Crossip Dandy Smoke

La'Mel is Floor Manager at Seed Library, the newest bar created by Mr Lyan and team, based in the One Hundred Shoreditch.

Dandy Smoke has a surprisingly sweet and lapsang souchong-esque smoky start with top notes of green pine. The body comes through with warming fruit, cinnamon and clove and finishes with lightly spiced notes of ginger, chilli and nutmeg. It has a surprisingly meaty texture to it, something that I find can sometimes be missing from non-alcoholic spirits and cocktails.

Dandy is suitable for a multitude of occasions. Serve it long, with fruit and lemonade for a sweet serve or on the rocks for a whisky-style nightcap. Its rich and layered flavours allow it to stand out however you decide to drink it, as it provides the type of versatility that you would expect from a traditional alcoholic spirit. You don't need to use many other ingredients to make an interesting cocktail or drink.

Dandy Smoke is complex enough to intrigue seasoned cocktail and spirit aficionados. With the layering of the flavours and its relatability to smokey dark spirits, there's enough to pull from it without feeling bogged down with unusual flavours.

Due to its powerful flavours, Dandy Smoke is not designed to drink neat but it tastes great on the rocks, or with a simple mixer like soda or tonic water. It truly comes alive in cocktails as it does a lot of the heavy lifting. For example, it's gorgeous in a sweet context with fresh fruit or in a Floradora-style cocktail with a little bit of citrus.

Depending on the cocktail, any ice would work with Dandy Smoke, cubes or blocks! The dilution will really allow the more subtle spiced fruit notes to come through.

A tumbler is perfect if you want to have it on the rocks, or opt for a Highball glass when creating cocktails.

Pair Dandy Smoke with more robust dishes to see how it'll stand up. A Highball paired with a rich, slightly spicy dish is a match made in heaven.