The Flavour Thesaurus
Niki Segnit maps what goes with what — a wheel of flavour families and an essay for every pairing. The compass behind the ingredient library and every twist.
La enciclopedia de los sabores
Combinaciones, recetas e ideas para el cocinero creativo
NIKI SEGNIT
La enciclopedia de los sabores
Vol. 2
Niki Segnit
La enciclopedia de los sabores · Debate · vols. 1 & 2
A wheel of flavour families, and an essay for every pairing of two. Not «what to cook», but «what goes with what» — the thinking tool behind a good twist. We lean on it whenever we decide which ingredient to move in a classic.
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The Flavour Thesaurus isn't a recipe book — it's a map of what pairs with what. Niki Segnit sorts flavours into families and writes a short essay for every meeting of two. We treat it as the compass behind the ingredient library and behind every twist we build.
Our notes
The method
How the book works — and how we read it at the bar.
The flavour wheel
Families, not an indexFlavours are grouped into families (roasted, fruity, marine, green & grassy, bramble & hedge…). Each flavour then gets paired with its best partners, one by one. You don't look up a recipe — you look up a flavour and read who it loves.
Read a flavour → read its best partners → build around the pairing→ The ingredient libraryFrom pairing to twist
The compass of the LabA twist is just a pairing with intention. Pick the classic's lever, open the partner it already carries (coffee ↔ orange, tomato ↔ basil, peanut ↔ chocolate), and move it toward a partner the book suggests. That's exactly the thread behind our ten-direction decks.
Classic lever + a Segnit pairing = a twist that works→ The LabHow it connects with the school
Original Mixology School notes, inspired by The Flavour Thesaurus (La enciclopedia de los sabores). The book's own pairings and essays are Niki Segnit's — buy it; it's the one reference every bar should own.
A great twist isn't a lucky accident — it's a pairing you chose on purpose. Segnit gives you the map; the Lab gives you the method.