There are three versions of Royal Dragon vodka, two of which are flecked with flakes of Swiss gold leaf. Those bottles are a serious investment, but Royal Dragon Elite - the cocktail/mixed drinks grade version of the spirit sans edible precious metals - has caught on in a big way in SoHo.
According to Cafe Deco Group bar manager Hayley Morison it is now being served in six of the group's outlets, including the recently reopened Cafe Deco, where it is the base spirit for, among other things, the Butterflytini.
Morison says there is no special meaning behind the name, but word association is always useful when creating the name of a cocktail. The idea was to use a name that reflected the character of the drink. "It's light, refreshing and delicate using both herbs and fruits," she says.
Morison, who joined the group shortly before the reopening, is a fan of herbs in cocktails, but disapproves of muddling them - crushing them in the glass or shaker.
You get more out of them, she reckons, with a short ovation. "When you muddle herbs, they become bitter, so the best way to release the oils and aromas of the herbs is to clap them," she says, placing a few sage leaves on one palm and slapping them a couple of times with the other.
"When you see bartenders muddling mint for a mojito, it destroys the taste you are trying to get from the leaves. It's the same with most herbs. Coriander is the exception, because you get most of the flavour from the stem." Sage advice. The Butterflytini is made with both sage and mint, plus elderflower liqueur, fruit juices and Royal Dragon vodka to breathe a bit of fire into the mix.