Last night drinks bulletin went on a multisensory journey to the edges of the world, pairing exquisite food, music and visuals with Bombay Sapphire's sweet drops.
Bombay Sapphire's much anticipated event Project Botanicals finally kicked off in Sydney's inner west last night with a bang.
Following the huge success of previous iterations, Bombay Sapphire re-vamped its Project Botanicals event this November in both Sydney and Melbourne, inviting guests on an immersive experience of cocktails, food, and creative technology in collaboration with Future Classic artist Ta-Ku, Studio Neon Chef Aaron Teece and Australia’s best cocktail bars including Mjolner, The Barber Shop, Union Electric and Bar Moncur.
This year, Project Botanicals is paying homage to the worldly origins of Bombay Sapphire’s sustainably sourced vapour-infused botanicals, taking guests through Spain, Morocco, Java and China in an immersive multisensory experience.
In the 2-hour session, guests travel to each location, tasting four creations conceived by Aaron Teece whilst sipping complementing cocktails.
Under a verdant grove of trees in Spain, where Bombay Sapphire’s lemon peel is sourced, guests are enticed to hand-pick what appear to be lemons from a bed of leaves, promptly finding they are in fact lemon shaped mouth-watering cheesecakes, alongside a cocktail creation by Mjolner.
Lemons or cheesecake?
On the hazy Javanese mountains, where cubeb berry is sourced, peppery botanical fairy floss clouds are found atop smoky char-grilled chicken to complement a jungle inspired cocktail created by Australia’s best gin bar, The Barber Shop.
Soon after, guests are directed to wander down the dark ambience of a Chinese backstreet, dished from a secret hatch in the side of a towering door are tastes of liquorice in Bar Moncur’s Jasmine Bloom cocktail and twisted duck pancakes with liquorice root gel.
Finally invited to travel under the coloured tiled mosaics of Morocco, where coriander seed is sourced giving Bombay Sapphire a bright citrus and warm ginger-like spice. Here a pressed lamb tagine with coriander yogurt foam awaits, amongst the spices of a city souk alongside sun drenched cocktail by Union Electric.
Adding to the immersive atmosphere is a 360 audio-visual composition created by acclaimed Australian musician, creative and producer Ta-Ku, in collaboration with award-winning animator Sam Price, made up of vivid light installations and an original music composition exclusively for Project Botanicals, inspiring a voyage to each botanical location.
Sam Price and Ta-Ku
Working with sonic scientist Jo Burzynska, Ta-Ku’s composition entwines layers of sound designed to shift perceptions of the palate accenting different tastes and sensations. The installations also feature individual soundscapes created to enhance and change perceptions of the cocktails.
"I've always been fascinated by the intersection of music and visuals to invoke a certain emotion, which you can see in my photography and videography projects at home and whilst travelling,” said Ta-Ku.
“The chance to integrate yet another sensory experience into this with taste was something I jumped at, to create immersive music and visuals as part of the Bombay Sapphire Project Botanicals experience, transporting guests to the ends of the earth.
“As always, I'm also thrilled to be working with talented Perth animator Sam Price, the artist behind my live show visuals and a number of other collaborations we've worked on together”, he said.
Bombay Sapphire Brand Ambassador Peter Hollands added: “The creativity and imagination brought to this new iteration of the Bombay Sapphire Project Botanicals experience is so exciting and a completely new offering for the Sydney and Melbourne scene.
“Guests are in for an interactive journey around the world, with sensational cocktails and cuisine that will take you right to the edges of the earth," said Hollands.
The experience is now open to Sydney-siders until Sunday, before heading to Melbourne from the 23rd-26th of November. Limited tickets are still available for the Saturday / Sunday sessions and can be purchased here.
Sydney:
Location: 225 Euston Road, Alexandria NSW 2015
Tickets: $40+bf for four food and cocktail tasting experiences, and one signature gin and tonic twist. Additional dishes and cocktails are available for purchase for $14 each.
Session dates and times (note, all sessions are two hours duration)
• Friday 17 Nov (5.30pm-7.30pm)
• Friday 17 Nov (8pm-10pm)
• Saturday 18 Nov (1.30pm-3.30pm)
• Saturday 18 Nov (4.30pm-6.30pm)
• Saturday 18 Nov (7.30pm-9.30pm)
• Sunday 19 Nov (1.30pm-3.30pm)
• Sunday 19 Nov (4.30pm-6.30pm)
• Sunday 19 Nov (7.30pm-9.30pm)
Melbourne:
Location: 524 Flinders, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tickets: $40+bf for four food and cocktail tasting experiences, and one signature gin and tonic twist. Additional dishes and cocktails are available for purchase for $14 each
Session dates and times (note, all sessions are two hours duration)
• Thursday 23 Nov (8.30pm-10.30pm)
• Friday 24 Nov (6pm-8pm)
• Friday 24 Nov (8.30pm-10.30pm)
• Saturday 25 Nov (2.30pm-4.30pm)
• Saturday 25 Nov (5.30pm-7.30pm)
• Saturday 25 Nov (8.30pm-10.30pm)
• Sunday 26 Nov (1.30pm-3.30pm)
• Sunday 26 Nov (4.30pm-6.30pm)
• Sunday 26 Nov (7.30pm-9.30pm)
Check out the video from the event here:
Some Sydney socialites made an appearance too...
Mel Tan
Nikki Phillips and Tegan Martin
Amy Maree Comber, Jono Acero and Charles Oliver
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