Inspired by the county he calls home, Lyndon Roper, award-winning bar manager at Embers restaurant in Brighton, serves up the best of sustainable Sussex in a glass.

Sophisticated, rich and complex – refreshing and cooling – this star shines brightly to unite  my favourite local flavours into a delightful celebration of what Sussex has to offer. Everything apart from citrus is local – seasonal, sustainable, natural and organic.

Here at Embers sustainability is a huge deal to us, and we strive to waste as little as possible. For my Sussex Shrub I fermented waste pineapple skins to make Tepache, and infused that with waste pineapple cores, local organic seasonal rhubarb, and lemon and ginger MD Tea.

The pineapple bits come from the waste of our Spit-Roasted Pineapple dessert. This drink, like Embers, strives for minimum waste and uses sustainable products to celebrate a ‘Circular Economy’ in the Brighton cocktail scene.

The wood we use here at Embers all comes locally from a lovely guy named Mark and his lumberyard in Hassocks. Wood is a carbon neutral form of heat with the exception of transportation.

For Garnish, local Montezuma’s chocolate (founded in Sussex and made in Chichester, I have also made a vegan alternative with vegan chocolate) infused with Brighton Red Roaster coffee and served with sea salt flakes. One of my fondest memories of Brighton is walking along the pier whilst on a seaside holiday, as a young child, with a smile on my face and a salted caramel chocolate ice cream in my hand.

Fantastic different products coming together to celebrate the greater whole that Sussex is. Using organic local produce and brands to celebrate botanicals and flavours cemented in Sussex’s Weald and Down.

Inspiration – over the past few years Sussex has become my home. It’s where I fell in love with mixology. It’s where I fell in love with my girlfriend. Brighton is open to everyone. It’s like a breath of fresh air. Brighton to me was freedom itself, because it was the first time I lived by myself! The first time to ever live in my own home, my own room, my own space. It’s where I fell in love with a coast and a city that has changed my life, where I’ve met some of the most awesome people ever who have done so much to help me grow and live.

I choose to live work and play here because this place accepts everyone, from anywhere, with open arms and a smile on its face.

For me, this drink represents just that, a breath of fresh air and an amazing place that has become my home. Like Sussex, it is refreshing, deep and complex, and full of treasure.

Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you…

The Sussex Star

• 20ml Mello Cello Local Sussex Limoncello
• 15ml Contractors Classic Dry Gin
• 5ml Brighton Gin
• 5ml Nadar Gin
• 5ml St Maur Elderflower
• 5ml Bacchus Wild Gin Elixir
• 15ml Sussex Shrub (Seasonal Local Organic Rhubarb, Waste Pineapple Husk Tepache, Waste Pineapple Cores, Local Sussex Honey, Lemon and Ginger MD Tea)
• 5ml Lime Superjuice
• 5ml Lemon Superjuice
• 15ml Lemon Oleo Saccharum

Method for the Shrub:

Ferment pineapple skins and dark sugar for 3 days, strain out the solids, bottle and ferment for another two.
Take Tepache, add local honey, local rhubarb, and pineapple cores and blend.
Bring to the boil then simmer for ten minutes, fine strain through cheese cloth

Method for the cocktail:

Add all the ingredients listed into a shaker of ice.
Shake hard and fine strain into a frozen Nick and Nora glass.

Garnish with a lemon twist and Red Roaster coffee infused with local Sussex chocolate (or vegan alternative) with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes.