X MUSE is not just an exceptional vodka; it embodies a new kind of brand for a transformed world. Born amidst disruption and uncertainty, X MUSE reflects the rapid pace of globalisation and technological advancement that has shifted paradigms and dismantled old certainties. Yet, it encourages us to embrace change with vigour and curiosity, exploring new possibilities. From this upheaval, opportunities to create something brighter and better arise.
X MUSE believe that a fundamental reboot of our value system is essential, and that there is a responsibility to develop projects that celebrate higher values and inspire new ambitions. They view spirits as cultural artefacts deeply rooted in human nature. X MUSE is informed by this history and their profound understanding of the significance that spirits and distilling carry. X MUSE aim is to narrate a new story, to craft a spirit, an elixir, that is closer to nature, to other beings, and, importantly, to ourselves.
'We look at spirits as a cultural product deeply rooted in human history. X MUSE’s creation is informed by this history and our understanding of the meaning of spirits.' Vadim Grigoryan, X MUSE co-founder, Artistic and Brand director
PHILOSOPHY
X MUSE vodka is conceived and crafted unlike any other. It is grounded in ancient traditions and wisdom, both established and esoteric, and in nearly lost arts. Yet, it is unapologetically modern in its rejection of dogma, embracing change, multiplicity, human creativity, and potential. The makers of X MUSE trust in both technology and magic, if magic is the unknown or unproven. Through experimentation and re-engineering, they have pushed beyond tradition and accepted truths. X MUSE is viewed as an augmented spirit, sublime and essential, dedicated to creating intense, elevated experiences and new forms of communion.
THE X MUSE
The brand name, X MUSE, pronounced ‘tenth muse’, carries many layers of meaning and multiple references. In Greek mythology, there are nine Muses, divine sparks of art and creativity, each named with specific inspirational roles. The Tenth Muse, however, is unnamed, unknowable, and beyond form, representing all that is unseen, uncaptured, undefined, or misunderstood. She embodies our brand credo: “More is hid than uttered”.
For alchemists, the Tenth Muse combined and focused the powers of her nine sisters, pushing towards perfect harmony and balance, qualities found in X MUSE vodka.
X MUSE is also the title of a sculpture by the great Scottish artist, philosopher, poet, and gardener, Ian Hamilton Finlay, at Jupiter Artland. The Tenth Muse is their Muse.
BRAND ILLUSTRATION
X MUSE’s brand illustration brings symbolic life to their guiding ethos. It is an interpretation of the Monas Hieroglyphica, an esoteric icon created by the 16th-century philosopher, scientist, and magus Dr John Dee. It appears in Dee’s enigmatic treatise on symbolic language, published in 1564. The illustration’s literal meaning is at the essence of the X MUSE distillation process, representing the union of sun or fire, moon or water, earth, and air. Our interpretation of Dee’s illustration also references Marcel Duchamp’s key work, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), 1923, where the icon is etched into glass.
Each element of the X MUSE illustration is composed of four strokes, symbolising the four elements, the four stages of distillation, and the four dimensions (three spatial and one temporal). Enigmatic and elemental, it evokes the subtle energy incorporated into X MUSE spirit.
AMBROMOMENTS
X MUSE aspires to create moments of transcendent connection, moments that exist outside the everyday trajectory of time and space. Virginia Woolf spoke about “two levels of existence” and “the slow opening up of single and solemn moments of concentrated emotion”. These moments, connections to the more profound and essential, connections that recalibrate our priorities and positions, we call ‘Ambromoments’. Such moments are rare and fleeting, and cannot be pursued or engineered, but one can remain open, alive, and alert to them. X MUSE is dedicated to creating the context and space for these moments to occur.
JUPITER ARTLAND
The creative endeavour, the pursuit of meaningful, enlightening shared experiences, lies at the heart of the X MUSE mission. X MUSE seeks out and engages in places where art and creativity are celebrated. Its spiritual home is Jupiter Artland, the award-winning sculpture park founded by Nicky and Robert Wilson. Here, art and landscape interact to generate new energies and insights, suggesting new possibilities. X MUSE was conceived here, rooted in the shared conviction that art and nature bring us closer to understanding real value and how best to spend our time. It is where X MUSE finds rest, inspiration, and its own energy. Jupiter Artland, located in the grounds of Bonnington House outside Edinburgh, opened to the public in 2009. Nicky, an artist who studied sculpture at Camberwell and Chelsea Art Colleges, brought Jupiter Artland into existence by commissioning works from a remarkable roster of contemporary artists, including Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Phyllida Barlow, Cornelia Parker, Andy Goldsworthy, Anya Gallaccio, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Charles Jencks, Marc Quinn, Helen Chadwick, Pablo Bronstein, Christian Boltanski, Laura Ford, and Tania Kovats.
'X Muse has been born of the place that inspired it - Jupiter Artland, a unique and special place of artistic endeavour and quiet contemplation, where Art and Nature combine in harmonious coexistence, Jupiter Artland is the creative hinterland providing direction and provenance to the X MUSE brand.' Robert Wilson, X MUSE co-founder, CEO