The Intense Cocktail That Has More Than 70 Ingredients
When making a cocktail, no more is typically needed than a few ingredients, some bar tools, and your choice of liquor or two. In fact, many popular cocktails have a simple formula and require just three components, one type of liquor, a sweet ingredient, and a sour (via Mixology Crew). The screwdriver, another common choice, only has two ingredients. There are, of course, exceptions. On occasion, bartenders do have to scrounge up more ingredients for more complicated classics like an Old Fashioned or Gin Fizz. However, nothing compares to the complicated global cocktail containing over 70 ingredients.
The Commonwealth is one of the most complicated cocktails and has 71 ingredients exactly. Served in a coupe glass, the Commonwealth almost has too many elements to fit in the glass. The cocktail gets its name from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the ingredients are in honor of the 71 Commonwealths.
According to The Guardian, the Commonwealth Games have been held almost every four years since 1930, except for 1942 and 1946. This year's games will last over 11 days and host around 6,500 competitors and officials.
What's in the Commonwealth?
The Commonwealth cocktail was created by Glasgow mixologist Mal Spence who sourced unique ingredients to form the drink. As mentioned above, Spence created the drink to commemorate the 2014 Commonwealth Games (via Liquor), which are similar to the Olympics. The quadrennial games choose a different host city each year, and the 2014 Games took place in Glasgow, Scotland. It's no surprise the base of the commemorative cocktail is Scotch. Perhaps any whiskey will do, but it's important to note the difference between bourbon and scotch.
Ingredients include Arabica coffee beans from Bermuda, cassava from Mozambique, egg fruit from the Bahamas, and okra from Jamaica, along with 67 other ingredients. If you have a big enough glass and want to recreate the ingredient-heavy cocktail, The Drink Business shares the full ingredients list.
Unlike some classic cocktails that are relatively easy to shop for, gathering all 71 ingredients unique to the commonwealths will require quite a few grocery trips. And perhaps some online ordering, too.