Riccardo Astiri

"The "Red Beyond Land cocktail " augments Ketel One vodka's citrus tones with sugar kelp's herbal umami and harmonizes with rhubarb and tomato, welcoming the drinker. As you sip, the journey unfolds, traversing fields of rhubarb and tomato before culminating on the shore, where sugar kelp imparts a rich, enduring aftertaste. From the shore, my "Garnished with Good" initiative is looking beyond land. Scandinavian Kelp forests are a key ecosystem: they feed and shelter marine life and sequester CO2. However, they suffer from excess nutrients received via waterways near farmland. Subsequently, overfishing damages them. Microalgae, thriving on these nutrients, block sunlight, harming the ecosystem process known as eutrophication. This process has disastrous long-term consequences.

Eutrophication is preventable, however, by practising sustainable seaweed foraging and extracting excess nutrients. The "Beyond Land" seeks to advance kelp usage within the culinary field, in bars and restaurants, to draw attention to fragile marine environments and their eutrophication. It harnesses individuals' enjoyment into organized ecological effort - using cocktails to help save the planet. Beyond Land thus fosters a community around ocean preservation. The project's first step was offering "Red Beyond Land" on the menu. 10DKK per cocktail will help fund "Havhøst ", an NGO focusing on regenerative ocean cultivation. "Havhøst" has founded over twenty sustainable community sea farms and collaborates with fisheries to reduce overfishing. As a second step, I hosted an ingredient masterclass in partnership with Denmark's Seaweed Research Centre. It ended with a networking event featuring a cocktail menu - crafted in collaboration with Copenhagen bartenders."

Red Beyond Land

Glass: 25 cl beer glass
Garnish: Dried rhubarb, twirled
Method: Dry shake, shake, and double strain. Place the garnish on top after pouring the cocktail in the glass.
Ice: Cubes

Ingredients:
30 ml Ketel One Family-Made Vodka
50 ml Rhubarb and tomato water cordial
3 ml Aged Jamaican rum
10 ml Vegan egg white substitute

To make Rhubarb and tomato water cordial and Sugar-Kelp-infused Ketel One Vodka:
First, make the Sugar-Kelp-infused Ketel One Vodka. Add 400 ml of Ketel One Vodka and 40 g of dry sugar kelp to a vacuum-sealable bag. Seal under a vacuum and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Open the bag and strain the vodka from the solid kelp. Keep this refrigerated to preserve the Ketel One Vodka's light citrus notes.

Then, make the Rhubarb and Tomato Water cordial. This begins with a rhubarb syrup. Roughly chop rhubarb into pieces around 3 cm long. Mix it with equal parts sugar and water by weight. For example, you might use 500 g chopped rhubarb, 500 g water, and 500 g sugar.

Place the mixed ingredients in a vacuum-sealable bag. Seal the bag. Place the bag into a water bath heated to 60°C and cook sous vide for 2 hours. After the time has elapsed, remove the bag from the water bath. Strain the contents into a mixing vessel.

Dilute the rhubarb syrup with 20% tomato water by volume. For example, for 500 ml of strained rhubarb syrup, add 100 ml of tomato water.

Fortify the Rhubarb and Tomato Water cordial with 66% Sugar-Kelp-infused Ketel One Vodka by volume. For example, for every 600 ml of rhubarb and tomato cordial, add 400 ml of infused vodka.

Continue to keep the Sugar-Kelp Vodka-fortified Rhubarb and Tomato Water cordial refrigerated. It is important to keep the bright citrus notes of the Ketel One Vodka fresh for service.