“Link, give the Ocarina to me… As a Sage, I can return you to your original time with it.” - The Sage of Time Princess Zelda, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time

Inspiration

How best to represent Princess Zelda herself? Not only does she disguise herself as Sheik throughout most of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, but she’s also the final Sage! What a twist. I literally could’ve never seen it coming. *glances suspiciously*

For Princess Zelda’s sage spritz, I wanted to create a drink that focused on ingredients that are not quite what they seem. Though lychee nuts and dragon fruits look unique and rough on the outside, their clear-hued centers appear white and pure. Such a contrast between inner and outer appearance felt appropriate for our masqueraded princess.

Workshopping

Infusion of Time

• 10 oz (295 ml)Vodka

• 178g Lychee Nut Flesh

• 200g White Dragon Fruit Flesh

• Infuse for 7 days, then strain.

As with our other sage spritzes (ones for light, forest, fire, water, shadow, and spirit) Zelda gets an infusion as well. The fact that Zelda hides her identity under the guise of Sheik throughout most of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time was reason enough to use fruits whose rind does not match the vibe of its flesh. In particular, I thought of dragon fruit which comes in a couple of different varieties but is typically a radical-looking ball with black-speckled white flesh. I also thought of lychee as a flavor combo that would go well with the dragon fruit.

It took quite a while to unsheath every lychee and scoop out the dragon fruit, but submerging them both in vodka for a while made for a very tasty infusion! It was sweet with heavy notes of lychee. It honestly tasted more lychee than the individual nuts did! I’m inclined to think that the dragon fruit flavor played a supporting role here (surprising considering its flamboyant appearance). Try taking this infusion and making a lychee martini with it, or use it with some orange juice for a lychee screwdriver. Although I’ve yet to try it, I’ve seen lychee used to add a fruity note to mojitos, so perhaps give it a try with that!

Even after the sage spritz stream ended, I kept all these bottles around to continue workshopping with. To my surprise, about a week later I found that the infusion of time had begun to change color going from a transparent and clear-coloured liquid to be a bit more rosey in hue. As lychee flesh oxidizes it can change to a pinkish color, and whatever causes that color-changing effect to occur was left behind in this infusion! There were no noticeable offputting smells even after a bit longer had passed and the only change in taste was the dulling of flavors ever so slightly.

By the way, I prepared this infusion and the others during their own livestream seven days before the cocktails debuted! (Get it? Seven days, for seven spritzes and for the seven years Link was asleep in the Temple of Time! ~ Anyways, if you want a visual guide, watch us make the Infusion of Time here)

The Spritz of Time

All things considered, the Spritz of Time is a rather simple spritz. Top of the infusion above with some soda water and add a bit more simple syrup. My initial idea was to have the two princess drinks (this one and Princess Ruto’s Spritz of Water) topped with champagne, as a nod to royale-type drinks. To me, the champagne didn’t work well to bolster the flavors of lychee or dragon fruit present in the original infusion. The bright and citrusy notes of the champagne seemed to overpower the already present flavors, so I opted for a simpler addition.

Another thing I discovered while sourcing the garnish for this drink is that rambutans and lychees look really similar on the inside! When stream time came, my local Whole Foods was out of lychee but had rambutans instead, so I figured I’d test it live and see how it worked with the drink. Pretty darn similar! The rambutans I found more nutty than the lychees, which were a bit more fruit-forward. Either works here depending on what you have access to!

Flavor Analysis

Cool and lychee-forward with a bubbliness fitting of a spritz! Buttery and floral with a refreshing lightness.