18th July, 2014
by
Lauren Eads
A record-breaking cocktail featuring 71 different ingredients sourced from every Commonwealth nation has been created to commemorate the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Created by Glasgow-based mixologist Mal Spence, the “commonwealth cocktail” contains more ingredients than any other in the world from exotic Tanzanian cloves, Belizean dragonfruit and Malaysian galangal to English red apple and Scottish wild strawberry.
The Scotch whisky-based cocktail was stirred in partnership by Spence and the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau to commemorate the Commonwealth games which will see 4,500 of the commonwealth’s finest athletes competing in 17 sports over 11 days.
With most cocktails featuring just three or four ingredients, creating the Commonwealth Cocktail and finding a way to balance such a vast number of flavours was a challenge mixologist Spence said he could not resist.
“It’s been a case of trial and error as many of the combinations of ingredients just didn’t work – I went through over 300 different ingredients before finding the final perfect blend. I feel that the results are well worth it – the drink tastes great and is a celebration of all the nations and territories making their way to Glasgow this month,” he said.
Visitors to Glasgow will be able to try the creation for themselves at Mal’s Kelvingrove Café in Glasgow, where Spence will be giving away a limited run of 71 Commonwealth Cocktails from the start of the Games on Wednesday, 23 July.
See below for a full list of the cocktail’s ingredients.
Africas
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