The Starless Sea
April 21, 2025
A Story You Can Sip
Some drinks are meant to refresh, others are meant to take you somewhere. The Starless Sea is a cocktail born from the idea of stories, inspired by Erin Morgenstern’s novel of the same name. Beneath the surface of our own world lives a place shaped by narrative, where memory and imagination flow like water. That is how I wanted this cocktail to feel - not just a drink but rather a moment that unfolds in layers, like chapters in a novel.
Infused with intent:
At the heart of this drink is coconut oil infused with lemongrass, cardamom and ginger, used to fat-wash aged rum. More than a culinary trick, this is a method of shaping flavors with control and care. Coconut oil is a nonpolar solvent, which means it extracts aromatic compounds that water or alcohol might miss or muddle. It draws warmth from ginger without the burn, citrus from lemongrass without the bitterness, and spice from cardamom without the astringency. When used to fat-wash the rum, those compounds enter the spirit with subtlety and softness. The result is not only a flavored rum, but the rum actually holds memories and echoes of the flavors of the spices and herbs. The infused rum becomes the foundation of the drink. Its texture is richer, and its voice is softer. The botanicals are less loud, they are gentle and atmospheric, like themes that occur in a story or a dream.
Why Fat Washing?
Bold ingredients like ginger and cardamom can easily overpower a cocktail if extracted with alcohol. That is why I use fat - not to mute the ingredients, but to curate them. Fat-washing is not just about adding texture. It is a way to filter flavors. Alcohol extracts everything, whether it is desirable or not. Fat chooses. It narrows the spectrum to a more elegant and focused set of notes. The result is not the full chorus, but a solo voice: precise, restrained and emotionally resonant. The oil became my editor when I created this drink. With its essential selectivity it aided me in my goal of evoking a mood and creating something intimate and immersive.
The Recipe:
• 1.5 oz fat washed aged rum (see below for full process)
• 0.5 oz Yellow Chartreuse
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz honey syrup
• 2 dashes orange bitters
Shake with ice until cold. Strain into a chilled coupe or a small rocks glass over a single large cube. Garnish with nothing, or with a single lemon twist. I prefer it unadorned, just like the sea at night.
Infusing the oil and washing the spirit:
To infuse the coconut oil:
• 200g unrefined coconut oil
• 20g crushed then chopped lemongrass
• 15g sliced then crushed fresh ginger
• 5g crushed green cardamom pods
Vacuum seal the mixture and cook sous vide at 130°F (43°C) for 3 hours.
Strain the botanicals out while the oil is still hot, this ensures a clean separation and preserves the clarity of the oil.
To fat wash the spirit:
Use a 10:1 ratio by volume of warm (room temperature) spirit to warm infused oil. For example, 750 mL of aged rum to 75 mL of infused oil. Combine in a container you can shake vigorously. Shake well to emulsify.
Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 5 hours. During that time, shake it about once per hour to keep the emulsion active and ensure even contact.
After resting, freeze the mixture overnight. The oil will solidify on top into a puck. The next day, remove the puck first, don’t try to pour the rum while the fat is still in the way. Let the puck drain on a rack or in a funnel to capture the last few drops of spirit.
Finally, filter the rum through a moist coffee filter to remove any fine fat particles. The result is a spirit that’s clean, richly aromatic, and texturally enhanced, but not oily.
The sensory experience:
When you bring the glass to your lips, the first thing you will notice is the aroma: floral, citrusy, unfamiliar in a way that makes you lean in. Secondly, the texture hits. It is soft, almost suspended, thanks to the memory of the coconut oil.
The first sip is fresh with lime and honey. A moment later you will feel the Chartreuse glow underneath. Finally, the rum; layered with gentle spice and a lingering, mysterious warmth. The botanicals do not announce themselves. They drift in and out, like motifs and themes returning in different forms.
As the drink warms it changes. You will notice new things, such as a touch of more ginger, a little more of the cardamom. The sweetness recedes and the structure becomes clearer. Like a story unfolds, this cocktail reveals itself slowly.
Flavor as storytelling:
When I design a cocktail I think about pacing, balance, and emotion. More than looking for something plainly delicious, I am looking for resonance. I want to create a drink that moves like a good narrative, something that draws you in, turns a corner, and stays with you once it is over. Flavor holds the power to do this, especially when it is shaped intentionally.
Starting with infusing the fat and then using it to wash the rum allowed me to purposefully create the story. Instead of overwhelming the drink with spices, I selected only what belonged in it. Each ingredient plays a role but none of them compete. They collaborate and they whisper.
The Starless Sea is not a cocktail to rush. You sit with it. You return to it. You notice something new with each sip. Like a favorite passage in a novel it stays with you, not because of flash but because of feeling.This cocktail is neither loud nor obvious. It is deliberate and in its subtle quietness, it tells a story to remember.
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