Science

Bourbon Barrels
Science

Barrel Aged Cocktails

What happens when you age a cocktail? Does barrel ageing help or hinder the flavour and what is happening chemically to the liquor mixture inside the barrel? Do you really need a barrel to make them? These are the questions everyone wants to know about aged cocktails, and really, this is a unique and little-understood process so let’s do the […]

Clear ice for cocktails
Science

Good Ice Makes Great Cocktails

Ice can be a pretty boring topic unless you are talking to a cocktail enthusiast, then you just need to sit back, listen, and enjoy the cocktail they served you demonstrating the potential of ice. Besides filling the glass and chilling the drink, what’s so important about ice? Well, there are a couple of things, including how the ice chills […]

The Dangers of using tobacco in cocktail tinctures
Science

Tobacco in Cocktails

Cigars have a wonderful aroma and those aromatics seem like a great way to enhance the flavour of a cocktail, but be careful, the nicotine in the tobacco can be dangerous.

Science

Does Grey Goose Contain Glycerine?

The people who market vodka are ripe with praise for their product. The machismo from these companies is enough to make Kim Jong-un blush. With a large enough marketing budget, you can create any image you want, and Grey Goose was the first vodka company to prove it. They made an unaged, technologically simple spirit into an ultra-premium, must have […]

Science

Glycerol in Vodka Results

After preparing all of my test solutions on a, sunny, Saturday afternoon, I decided that a beautiful Tuesday evening was perfect to spend in the lab, the same lab I spent all day in. But the effort was for a good cause, which was to answer the nagging question: Does Grey Goose Contain Glycerol? It’s one of those questions that […]

Science

Transvaluation (Positive Contamination)

In life there are few things we automatically like or love, we usually need a positive introduction by a trusted person to acquire a taste. This process is called “Transvaluation” and is the technical term for positive contamination. Transvaluation is rare compared to negative contamination because it requires an object or person, of significant influence, to imbue another item with […]

Science

Magical Thinking – Incorporation

In part one we looked at the Laws of Sympathetic Magic—Contagion and Similarity—and explained how they represent the sometimes illogical aspect of human nature. In this post I’ll expand on how these two laws influence human behaviour and how certain actions trigger emotional responses based on magical thinking. Many of the concepts aren’t necessarily new to anyone in the business, […]

Science

Laws of Sympathetic Magic: Introduction

Science is based on observation and reproducibility, but prior to genuine scientific understanding, humans reasoned that unexplainable phenomenons were caused by supreme beings and magic. This mentality is still a significant part of human behaviour and should be factored in food and drink creation because the actions of people do not necessarily follow the most logical path. Even though these […]

How to make a hangover better quickly
Science

Hangover Tips

The approach of New Year’s Eve means that millions of people will be overindulging in the festivities, and paying the price in the form of a hangover on January 1st. For some reason, most people think the best way to start a new year is to spend all day on the couch with a pounding headache and an upset stomach. […]

Science

Introduction to Molecular Mixology

Lately, cocktails have been in a renaissance. There has also been an increased interest in making them a culinary equal. Molecular mixology is one of those trends that is being mirrored from the kitchen because molecular gastronomy is the food equivalent. The basic idea, about both of these techniques, is to apply scientific analysis and techniques to cooking and mixing. […]