Caviar infusion from Pernod Paris lab aims to refresh vodka

London

CAVIAR and vodka are the ultimate luxury food-and drink pairing, but putting the sturgeon eggs into the spirit spells disaster. The caviar explodes and whitens the liquid, which eventually smells of rot.

Pernod Ricard SA has just introduced a new vodka in London that aims to deal with the problem - at £175 (S$300) per 20 centilitre bottle. The French distiller turned to a patented technology from the skin-care industry, allowing it to safely place caviar coated with an aqueous film into the bottle, infusing it with notes of butter and hazelnut.

It is the first spirits innovation from a Pernod Ricard skunkworks tucked away on a cobblestoned side street in Paris. In a startup-like office where water drips from the ceiling and shelves are lined with manuals on blending cockta…