Spirited approach: how X Muse is crafting vodka with a difference
The artisanal drinks brand talks heritage grains and artistic inspirations
Last month, Crafts celebrated its relaunch and the publication of its Autumn/Winter 2022 issue with a party at the Crafts Council Gallery in north London, toasting the occasion with delectable cocktails from vodka brand X Muse. Though vodka and craft aren’t typically associated with each other, X Muse blends the two to create a considered drink that draws on age-old traditions of Scottish spirit-making. We sat down with the brand’s co-founder, Vadim Grigoryan, to learn more.
The Pablo Bronstein-designed box for X Muse's REVEAL series. Photo: courtesy X Muse
Craft and drink-making are two topics that – at first glance – could be seen as quite disparate. Why should we see them as interconnected?
High-end spirit making is a craft that takes practical skills and knowledge to perfect. During the creation process, we are constantly considering various micro-parameters that influence the final product, such as the type of distillation, distillation pots, mashing method, yeast variety, cutting point and, of course, the grain variety. Changes at any stage of the process brings about a different result.
The work of a spirit maker is akin to the work of any craftsman – especially at X Muse, where we are trying to bring the craft of spirit making to the level of art. We look at every step in our production process through the eyes of an artist. We believe that finely crafted spirits, infused with artistic creativity, contribute to a life full of meaning, stimulating connections, discoveries and learning.
“The work of a spirit maker is akin to the work of any craftsman”
- Vadim Grigoryan
Why do you believe it’s important to work with heritage ingredients?
We want to prove that vodka can be anything but insipid. It took us three years to perfect the blend and balance of X Muse’s ingredients – we are the first vodka producers to combine different varieties of Scottish-grown, Scottish-distilled barley, each known for their flavoursome attributes. In collaboration with Heriot-Watt University, our three-year quest resulted in the choice of heritage barley varieties Maris Otter and Plumage Archer. These are distilled separately and combined in precise quantities.
Paying as much attention to the invisible elements of the product as the visible ones is one way we have elevated the brand. It is why our motto ‘Plura latent quam patent’ (‘More is hidden than uttered’) is extended to the ingredients and water we use.
How have traditional making methods influenced how X Muse vodka is crafted? Do you use any new technologies?
We pay respect to traditional Scottish spirit-making by blending heritage barley and the purest water, to produce a delicious vodka with the richest, deepest character. Most spirits are 60 per cent water; unlike other brands, X Muse puts much consideration into the quality of the water we use. Our water is drawn from an ancient aquifer that sits below the Jupiter Artland sculpture park in Edinburgh.
As part of an alchemical process unique to us, we also add drops of water that have been ‘energised’ in a glass vortex and rested on amethyst crystals – we believe this water is not just clarified, but metaphysically charged.
The Light Pours Out Of Me, by Anya Gallaccio, 2012, at Jupiter Artland. Photo: Allan Pollok Morris, courtesy Jupiter Artland Rose Walk by Pablo Bronstein, 2017, the 'folly' that inspired the artist's box design for X Muse. Photo: courtesy Jupiter Artland
Jupiter Artland is described as X Muse’s ‘spiritual home’. Tell us more about how the vodka is connected with the sculpture park?
Jupiter Artland is where the brand began. During a fateful encounter, my now co-founder, Robert Wilson [co-founder of Jupiter Artland], mentioned he was looking for ways to use the precious water in the aquifer at the park, while I had long harboured a desire to create a brand that would be culturally enriching and respectful of its ingredients. As a result, the idea of creating a luxury vodka brand with art at its centre was born.
The artistic inspirations behind the product are tied to artworks residing at Jupiter Artland. The name X Muse is the title of a sculpture by the great Scottish artist and philosopher Ian Hamilton Finlay– it depicts the head of Sappho, the Greek lyrical poet whose extraordinary creative gifts led Plato to dub her the ‘tenth muse’. In ancient Greek mythology, the tenth muse is not known and hence represents the unseen.
The minimalist bottle design, meanwhile, references the undulating forms of Charles Jencks’ Cells of Life, an immersive land sculpture that sits above the ancient aquifer. The amethyst crystals we use to energise some of our water are also an homage to The Lights Pours Out of Me, an amethyst grotto-style installation byAnya Gallaccio.
