Parfum Firenze
Description
Parfum Firenze is a blend of three different grape lambics and spices. The following description is from a pairing event at Gebrande Winning in Sint-Truiden, Belgium, where the beer was served.
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. In January 2020, we were invited for a food pairing dinner at Diorama in Florence, Italy. During the same weekend, we took the time to explore the city, which has a rich history in perfume making. One of the places we visited was Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, which is considered the oldest historical pharmacy in Europe, founded in 1612.
We fell in love with one particular perfume, Tobacco Toscano. Floral top notes and a hint of citrus, middle notes of tobacco, and base notes of vanilla, wood and amber. The fragrance is by no means groundbreaking, but it is so extremely balanced and suitable for every occasion. When we got back from our trip in Italy, we continued blending and bottling. While tasting grape lambics from the harvest of 2018, we found a few barrels that were each in a way reminiscent of an aspect of the perfume, so we took samples and started blending to see if we can approach the aroma and emotions of the Tobacco Toscano perfume. Much to our surprise, this strange idea actually worked! The final blend consists of 3 different grape lambics and spices.
Credit for this blend goes to Carolina, who came up with the crazy idea and developed this beer with me.
Together with this beer we serve a small box that contains oak chips from barrel wood, which is sprayed with the Tobacco Toscano perfume. Enjoy the perfume and beer pairing!
After this course we will remove the wooden boxes from the table, and we will put them near the entrance of the restaurant. Feel free to take a box home at the end.