Native to Mexico, vanilla is the 2nd most expensive spice after saffron and used to flavour lots of cocktails. It is also often used as a cocktail garnish.

It is thought that Hernán Cortés introduced vanilla to Europe at the same time as chocolate, which he brought back from Mexico in the 1520s. These days, vanilla is produced in a number of other countries, including Madagascar, Indonesia and China.

Vanilla pods release a stronger aroma by being split in two. This exposes more of the pod's surface area to the liquid. When mixed with certain liquids like milk, natural vanilla will turn the colour to a light brown or yellow (depending on the concentration). As an alternative to using vanilla pods, you could use good quality vanilla essence.

The flavour of vanilla combines very well with lots of other cocktail ingredients, including coffee, chocolate, milk and cola. It also suits certain spirits such as cognac and rum. As a result, there are a number of variations on classic cocktail recipes which include this spice, such as Vanilla Martini, Vanilla Margarita and Vanilla Mojito.