Slow’s much-anticipated new cocktail menu has been inspired to the Silk Road’s Grand Tour, an odyssey for the western palate where we consecrated our vision of the world of cocktails, harmoniously fusing spirits and cuisine. Francesc Bretau and Francesc Galera have given life to this cocktail menu through persistence, care and dedication, and have maintained the perfect blend of classic and audacious that has been our symbol ever since we opened 5 years ago.

Solid cocktails

What would happen to a cocktail if we added flavours of solid elements, food and spices to it, not as simple flavouring, but rather we added them to the actual drink? We’ve already played with this new trend in our last cocktail menu (see Las Ramblas, Un Cappuccino or Costa Brava), but now we’ve taken this concept to a whole new level. We’re not talking about a simple food pairing anymore. The solid part has now become an inseparable ingredient of the cocktail experience.

Liquid Cuisine

Among the cocktail ingredients there are plenty of hot and cold infused spirits, homemade syrups, air and foams. And, of course, spirits from the countries that we had the pleasure of visiting during our journey. The entirely artisanal preparation of some of the ingredients contrasts cutting-edge techniques such as the use of liquid nitrogen and dry ice for cooling.

The counterpoint

This contrast is a playful form of provocation. According to this idea of cocktails, as opposed to a more “balanced” vision, a cocktail introduces itself in one way (with a strong scent, or an appearance that should anticipate a specific flavour…) but reveals itself unexpectedly in the end. For example, the flavour could be much milder or completely different than anticipated. And we love this contrast, this way of playing with our guest. It’s in our blood.

The silk road

Our Silk Road will take you on a delightful journey that starts from the Far East (China, Japan), passes through the steppes of Mongolia and Russia, the South and South-East of Asia (Vietnam, Siam, India and Pakistan), the Middle East (Persia, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey), and ends in the Mediterranean coasts of Greece, Tunisia, Morocco and Italy, and in the Bulgarian coasts of the Black Sea.

As for those countries that barely consume any alcohol, we worked with their culinary tradition instead. The distilled spirits respect both tradition and the blended ingredients. We are aware that these cocktails haven’t been created in their homeland (this is impossible in Muslim regions), yet they are inspired from their rich and captivating sensory mosaics.

And now here we are, in Barcelona. Cheers.

December 2015