The art-inspired Scottish vodka that has changed my mind on martinis

Up until about five years ago, my main thoughts on a martini were they were the favoured drink of James Bond.

I’ve only recently begun to appreciate the classic cocktail as an aperitif - and understand the shaken, not stirred reference - but mine have always had to be gin, and with an olive. Vodka and I don't mix well anymore, after years of drinking it and the spirit more often than not having the strength, and taste, of paint stripper. I don’t now choose it.

Since the rise of more craft spirits, it was Scottish gin that I got into, not just because of the taste, but the stories behind the craft, botanicals and origins.

All that changed this month when I sat down in a futuristic dome in the grounds of Jupiter Artland near Edinburgh for the X Muse Helicon workshop. The sculpture park, which opened in 2009 by Robert and Nicky Wilson, who own Bonnington House, the estate house is home to bespoke artworks from the likes of Tracy Emin and Phyllida Barlow. It is also soon to be home to its own distillery, where X Muse - pronounced tenth Muse - will be made. Holyrood Distillery has been making the spirit. 

X Muse is the first blended barley vodka and has been inspired by the spirit-making traditions of Scotland. It came about thanks to a collaboration between Robert and Vadim Grigoryan, a renowned drinks industry expert who worked for years with Pernod Ricard.

Speaking of creating X Muse, Robert, who also co-owns Nelsons, the leading Natural Medicine manufacturer, said: “Vadim and I found a commonality of thought and ideas about branding, about brands and about the importance of luxury. Out of these various discussions, we decided that we could use a brand of premium luxury vodka, but imbued from a place of art and creativity, which is Jupiter Artland.

“The key driving factor is the water at Jupiter Artland comes from an ancient aquifer and is very energetically charged and important. The essence of the product was to use the finest possible ingredients. We spent a great deal of time finding the perfect heritage barley.

“The second aspect of this was to see how barley itself had a particular organoleptic quality. So the flavour of the barley itself and these ancient heritage varieties was incredibly important. We worked with Harriet Watt for about three years to find one of 27 different varieties.”

Barley - “the king of grains for alcoholic liquid”, according to Robert, was chosen because “it has a complexity and a sweetness that you just don't find in wheat, rye or potatoes, which are the normal other carbohydrate sources for vodka”.

“Like with grape varieties, there is an enormous different flavour profile and that barley, when you see it distilled separately, becomes extremely individual in its flavour profiles,” he said. “By the process of blending, we felt it was very important to try barleys that would work extremely well together. There was a degree of scepticism about the taste differences between barley varieties [at the start of the process].”

Vadim Grigoryan and Robert Wilson, co-founders of X MUSE Vodka | contributed

Robert explained how the vodka was like an artwork, saying: “It is the attention to detail [that we put into X Muse] that is so reminiscent of all great artists. They have such an understanding of the subtleties and the rigour of producing a painting.

“In our case, that rigour applies to a product, but that rigour is nonetheless as important in the production of a product as it is in producing great artwork. The symbiosis that we have with the Jupiter Artland organisation is central to what we do here and in the way the brand has been produced.”

This is reflected in the name, which is drawn from an artwork by Scottish poet, artist and gardener Ian Hamilton Finlay. Referencing the muses in Greek mythology, the tenth muse is the amalgamation of the nine muses and symbolises harmony and perfection. This muse, which is never seen or defined, links to Robert and Vadim’s search for a pure and perfect vodka and is further referenced in the brand credo “more is hid than uttered” embossed on every bottle cap.

American theorist, architect and landscape artist Charles Jencks’ monumental land art commission that sits above the ancient water aquifer at Jupiter Artland has been translated into a unique bottle design by Stranger & Stranger. Finally, the liquid from the distillation process rests on amethyst crystals, linking to natural energetic healing and in reference to British artist Anya Gallaccio’s amethyst grotto also on view at the Jupiter Artland estate.

During the Helicon workshop, which takes place in the futuristic dome complete with X Muse bottles on shelves all along the wall, we tried both barley spirits -  Plumage Archer and Maris Otter - which are blended to make X Muse. It was an eye opener.

Plumage Archer, to me, smelled a lot like new make whisky spirit - quite fruity - while Maris Otter was distinctly different with a more flinty taste. Combined, X Muse is a smooth, slightly sweet fruity spirit that is world’s away from the throat stripping stuff of my youth. It’s magic in a martini, made with a drop of Oli'Still spirit, dry vermouth and garnished with a caperberry. In one sip, I’m converted and keen to see what this complex spirit can do in other drinks. 

X Muse Scottish barley vodka | X Muse

As for the future, could we see a Jupiter Artland whisky? It’s not a no, but for the moment Robert and Vadim are laser focused on the vodka.

“I think it's really important, when you create a brand, you have to remain very focused on the brand, to allow it to grow,” Robert said.

“Because there's a natural momentum in brand building that will take quite a few years, and I think it's important to remain very focused and very single minded about pursuing that before you start doing variants or doing other spirits. So we are very much focused on building X Muse Vodka.”