finding one that worked, so really, he’s done enough. “Most classic cocktails have three or four ingredients,” he says. The kitchen-sink approach may seem kind of nasty but it’s probably pretty delicious — vast laundry lists of botanicals from far-flung places go into most modern liquors, after all, maybe just not new potatoes from the Isle of Man. (The streamlined at-home version, thankfully, is pretty much some Scotch, burdock cordial, mango, and rambutan.)
Here’s the full list of ingredients:
Africa
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
Commonwealth Cocktail [People Make Glasgow]
Related: This 8-Drink Megacocktail Takes 2 Bartenders 7 Minutes to Make
