Gentle King

On the boundless prairie, sunlight crosses the skyline. A lion wakes from a nap with a slow yawn, its jaws bloody. Tianle Feng saw a lion wake for the first time on a private trip across the Serengeti, and the feeling it stirred had no words. Only a bottle could hold it. Beside the lion, people look more like gnus, following the herd while calling themselves kings and ignoring what they do to the world. The tribute is to the lions of the prairie. Sichuan pepper, from southwest China and a mainstay of its cooking, is citrus-fresh and unlike black or pink pepper, with a tingling numbness like the warmth of bright sun. Supercritical CO2 extraction keeps it fresh and spicy. Orris from Grasse, dried and cured for five years until it gives off something close to violet, meets the soft green of violet leaf. The pairing is fierce and soft at once, and it rests on leather.