How To Pimp Your Drinks; Edible Scents With Smith & Sinclair

The best discoveries are always those that are the least expected. For me, if the discovery is scent or perfume related then I have hit the jackpot. Smith & Sinclair was one of those unexpected finds. I remember reading about their edible alcoholic gummies and thinking that they looked like a lot of fun but I had a lot of questions. What is the level of alcohol in each gummy? Which flavours do they come in? Would I be legally drunk if I ate a whole box?

Remembering my mission to find events, I added the gummies to my wish list, bookmarked the site and promised myself that I would order a box later.

Four months later and I was on yet another search for fragrance related events. As if by destiny, I found Smith & Sinclair’s ‘Edible Fragrance Experience’ at Made’s HQ in Shoreditch,  I was so excited, a perfume that was made to be eaten, genius!

On arrival to the event (3 of my girlfriends in toe) we were given a glass of prosecco from Thomson & Scott. Time for a confession. I’m not sure if I simply didn’t read the invitation properly or just didn’t pay enough attention. Either way, the outcome was the same as I was 100% unaware of the amazing story behind my glass of prosecco.

No Need To Worry About The Calories

Amanda Thomson is the founder of Thomson & Scott and has created a company with a social focus. She truly believes in transparency for consumers and built her company out of her frustration with brands not fully explaining the ingredients in alcohol. Her brand is vegan, organic and most importantly for me, low in calories. The prosecco has half the amount of sugar than many of its competitors and tastes as good as any I have sampled in the past.

In my pre-enlightened state I drank the prosecco, commented on how nice it tasted and was oblivious that I was drinking healthy alcohol. Yes, I said it, healthy alcohol. These words are no longer mutually exclusive. You can now enjoy a guilt free glass of prosecco which also tastes really good. Further, in buying this brand you are supporting a female entrepreneur whose work is aimed at empowering the consumer. Where’s the downside?

Before we finished our glasses, Smith & Sinclair introduced their newly launched edible fragrances. Perfumes combining multiple scents aimed at tantalising both our sense of smell and sense of taste. As we all know, these two senses are interlinked, more detail on this below.

Fragrances You Can Eat

 

There are three flavours: Cherry Blossoms & Mandarin, Watermelon & Citrus and Pear & Vanilla. With my well documented hatred for watermelon I gave that one a miss. Also, whilst I love pears and vanilla they are not scents that I would choose in a cocktail so I went straight for the Cherry Blossom & Mandarin fragrance.

As you can imagine, I was somewhat skeptical and decided to read the back of the box before trying the spray. Perfume making is a chemical process and I was intrigued as to how they had used the same process to make the fragrance edible. Clearly most fruits and flowers are edible but my question related more to the base of the perfume. This is referred to as the carrier oil in the trade and it is used to dilute/extend the quantity of a perfume without interfering with the scent.

The base for all of Smith & Sinclair’s edible perfumes is a combination of gin, water and glycerine. All perfectly edible (double-check if you have allergies). Can you imagine my delight when I then read down the box and saw that the fragrances are low in calories. As such, they do not take away from the hard work of brands like Thomson & Scott; producers of low calorie alcohol.

 

In brief, the fragrances are based on the different seasons and are a garnish for drinks from cocktails to tea. Checkout their website for more details.

Back to the event, Smith & Sinclair’s Head of Events and Brand Partnerships Grace Bryan sprayed our glasses with our chosen fragrance and my drink was transformed into a Cherry Blossom & Mandarin prosecco. Every mouth full had the flavour of cherry and mandarin but it was not overpowering, more of an accompaniment. I was grateful for this as I wanted to enjoy the taste of the prosecco with a hint of flavour, not be overpowered. The edible fragrance provides that hint. Think of  the way that elderflower flavours water, subtle but recognisable, these fragrances act in the same way.

Presenting Cherry Blossom & Mandarin Prosecco

After our drinks we were introduced to whole team and shown to our seats.

Who are Smith & Sinclair?

Grace talked us through the company, the founders and the motivation behind the gummies.

Click here to hear their story.

We were then given a gummy and I was pleasantly surprised. Sweet, adult, naughtiness and when I say sweet I mean it in the maturest of senses. I choose the Berry Daiquiri gummy. The first overwhelming scent and taste was that of berries. You can then taste the rum flavour, sweet and strong, just the way I like it. It reminded me of cocktails I have drunk in the past and all of the places that I had enjoyed them.

 

Then came a game, the mint test, the discussion of how the sense of smell and taste are interlinked.

We were instructed to hold our noses and chew on a mint leaf. If you have ever done this you will know that you cannot taste anything when you hold your nose. However, once your nose has been freed the taste of mint hits you in the face. I recommend that you try this when you next have some mint or a strong herb to hand. Top tip, if you smell something and you can’t quite pick up the scent, try opening your mouth as this will heighten your sense of smell. Trust me, give it a try!

James Bond’s Second Favourite Drink

To further demonstrate the impact of the sense of smell on our sense of taste we completed another game, queue the deconstructed Gin & Tonics.

 

By this point I was both confused and excited, deconstructed G&Ts, what did they mean? I was handed a spoon of white powder and was happy to learn that it was gin in powder form. Tonic water was added to the spoon and as if by magic, a deconstructed G&T was created. Then my chosen edible fragrance was sprayed above the spoon whilst I ate it.

Click here to see me trying my spoon of fun.

As promised, my G&T, having chosen the Cherry Blossom & Mandarin fragrance, smelt and then tasted like a cherry blossom & mandarin G&T, genius!

Time To Get Creative

As if we were not having enough fun, we were then told that we would be making our own edible fragrance. This fragrance could be used on food, drinks, skin, whatever and wherever we wanted.

We were shown a number of scents/flavourings like vanilla and orange. Grace then explained how to layer the fragrance to achieve the desired outcome. I do not want to say too much from fear of spoiling it for those of you planning to attend future events. What I will say, I opted for a citrus fragrance with strong notes of orange and lemon. The aim, a fresh and zesty summer fragrance that I could use with champagne and gin. Having tested my fragrance once at home I can confirm that it was a resounding success.

 

The night drew to an end and we were given goody bags containing an edible gummy and a can of Thomson & Scott’s Sparkler Rose. The perfect end to the perfect evening.

I just read this article on Thomson & Scott’s website explaining why their rose comes is in cans, definitely worth a read – ‘Five reasons you need Thomson & Scott sparkler rose cans’.

Edible Gummies Delivered To Your Door

Fast forward to today, I have just received my first box of edible gummies. 100% vegan and 100% yummy. There are six boxes to choose from, I chose the party selection as it has the aperol gummy in it; I love aperol spritz. Now I need to find someone to share these with as my husband does not drink alcohol. Perhaps I will pop them into Christmas cards as a little surprise for my loved ones. I mean, I would have to stop eating them first as at this point I am not sure if this box will make it through the week.

 

The next Smith & Sinclair event is on 12th December in Hoxton ‘Smith & Sinclair X The Multi-Sensorial Cocktail Experience’. Grab some of your girlfriends and head down. If this event is anything like their last it promises to be a lot of fun.

If you would like to see more event reviews leave a comment below and I’ll be sure to share more of my experiences with you.