In Norse mythology, the Munin is one of the two two ravens who are the helping spirits of the god Odin. At Mjolner in Melbourne, The Munin is the name of a Tequila cockail created by bar manager and the 2019 Australian Diageo World Class winner, Alexander Boon.
Made with Tequila and an inhouse made Aperol Falernum, the drink follows the same principles as a Paloma with a slightly tropical edge.
“It’s just about thinking of the flavors that you want to work with,” said Boon about the drink. “For me it was singling out Aperol, pink grapefruit and spices and then trying to work out a way of combine them that would be exciting and a little bit fun.
And working with a riff on the traditional falernum was another elemnt to this drink that was important to Boon. “once you track path of how something like a Falernum and its ingredients came to life, it’s fairly easy to experiment.
Boon believes that everyone should not only experiement with flavours but should also be encouraged to talk to bartenders about the combinations they have created.
“I’d like to think we’re all a friendly bunch of people. If you come to a bar and you sit at Mjolner and you ask me questions, I’m happy to give you the answers to them. It’s not like it’s a secret thing and only we can understand what’s going on here.
“Really, it’s just about enjoying experimenting with flavors and coming up with with cool ideas,” he said. “Any time anyone wants any information, bar tenders are always happy to give it to them.”
Aperol Falernum
Falernum historically is a tiki kind of cordial created with overproof rum, lime, lots of cloves and in some cases Ginger. What I wanted to do was kind of spin this whole concept on its head and use overproof rum along with Aperol.
“Aperol has got these great characteristics of bittersweet flavours and rhubarb, which are flavors that lend itselves quite well to tequila and pink grapefruit.”
So instead of using lime I use pink grapefruit zest, keeping the cloves there for some spice, and then also just the backburn of overproof rum just to give it a little bit of like a zing, I guess is the best way to describe it.
Boon says that ideally you want a Jamaican overproof rum, a bottle of Aperol, about six pink grapefruits. You microplane the skin of all the six of the pink grapefruits, add cloves and star anise and let them masserate in the Rum and Aperol mixture for up to a week. Once that is done the mixture is cut with a little sugar syrup .
“We use the skin of the pink grapefruit within the Falernum, and then the juice of the pink grapefruit in the drink, so there’s really no waste.”
Smoky Mezcal spray
It may be usual to spray a spirit onto the finsihed drink but Boon beliueves that the addition of smakey Mezcal makes all the difference. “It accentuates the flavor of the tequila that’s in the drink and brings that forward.
The smokiness of the Mezcal on the nose, really lends itself well to the flavors of the pink grapefruit, Aperol and Amaro Montenegro. So it kind of like adds a little bit of complexity before you even drink the drink, when you’re smelling smoky mezcal.”
The Muinin
Ingredients
- 40mls (1.4oz) Altos Plata Blanco Tequila
- 15mls (0.5oz) Amaro Montenegro
- 20mls (0.6oz) Aperol Falernum (made in-house).
- 20 mls (0.6oz) Lemon Juice,
- 30 mls (1oz) Ruby Grapefruit Juice
- a dash Egg Whites
- topped with Soda Water
- Spray of Smoky Mezcal over the top
Instructions
Add all ingredients (except Soda water and the Mezcal spray) to a shaker tin with ice and hard shake. Double strain into one side of the shaker tin and then shake without ice. Strain into a tall glass and top with Soda Water before spraying with the Mezcal.
