Cerulean Gardens – Spiritus Rex Tardivo di Ciaculi
I guess it is not a big secret that I love citrus eau de vies! Therefore, I could not wait to present this extraordinary mandarin eau de vie from Spiritus Rex to you. It is a unique combine of an insider tip, a special mandarin variety and a skilful distiller. Besides the review, I mixed a drink with the Tardivo di Ciaculi which also includes Matthias’ very own Juni P Gin.
When Matthias Sievert got a call from his friend, an expert for Italian and Sicilian citrus fruits, he did not hesitate and got his hands on this special mandarin variety. The Tardivo di Ciaculi, a late harvest variety, has been bred from the Mandarino dell’Avana in the 1940s. Although Matthias expected that the mandarins would behave similar to blood oranges, he was in for a surprise. They were considerably more impatient and demanded to be distilled sooner. Luckily, Matthias regularly checks on his mashes and macerates. That is why he caught the perfect time to distil the mandarins. In the end, the eau de vie was only slightly filtered to keep as much essential oils in the distillate as possible.
Multiplex mandarin notes
I can only agree with Torben from Trinklaune that the Tardivo di Ciaculi is an outstanding eau de vie. You sense complex mandarin notes which reflect the whole fruit. It starts with the mandarin peel, continues with some white pith, but not too much and ends with the pulp. Apart from that, the flavour is supported by bitter oranges and a hint of kumquats. You can even find some spice notes with a hint of vanilla. The Tardivo di Ciaculi definitely is one of the best citrus eau de vies I ever tried!
Bitter-sweet sacrilege
This also would have been a suitable name for the cocktail with this special mandarin eau de vie. Of course, it is perfectly fine to just sip the Tardivo di Ciaculi neat. Nevertheless, my fingers were itching and I had to mix a cocktail with it. Of course, you can use any citrus forward gin in this cocktail. However, as it just happens, I had the Juni P Gin on hand. After, a lot of Matthias’ friends caught the gin bug, he decided to give it a go and make his own. He uses 15 botanicals which he grinds in a pharmaceutical mill or peels, before macerating at 30 °C for a week. The gin is not filtered and bottled at 44 % ABV. Additionally, I used the off-dry Mancino Bianco Vermouth and the Scrappy’s Black Lemon Bitters.
1,5 cl Spiritus Rex Mandarin Eau de Vie
3 cl Mancino Bianco Vermouth
Stir – strain – chilled small Cocktail glass;
Garnish: Dried Lemon Wheel;
Song: San Fermin – Cerulean Gardens;
The “Cerulean Gardens” is clearly reminiscent of a Martini. However, it is more citrus forward with a clear-cut mandarin note. However, there are also citrus notes from the gin tending more towards lemon and lemon peel flavours. The resulting drink is quite complex and refreshing at the same time. In the end, this makes the drink far more approachable than your usual bone-dry Martini.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The Tardivo di Ciaculi was provided by Spiritus Rex.
