Vesper Bar bases menu on the golden ratio
The Dorchester hotel’s Vesper Bar has created Eterna, a new cocktail menu based on the golden ratio.
The golden ratio is a mathematical principle commonly seen in nature, art, and architecture and often represented as 1:1.618. It is visualised through the Fibonacci sequence.
The menu is intended to ‘translate this sense of balance and progression into a cocktail journey that follows the same spiral of complexity and harmony’.
Eterna is structured around key Fibonacci numbers: three, five and eight.
The menu begins at the centre of the figurative spiral, with cocktails that feature fewer ingredients and bolder flavour profiles. The Timeless section features a Martinez, a Vesper Martini and a serve called The Dorchester of London. The latter combines Boatyard Double Gin, Doorly’s Rum, Forbidden Fruit liqueur, pink grapefruit, rhubarb and lavender.
As the menu moves outward through the sequence, the drinks become more complex. The Smoky & Earthy section features the Convocation, a blend of beetroot Old Tom gin, Cascara Savoia, rhubarb and marshmallow.
Non-alcoholic options include the East of Eden, made with Everleaf Mountain, peach, sandalwood and fig leaf soda.
The menu is illustrated with images from nature or culture that feature the golden ratio, with three cocktails based around each image.
Bar manager Lucia Montanelli said: “When I first started to create Eterna, I began with visual imagery: seven powerful representations of the Fibonacci sequence that occur all around us, from the whirls of a shell to the spiralling seeds of a sunflower and the graceful composition of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.
“I wanted to demonstrate how the golden spiral can apply to mixology and in a liquid format. We have created a menu that not only shows the growing complexity of flavour but also evokes a visual and emotional connection, hopefully offering an intuitive way to select your cocktail of choice.”
Earlier this year, master distiller John Hall created a gin based on the golden ratio.
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