Au Vodka – The Most Talked About Vodka in The World?

If you’re not on social media you might never come across Au Vodka, but since launching in 2016 they’ve been making huge waves in the vodka pool. Through TikTok fame, endorsements from the famous, ‘Gold Gang’ and on-trend innovations like colour changing vodka, they’ve become one of the most talked about premium vodka brands.

Now, if you turn your minds back to Secondary School chemistry, you might remember that Au is the chemical element for Gold. So, if you’ve seen their all striking all gold bottle (or the two gold Lamborghinis on their website), that will make sense. Welsh duo Charlie Morgan and Jackson Quinn thought up the brand in 2015, and over the last few years, it has exploded. By the way, if you follow football, you may know Charlie Morgan better as the ball boy who was infamously kicked by ex-Chelsea star Eden Hazard in 2013. So, it seems he has a knack for going viral, whatever the means!

Charlie gained some profile from this, and with rap DJ Charlie Sloth on board too, Au picked up the pace (ironic for a sloth). With his connections, he established The Gold Gang, an extensive list of well-known ambassadors including AJ Tracey, Big Narstie, Headie One and Tion Wayne to name a few.

Innovations like becoming the first colour changing vodka in the UK have kept Au on people’s lips in more ways than one. Their new Bubblegum flavour begins blue but add a little lemonade and you get a vibrant purple! Pretty cool and perfect for Halloween.

It’s not just the rappers, packaging and bubble gum bamboozling that’s getting attention either, it’s the vodka itself. It’s a 5 times distilled vodka, filtered through charcoal before being put through a high-pressure gold filter chamber! No expense is spared here.

If you want to taste ‘the gold standard’ of vodka and see why it’s getting so much online traction, it’s available for around the £30 mark here and in most supermarkets.

For those wanting to read more vodka news, make sure you check out The World’s Best Vodka in 2022 or if you fancy a martini tonight then The Best Value Vodkas for Martinis is a great place to head.

X Muse Vodka

Words by Colin Hampden-White

The world of vodka is changing. In the old days, vodka was considered to be better the less flavour it had. In competitions until very recently, if vodka had flavour it would not get any medals. Now, I don’t mean flavoured vodkas, that’s a totally different category, I mean vodka, with flavour.

I recently came across a vodka that has incredible flavour, in fact flavour was put at the forefront of its creation. X Muse is a barley vodka using old varieties of Maris Otter and Plumage Archer from the early 20th century, blending them together once distilled, and then bottled, all in Scotland.

Where is X Muse Vodka Made?

The Vodka has been created by Robert Wilson, owner of the Bonnington Estate which is found outside Edinburgh, and Vadim Grigoryan, an expert in the drinks industry. The estate holds the most important collection of modern sculptures in Europe and is home to a sculpture by Ian Hamilton Smith Finlay called X muse (pronounced Tenth Muse). In mythology, the Tenth muse was a blend of the other 9 muses and symbolizes harmony and perfection, hence the name for the vodka with its blended credentials. Robert Wilson is well known for his beliefs around homeopathy, and therefore the power and healing quality water can have. The water for the Tenth Muse comes from an aquafer at Jupiter Artland, the sculpture park on the Bonnington estate creating another link from the vodka to its creator.

What does X Muse Vodka taste like?

With a good story and provenance the vodka thankfully also tastes wonderful. With a nose of estery apples and pears, giving both fresh and cooked fruits there is plenty of complexity. There is a character of delicate fruity new make spirit which as a whisky lover I found intoxicating. On the palate, there is plenty of sweetness with more orchard fruit which is baked and richer in character than on the nose. There are also touches of ginger, and nutmeg and the mouthfeel has lots of viscosity. The finish brings back fresh fruits and more ginger with soft spices.

The Vodka is fabulous in a cocktail. A particular favourite is Garda Muse created by Denis Broci of Claridges in London. Inspired by Lake Garda, famous for its green water, olive oil and lacustrine algae, the cocktail’s ingredients comprise of:

Ingredients
60ml X Muse
10ml Cinzano Biano
2.5ml Kummel
2.5ml Coconut (Bristol)
3 Dashes of Olive lemon oil

Method
Stir ingredients down and fine strain into a coup.

On the estate, there is a permanent “temple”, a place to go and have a tasting experience designed by famous designers Formafantasma who have created a bespoke brand experience for X muse. Having designed the central pavilion at this years Biennial in Venice, this is their first work completed in Scotland.

If you would like to try this stunning vodka for yourself, you can find all the information you need below.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Price: £55

If you enjoyed this, why not have a read through Dima’s Vodka: Excellence in a Bottle or The Best Value Vodka For Martinis?

Beer Made Using Wasp Yeast Causes Buzz

‘Ensō’ is the latest creation from experimental Somerset brewer Wild Beer Co and although they have released cherry, chocolate, and caramel beers before, it’s fair to say that wasps are a larger leap into the unknown. In Japan, ensō represents the freedom of creativity, a name that makes perfect sense when you learn more about what went into this new ale.

When Wild Beer Co started planning their 10th Anniversary Box, they set out to include some more unusual concoctions, which is when wasps were brought up. If you’ve been keeping an eye on the latest developments in yeast science over the last few years (who hasn’t?!), then you’ll know that scientific research has highlighted just how important wasps are to the brewing process. They preserve the yeast picked up from summer fruits over the cold winter months and continue to preserve it for reintroduction in the spring. 

Lead brewer Russ Sykes said, “After much research and discussions with relevant people and entomologists, we managed to harvest a wild yeast from an abandoned wasp’s nest, which was found on the farm next to the brewery” – talk about sourcing local ingredients!

This entire process took over five years, but the end result is this 6% ABV ale made with fresh apricots to compliment the natural honey flavour from the wild yeast. If you like sweet and fresh notes in your beer, then you might be looking at wasps in a whole new light after trying this. 

For now, Ensō is only available to buy as part of the 10th Anniversary Box, but if drinkers love it as much as the brewers do, there’s a good chance it will become a standalone product in the near future.

Other eyebrow raisers in the box include a hay-harvested pilsner and a very chocolatey stout.

If you like the sound of these or want to find out what else is included in the £74.99 collection, take a look here.