Valentine’s Day

from The Byron Shire Echo – Issue 37.35 – February 8, 2023

The elusive ‘Drop of the Desert’ cocktail

Victoria Cosford

Is there anything lovelier than the sight and the scent of a blue lotus? It’s a flower and a fragrance in one, and a grand idea for Valentine’s Day. From her stall, Byron Bay Blue Lotus, Liz Lualdi dispenses these glorious plants, which grow in her tea-tree lake at Tyagarah. Indeed, since ancient times, the lotus has been used in the production of perfumes, and as I stood, chatting at the Ahana candle stall with Marianni’s daughter, Valentina, we were both simultaneously struck by a sublime scent we thought was the other’s perfume. It was in fact the blue lotus Marianni had as centrepiece to her lovely candles – candles which, moreover, are another Valentine’s Day suggestion, the gold or cream beeswax exuding their own particular scent of gentle honey.

Liz Lualdi also dries the flowers to make a fragrant herbal tea; a common practice in Korea and China. She dries out whole lotus flowerheads too, selling them for people to use as edible flowers over salads or to make their own tea. These but I used the plata tequila, which I combined with Yellow Chartreuse, a very herbaceous botanical liqueur made using a secret recipe of 130 different herbs, along with clarified lime juice, grapefruit juice and salt.

‘Clarifying the citrus juices just makes the cocktail look teas, she tells me, have a calming effect, endorsed by the many return customers extolling the benefits. So there’s another gift idea!

More flowers can be found at Jumping Red Ant whose spectacular sunflowers stand proud alongside the prettiest roses in pink and red, orange and cream, and sprays of intricate orchids. Summit Organics sell mixed bunches if you can’t decide on a particular type; joyous assemblies of better, less murky, and also changes the texture of the cocktail so you’re drinking a completely clear cocktail. Overall, the look of the cocktail is minimalist and elegant; I just cut a small coin from the cactus leaf and put that on top of a clear ice cube as a garnish. It’s a bit vibrance interspersed with fernery and greenery, as well as natives. At Glenyce Creighton’s stall she has artistic arrangements of fern fronds amidst natives, languid palm leaves, heliconias and bird-of-paradise.

Chocolates are another Valentine’s essential and Sarah Wheeler’s organic Puremelt selection includes her vegan Love Bites, heartshaped mouthfuls of chewy, nutty indulgence. Flowers, candles, chocolates – there’s fussy to make at home, especially the process of blanching the cactus, blending and clarifying, but the result was pretty good!’

But will the cocktail make the cut and join the ten ‘signature’ cocktails that complement dozens of ‘classics’ at the busy bar? Well, no – as apparently the process of creating a cocktail list involves a lot more than drinking them or, dare I say, writing about them.

‘Will it make our cocktail list?’ Jono laughs. ‘The whole team, even past bartenders, have had input into that list, and it tends to respond to the crowd – at the moment we feature easy-drinking hot weather cocktails, but we also have some more serious drinks for the connoisseurs; I try to make it a versatile list, so that most people coming in find something that they enjoy. Because of the large number of customers, we get a lot of feedback about what people like, but we also have a lot of sales data, which we review on a regular basis to make sure we’ve got the mix right. Whilst we have wines and beers, cocktails are our most popular drink – I think it also has something to do with their presentation; they look more exciting on your social media feed than a glass of pinot noir!’ loftbyronbay.com.au

Valentine’s Day organised!

Byron Bay Blue Lotus, Ahana Candles, Puremelt Chocolate, Jumping Red Ant, Summit Organics and Glenyce Creighton are all at Mullumbimby Farmers Market – every Friday from 7–11am.

Summit Organics, Jumping Red Ant and Glenyce Creighton are also at New Brighton Farmers Market, every Tuesday from 8–11am.

Since ‘serious cocktail’ is something of an oxymoron, I’m sure that while ‘Drop of the Desert’ may prove elusive for now, that won’t trouble too many people in the party mood this summer.