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Sensory Perception and Mixology
Why do certain people recoil in horror at the taste of Italian bitters and why do others gag on super sweet drinks? Then of course we've all know the guy who can't get enough suicide sauce in his Caesar (Bloody Mary) or the Dirty Martini addict. Maybe you are one of them. Have you ever wanted to understand how people taste and why there is such diversity. If you are an aspiring mixologist or a professional who wants an edge, then knowing how people perceive flavours is a very important thing. Luckily, I'll be discussing this very stuff at Tales of the Cocktail in July and in this session we'll be doing a genetically specific taste test to help figure out who you are plus a whole lot more. Read on for more details.
Taste is such an individual thing, and scientifically there are classes of tasters, because we are all different. The three categories are "Non-Taster", "Normal Taster" and Super-Taster". Normal tasters are Mr. & Mrs. Average, and sit in the midrange. Non-Tasters are the lower 20% and Super-tasters the upper 20%. These numbers fluctuate depending on heritage and sex, but for the most part 60% of the population are normal tasters.
So what does this have to do with making cocktails? Well, if you are a bartender with non-taster status, creating cocktails, your drinks are probably going to be on the "flavourful" side of the equation. This may appeal to the non-taster customers you have, but might be a bit much for the normal-tasters and you gotta feel sorry for the super-tasters after they try your "perfect" Bloody Mary. If you are a mixologist with super-taster status, then a lot of your creations might seem bland to the 80% of the population that are not super-tasters.
If you know what kind of taster you are, then you can "calibrate" your palate to better accommodate your friends, guests, customers, preferences. Otherwise you are basically a blind person trying to drive.
During the Sensory Perception session, I'll be presenting everyone with a PTC (Phenylthiocarbamide) taste strip to help determine what taster status you are. This chemical is genetically specific and will help guide you on your way to taste enlightenment. Also, I'll have extra strips for people to take home and test on their friends, coworkers or spouse. I highly recommend the spouse test because I discovered I live with a super-taster, which answered a whole lot of questions. Basically, like achieving enlightenment, a little gong went off in my head, and I finally understood.
Aside from the taste testing, I'll also be looking at how the different flavours affect each other and how certain combinations can be used to influence one another. There will be a little cocktail interlude to demonstrate these flavourful effects. We'll also look at why being a super-taster might not be as enviable as you'd think and why some people are attracted to alcohol while others are repulsed.
It is going to be an information packed session and I've lined up some great panelists to help the discussion (Audrey Saunders, Robert Hess, and Jamie Boudreau). So, if you want to take your mixology skills to the next level, this is a session you shouldn't miss.
Sensory Perception and Mixology
What Your Tastebuds are Telling You
When: Friday July 18th at 4:30PM
Location: Hotel Monteleone, 214 Rue Royal
Tickets: $40 (Available April 1st)
138 Comments on Sensory Perception and Mixology
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I'm really looking forward to this session.
Having recently been out with someone I suspect was an unreformed super taster, I was shocked that they did not enjoy the same super bitter beer that I did.
On the other hand, learning to appreciate flavors, bitter or not, is something that all animals do throughout their lives. Sensation is always relative to experience. If a bitter flavor leads to a positive experience, you can learn to enjoy it.
If you choose to stay in the same white box for your whole life, you won't experience a lot of the cooler things in life.
Sometimes learning to appreciate the spectrum of bitter/painful/hot can be interesting and rewarding.
I have a whole armchair neural-pathway formation hypothesis about the notion of acquired tastes. I'm sure I'll bore you to death with it when I catch you in the hallway at TotC. :)
For those of us unable to make the TOC will you be posting a synopsis on this subject at some point?
I'll probably post most of the info a month or two after Tales. I might even put up the presentation afterwards. Tales has a videographer this years, so maybe a video, if it's not too expensive.
One thing I've been wondering about...
Is there any correlation between the so called super tasters and those with a sensitive sense of smell?
I'm pretty sure I'm not a super taster, but I think I am more sensitive, or at least aware, of smells than many people I know. To be able to tell how salty a dish on the stove is from the smell or when the smell of boiling potatoes changes from starchy to sweet.
I can't say for sure, but Caroline is a super-taster and she has an amazing sense of smell. I often turn to here when I'm trying new spirits because she can pick out the aromas very well. I'll take a look into this before the session though.
To erik:
I have no science to back this up but from what I gather although the tongue and nose both play into taste I do not believe that the tongue can detect oders, nor the nose detect taste.
From wiki : "The human tongue can detect five basic taste components: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory."
The nose does all the other work by identifying what it is you are tasting, ( a sweet grape vs a sweet apple ) i.e. toghether they form your palate.
another thing, salt in itself has no smell, just go smell the salt in your kitchen, and interstingly enough, sugar has a slight but recognizable smell.
Anyway back to the point, I think you could become a super-smeller simply be working to identify every flavor component of the food you eat, actively looking for individual herbs, spices, and ingredients. or in other words, developing your palate.
and just like your comment about bitter beer, if a person never takes the time to try to fully identify flavors in beer, like the bitter hops, caramel, or fruits, they will never appreciate the little nuances a more complex beer will have. and simply, drink to get drunk.
Fortunately there are websites like this which focus on balanced and properly made cocktails from which to pick apart individual flavors and hopefully push the evenvelope of everyone's palates to appreciate more flavors, in cocktails or otherwise
I`m really interested in this and its a pity i can`t attend to the TotC, so i look forward to you be posting on this subject.