Drink in Focus: Like-Minded Creatures at The Old Man
Cutting-edge technology and carefully chosen ingredients elevate the earthiness of this cocktail to refined heights
Much like the way words on a page can evoke scenery, character and emotion, the Ernest Hemingway-inspired concept at The Old Man sought to do so with its recently released seventh menu, titled Relations, and through drinks like the Like-Minded Creatures.
Also quite like Hemingway’s brusque but otherwise detailed and hyper-focused prose, the Like-Minded Creatures aims to evoke an extremely specific experience in nature. “The Like-Minded Creatures started with a simple idea [of] capturing the feeling of walking through a forest in the early morning – the damp earth, fresh greenery and that quiet calm before the day begins,” says Nikita Matveev, director of operations at The Old Man. “That atmosphere became the backbone of the drink.”
Since its founding in 2017, The Old Man has been known for its use of cutting-edge equipment like rotovaps and centrifuges to bring obscure ingredients and colours to life (see The Sun Also Rises – the cocktail, not the Hemingway novel). To push this even further, the team honed in on four meticulously chosen and prepared ingredients – patchouli and moss redistilled El Tequileño Blanco, Muyu Vetiver Gris liqueur, a home-made pear and aloe cordial, and cold brewed Kukicha.
“Patchouli and moss bring a naturally earthy, perfume-like quality that we couldn’t get from more common ingredients,” Matveev explains. “Redistilling gives us purity – lifting the aroma without the weight or muddiness those botanicals usually carry. It’s a way to take something unconventional and make it elegant and drinkable.”
“Patchouli has this deep, green, slightly mysterious character that fits the mood of the drink perfectly,” says Matveev. “We explored roots and herbs like vetiver, lemon balm, frankincense and moss, but patchouli gave us the exact balance of earthiness and aromatic lift we were searching for.”