Martha May Markham

Toast spices on the stove. Then remove. In a saucepan add frozen cherries and water and spices and gently heat, when it begins simmering, add in the sugar and peychauds bitters and allow to simmer more until the consistency coats the back of a spoon. Let cool. Then strain off the solids in a Chinois. 

Seaweed Ardbeg 

200ml Ardbeg Uigeadail

4g seaweed mix

Infuse for 45mins 

For the Garnish: 

Blend the leftover cherries until smooth and pass through a sieve. Lay out of a sheet pan in a thin layer, on baking parchment (unwaxed). Dehydrate in the oven 80 degrees until the top isn’t stick anymore. 

Dry the leftover seaweed from the Ardbeg infusion in the oven, blitz with sugar and salt in a coffee grinder until a fine powder. 

Slice the fruit leather into triangle strips and brush lightly with a soy/sugar reduction. Sprinkle the seaweed powder over the top. 

Sustainability:

• Every aspect of my drink, from liquid to glass keeps sustainability at the heart of it. For my serve, my glassware has been thrifted from the Charentes region itself (by my lovely parents who have a house in Chef-Boutonne, an hour from Cognac), keeping it as local to the cognac area as possible, for sentimental reasons, and also because so much thrifted glassware tells a story, and mine is playful, in keeping with the rest of my serve. 
• My ingredients: in the UK a lot of fruit and veg isn’t in season by the time October rolls around, after taking inspiration from the entirety of the Charentes region from its coastal maritime flavours, to its inland boasting of cherries, figs and apples. I’ve mimicked these flavours in my drink, however, cherries aren’t in season in the UK anymore, so I’ve picked frozen cherries from a brand called ‘Pack’d’, they are plastic free, and focus on farm to frozen picking. Ensuring everything is picked at its ripest, minimising food waste and minimising transport costs and lowering my CO2 emissions as I’m not importing from other countries. They are also UK based and select their fruit from the UK too, keeping it as local as possible. 
• I’ve also found a sustainable seaweed farmer off the coast off Il de Re, seaweed is one of the most readily available ingredients in the world, especially when farmed ethically and sustainably keeping ecosystems in mind, which Aore do through and through. Also another example of finding local ingredients to boast great flavours in my drink. 
• My garnish practices the championing of extending the life of ingredients, so often we make infusions and syrups and discard the scraps, when they still contain so much flavour and delicious-ness. So, I have made a fruit leather from my leftover cherries, and reused the seaweed from my Ardbeg infusion to make a dust to brush over my leather.
• The use of Ardbeg as an ingredient, I’ve selected all my collaborations on this drink with brands that have the same ethos on the environment as Hennessy. Such as Ardbeg, who are committed to responsible peat usage, minimisation of water wastage, and who commits £1 million a year to sustainability projects across Islay.