Kratena, Berg and Caporale ‘redefine’ liqueurs
Bartending luminaries Alex Kratena, Monica Berg and Simone Caporale have teamed up with Dutch drinks firm De Kuyper to launch a new liqueurs range inspired by the Amazon rainforest and made with natural ingredients.
The brand, called Muyu, is inspired by a trip the trio took to the Amazon and will focus on responsible sourcing, with a share of the profits from each bottle donated to NGOs in the region. Kratena, Berg and Caporale each designed one Muyu liqueur, which translates as ‘seed’ in the Quechan language. Working with De Kuyper, the bartenders used an approach similar to that employed by perfumers to create the Muyu expressions, said to "redefine" the liqueurs category. At the end of last year, De Kuyper CEO Mark de Witte said the group’s biggest innovation was “still to come”, at the same time revealing plans to launch a series of new products with top bartenders. Kratena produced Muyu Vetiver Gris (22% abv), Berg made the Muyu Jasmine Vert (24% abv) and Caporale created the Muyu Chinotto Nero (24% abv). The production of each Muyu liqueur begins with the extraction of flavour from its eponymous ingredient. Other ingredients are then selected to complement the predominant flavour, and the final essence is blended with alcohol, sugar, acids, and water. A number of techniques are used to create the “complex liquid”, including enfleurage, steam distillation, CO2 extraction, and resinoids. No components are sourced from the Amazon rainforest, but instead come from either the French town of Grasse, dubbed the perfume capital of the world, or the Dutch city of Schiedam, where De Kuyper is based. “We first visited the Amazon in 2016 to explore the potential of Amazonian produce in cocktails, and we were so inspired by what we saw, but also realised we would contribute to the rainforest’s destruction if we sourced directly from there,” said Berg. “Therefore we collaborate with leading experts to help us source, concentrate and capture aromatic substances of plants, flowers and fruits.” Each Muyu liqueur has been designed to be mixed in a Highball, used in other cocktails, or drunk on the rocks. Mark de Witte added: “We are proud and happy to collaborate with renowned industry professionals Alex, Monica and Simone and believe that Muyu will make a real difference in offering excellent cocktail experiences to both bartenders and consumers.”
