Madrid bar Salmon Guru, which was recently named one of the World’s Best 50 Bars and also collected the 2021 Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award, has a reputation for eccentric drinks and crazy décor.
Now the bar has partnered with Gin Mare on an innovative project called Ultramare , which aims to create a new range of cocktails that have been sealed in amphorae and placed at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this project, which is still in the research and development phase, is to study and analyse the effects of seawater submersion on the various cocktails made from Gin Mare.
Under the direction of bartender Diego Cabrera of Salmon Guru and marine biologist and professional diver Helena Margot, a total of 12, three-litre sealed amphorae were submerged in a secret location in Ibiza last September.
The amphorae were filled with three Gin Mare cocktails crafted by Diego: a Negroni with orange peel and basil, a dry martini with Arbequina olive and chamomile, and the ‘Ultramarino’, a gimlet with rhubarb and fresh oregano. All of the vessels filled with cocktails were extracted at various points by end of 2021.
A separate amphora filled solely with Gin Mare was also placed under water and will remain there for a year to be studied by Cabrera and Margot.
“It is clear that the sea had an influence on the cocktails,” says Diego. “There was a controlled transmission of sea salt and other minerals through the osmosis process, imparting a subtle, well-integrated hint of the Mediterranean Sea into the cocktails that is quite desirable.”
“In the Ultramare project, we hope to contemplate and change the way mixology is understood by offering an innovative way to experience cocktails,” says Alfonso Morodo, CEO of Vantguard (Gin Mare’s parent company).
“We wish to highlight Gin Mare’s strong connection to the Mediterranean Sea in a very direct way by offering cocktails that are true gastronomic representations of this region.”
Now in its second phase, Cabrera is continuing the Ultramare project’s experimental process by submerging Gin Mare cocktails in amphorae in 50-liter tanks of seawater in a laboratory setting; aiming to replicate the conditions of the Mediterranean Sea indoors. In this laboratory dedicated to mixology, everything learned through the original endeavour is applied, and cocktails are created using the technique and knowledge of Cabrera with Gin Mare as the main ingredient.
