Given that vodkas, before dilution, are over 96 per cent pure ethanol, the differences between them can be very subtle indeed. The duo behind a new premium vodka, X Muse, are used to working with fine margins, however. Robert Wilson is a philanthropist and chairman of homeopathic medicine giant Nelsons, while Vadim Grigoryan is, in essence, a Renaissance alchemist for the 21st century – he has a robotics degree, ran Pernod Ricard’s luxury brands, has directed Art Basel and lectures on alternative business approaches (“art thinking”) at the Sorbonne. 

The two bonded over a belief in what most people would regard as pseudoscience (albeit with some experiments backing up the theory)… that water has memory. That is one of the main tenets of homeopathy, of course, so at a dinner, Wilson was telling Grigoryan about an ancient aquifer that flows through his Jupiter Artland sculpture park near Edinburgh. Grigoryan (whose inspiration is Elizabeth I’s adviser, scientist/philosopher/alchemist/occultist Dr John Dee) came up with the idea of using this “energised water” to make a spirit.

X Muse takes multiform inspiration from Jupiter Artland – the bottle design echoes Charles Jencks’s landscape sculpture, through which that water also flows. In a nod towards Anya Gallaccio’s obsidian and amethyst grotto, called The Light Pours Out of Me, some of the water used in the final blend has travelled through a crystal vortex. And the vodka’s name itself is taken from a work in the park by Ian Hamilton Finlay. X Muse, pronounced “tenth muse”, refers to an elusive, undefined spark of inspiration, beyond the traditional nine muses with their delineated areas of responsibility. 

The thinking behind the brand might invite ridicule from some quarters, but you don’t have to believe in the “magic” to enjoy the drink. It is a remarkable vodka – and is one of few that appeals to gin and whisky drinkers. Grigoryan’s development team created the first blended Scottish barley vodka – and it does have some similarities to the heart of a new-make spirit from a single malt distillation (albeit smoother). Its silky mouthfeel and notes of pepper, apple and citrus give rare character to a vodka martini (stirred – as advised by George Cook, head bartender at Fallow – with a mere rinse of vermouth, preferably Noilly Prat, and a pinch of salt). Served at Fallow and the Fifth Floor Bar at Harvey Nichols; available (£55.70) at Hedonism Wines and The Whisky Exchange.

xmusevodka.com