Savour Cacique | "BEAUTIFUL BOY" INSPIRED BY KAMILAH
“I’ve rarely met a cocktail I didn’t like.”
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to a special "mixed media" episode of Savour Cacique. In this audio-gustatory experiment, we're shaking things up with soul temptress Kamilah (April's Artist In the Spotlight) and our cocktail craftsman Kyle Jones from Young's Fine Wine.
The concept is as powerful as it is timeless: Bring together magic ingredients and produce magic results. We would have the musician entrance the cocktail maker with her soulful sounds while he crafts a cocktail to her tune. Read / listen on to find out how "Beautiful Boy" was born...
Music to the palate
“I think the Bitters and the sourness of the lime can be likened to the hardness that some men exhibit. The smoothness of the Rum and Crème de Cassis can be likened to the other side of that experience and the heat / fire is the drive that fuels both parts in different ways.”
Cacique. Let's start with you Kyle. How did Kamilah's sound inspire the cocktail?
Kyle. Listening to Kamilah’s music, you can tell that there is a lot of heart and fire behind not only the vocals but also with her lyricism. The music obviously comes from a place that evokes emotion and passion. While the end product is a beautifully constructed melody, it is more than that, she is telling a story.
With this cocktail, I wanted to tell a tale that matched her vibe, so I had some suitably "fiery" ingredients lined up. But this is the first time I heard Kamilah sing "Beautiful Boy" so I found myself improvising with the measurements as I became entranced by the song. The result was a perfect match. The savory sweetness and color of "Beautiful Boy" align perfectly with the theme of the song.
Every strum of Kamilahs' guitar fills the room with crisp, soulful sounds.
We like this: In his surrealist novel "L'écume des jours" Boris Vian imagines a "Pianocktail" - a piano that mixes a cocktail to the tune of the pianist.
Cacique. Over to you Kamilah. So, what's the story behind "Beautiful Boy?"
Kamilah. I wanted to look at toxic masculinity and how it happens - particularly for black Caribbean men. I wanted to write a song that didn't excuse the bad behavior that results from toxic masculinity, but I wanted to acknowledge where that behavior comes from in many cases. I wanted the lyrics and sonic landscape to suggest more constructive, hopeful ways for men who are taught very specific, and often harmful, ways of exerting their masculinity, to engage with emotions, feelings, loss etc so that their future selves can go through the world with a bit more balance and emotional intelligence.
Beautiful Boy
“With this cocktail, I wanted to tell a tale that matched her vibe, so I had some suitably “fiery” ingredients lined up. But this is the first time I heard Kamilah sing “Beautiful Boy” so I found myself improvising with the measurements as I became entranced by the song.”
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Afrohead Briland Dark Rum
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Orgeat
1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime
4 dashes Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters
1/4 oz Gabriel Boudier Creme de Cassis
How To:
1) Add all ingredients into cocktail shaker over fresh ice and shake until chilled.
2) Strain and pour into a tall collins glass filled with crushed ice.
3) Float the creme de cassis over top of cocktail and add garnish.
4) Sip away! (If using flaming lime, don't forget to put out the flame!)
For the garnish: Take the half lime you just squeezed and pour Plantation O.F.T.D Overproof Rum inside. Light rum on fire and for sparks, just a sprinkle of cinnamon. I also used three pineapple top leaves for visual effect.
What's Your Flavour?
Cacique. Back to you Kyle, so why Afrohead rum for Kamilah?
Kyle. Afrohead Rum is a great spirit to drink neat or in a cocktail. This brand in particular has some great toasty oak notes which pair well with the concept. Afrohead is strongly influenced by music and the industry. People like Dave Stewart, Lenny Kravitz and Dave Matthews are all Afrohead Rum drinkers and have played their part in inspiring what Afrohead is today so it felt like a natural fit with the beautiful music Kamilah is creating. While a rum forward drink made the most sense to me considering Kamilah is Bahamian and rum is our go to here, a garnish that includes fire felt right because when I listen to her music I can picture an acoustic session accompanied by candlelight.
Cacique. Kamilah, do you think the flavours of the cocktail match the mood of your song? How about the fire?
Kamilah. I think the Bitters and the sourness of the lime can be likened to the hardness that some men exhibit. The smoothness of the Rum and Creme de Cassis can be likened to the other side of that experience and the heat/ fire is the drive that fuels both parts in different ways. All together there is a balance that I guess could be considered similar to the balance that comes with emotional intelligence.
Cacique. If Kyle could make a cocktail for another one of your songs, which would it be?
Kamilah. I have a song called On My Mind that is very summery and sweet in feel but there's a secret cheekiness (a kind of Me & Mrs Jones energy) that could make for some interesting flavor combinations in a drink. I imagine the drink would be sweet and tart... the kind of cocktail that sneaks up on you (haha!).
Cacique. Well, cheers guys! Here's to a successful experiment!
Savour Cacique |Culinary Experiences
Here at Cacique, we love to push boundaries - be it art, music, tableware or the culinary experience. That is why we are always on the look out for fresh new talent, such as Kamilah and Kyle. For enquiries about Cacique Culinary Experiences - tailor-made to wow the most discerning of palettes - please feel free to contact us.
Looking forward to our next gastronomic adventure! SMS ;)