Silvia Dorninger

"I have always had a deep respect for nature.

When I experienced coral reefs here in Grand Cayman, it was not what I expected and I wanted to understand why. The Ketel One "Garnished for Good" challenge inspired me to reach out to Aaron, the founder of Eco Divers Grand Cayman. Since 2018, Aaron has built coral nurseries around the Island to grow new coral species. These corals are transplanted to existing reefs where they help redevelop the ecosystem and achieve coral spawning.

Spawning is like a tree having its seeds carried by the wind, except for the coral, it's the currents that carry them. Reefs play a crucial role in protecting shorelines from high wave energy and provide an important ecosystem for underwater life. Unfortunately, overfishing, pollution, climate change, disease, and unsustainable coastal development have contributed to the decline of the reefs. In addition to Ketel One Vodka, I used ingredients sourced from the islands farmers, such as lime leaf and coconut oil.

I combined these with jasmine green tea for a floral touch. To add a unique twist, I redistilled up cycled oyster shells, acknowledging the value of oyster reefs alongside coral reefs. Eco Divers has an impressive 300 active volunteers, and with the help of the Coral Reef Club, I plan to expand to 350 by the end of 2023. In addition, I designed a QR code to provide access to fundraising websites to help extend the project to other Caribbean islands and eventually the South Pacific."

Coral Reef Club

Glass: Rocks (represents a bleached Coral)
Garnish: Beetroot Tuile (representing a Coral)
Method: Measure each ingredient into mixing glass, try before adding ice, add ice, stir for 8-10sec and pour into chilled glass (recreated bleached coral) and put tuile on top of the glass.
Ice: No ice

Ingredients:
30 ml Ketel One Family-Made Vodka
30 ml Ketel One Coconut Oil Fatwash
30 ml Jasmin Lime Leaf Shrub
5 ml Oyster Distillate

To make Jasmin lime leaf cordial:
150 ml Water
3g Lime leaf
75g Sugar
75 ml Rice vinegar
3g Jasmin Green Tea

Heat up water in Pan to 80C, let Tea and Leaves infuse for 5 minutes; Strain well through coffee filter to avoid little bits in liquid; measure sugar and acids, add to infusion and stir till dissolved, add rice vinegar; store in fridge.

To make Coconut Fat Wash:
20g Coconut oil
100g Ketel One

Melt coconut oil at 30C, add Ketel One and let infuse for 1h; put in freezer, wait till frozen;
strain through coffee filter fat infused vodka into bottle.

To make Oyster distillate:
6 Oysters
300 ml Ketel One

Clean and wash upcycled oysters well, bring water to boil and pour over oysters to sanitise, put oysters and Ketel One in a vacuum bag, close well and put in souse vide at 65C for 3h, strain out oysters and put liquid into flask of rotovapor at 40C up to 50C.

To make Beetroot Tuile:
150g Water
50g Beetroot juice
100g Sunflower Oil
30g Wheat flour, strained

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a whisk until well blended. Fill a plastic sauce bottle with mixture, let rest for 10 minutes. Heat a small non-stick frying pan, pour in some of the mixture and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Water will evaporate and small holes will form; when ready, carefully take out of pan. Place it on absorbent paper and drain the frying pan; important: shake the bottle every time you pour the mixture into the pan. Storage in container with. dry sac to maintain crispiness.