DRINKFACTORY

Beefeater Creative Competition Results & Recipe

2012-02-01T17:00:00.000Z

The Beefeater Creative Cocktail Competition has drawn to a close. Based in Sweden the competition, was made up of two parts. The first was a creative design, where entrants were asked to design a special edition Beefeater bottle which was an interpretation of how London looks.

The second aspect was a cocktail competition where contestants were asked to create a signature drink for Beefeater London Dry Gin based around their version of how creative London tastes.The winning drink would be served in various bars around Stockholm.

The winner of the design round was Emma Hoglund, with her Beefeater guarf inspired bottle, which you can see at the top of the post.

Our personal favourite Trader Magnus made it to the top ten cocktail section, but sadly missed out in the no.1 spot, which went to Svante Garsten Schon who won the cocktail section with a his recipe London Calling.

Londons Calling Recipe

50ml Beefeater Gin
1 bar spoon Noilly Prat
1 bar spoon orange cordial reduction
1 dash orange bitter
orange zest
Stir & double strain

Orange Cordial Reduction Recipe
1 part water
1 part fresh orange juice
2 parts sugar
heat until thick

Announcing The Young British Foodies Awards

2012-02-01T16:05:00.007Z

A new awards is on a nationwide search to unearth the next generation of talented bartenders with Tony Conigliaro leading the judging mixology category, alongside Nick Strangeway and James Chase.

As the YBF awards 2012 comes to an end in late February, this is a chance for drinks-creatives to make a name for themselves. All they need to do is enter their 150 word winning recipe or idea asap; the winner gets £1000 to go towards their bibulous enterprise amongst other prizes.

Enter at www.the-ybfs.com or email entries@the-ybfs.com until the end of February

Why bother entering? It's a chance to show off your capabilities. It's a chance to get publicity for any project you're working on – the YBFs has been covered in the FT, Independent, Olive mag to name a few. Even better, you'll get the chance to be mentored by Tony Conigliaro, working for two days at his acclaimed Drink factory. Then there's the £1000 cash prize. There will also be a chance to perform your art at Rob Da Bank's Bestival and Camp Bestival at the YBFs tent.

What's the ethos of the awards? As the British food and drink scene's been galloping pace, it rivals any over the pond. The awards is to celebrate everything new in our burgeoning scene and to bring together a movement.

Explaining it, Co-founder and Metro's food and drink editor, Chloe Scott, says: 'In the 1990s, the emerging artists of Britain were celebrated and touted the YBAs. Now it's time we found the YBFs in Britain and celebrated the UK's creativity in food and drink - food and drink is the new art. We're looking for really bold and creative recipes and people.'

Both professionals and amateurs are welcome. All you need to do is email your 150 word drink idea. If you get through to the second round, Tony C, Nick Strangeway and James Chase will judge your concept by sampling and viewing your technique, followed by a short interview.

How old do I have to be? It's a lawless affair – you can be 108 years-old if you've got a delectable cocktail up your sleeve. It's 'young' in spirit, not in physicality.

The judges and categories are:
For the alcohol - Tony C, Nick Strangeway and James Chase
For Cheffing - Nuno Mendes , Bompas and Parr
For experimentation - Bompas and Parr
For baking- Lily Vanilli
For charcuturie - Meatliquor's Yianni Papoutis

The eight categories are: Mixology, Street-food, Coffee, Baking, Meat, Cheffing and Experimental. The final one is Honorary YBF, which is for ANYONE with a passion for food and drink.

For news, follow on twitter @TheYBFs

Dave Arnold opens Booker and Dax

2012-02-01T14:19:00.006Z

The Red Hot Poker John Mahonney

Our friend Mr Dave Arnold has finally branched out and set up his own cocktail bar, Booker and Dax. Situated at the rear of David Changs Momofuku Ssam Bar, this could spell the beginning of a new generation of progressive cocktail bar, built from scratch, with the sole purpose of catering for "scientific'y" cocktails. More importantly, though, it's the idea that the cocktails are prepped hours or days in advance so the evenings service is just as quick and fluid as a normal bar's would be.

The bar is home to such gadgetry as liquid nitrogen, centrifuge a downstairs laboratory and a homemade red hot poker, that sits at a comfortable 1500F in it's holster behind the bar.

Most impressively, the bar has resisted the urge of technique and show for the sake of "ooh and ahh" factor. The methods are used with the sole intention of making the drink more delicious and more efficient. It is rare to, and only on occasion will you see head high flames or wisps of smoke and fog rising from behind the bar to offer entertainment to the waiting customer. Interestingly the drinks list is broken down by way of technique. For instance there is a section titles "Hot Poker" and "Carbonated".

Dave offered an insight into two of the techniques, to magazine Popsci, which are being used behind the bar. The first is a clarification and carbonation of a simple Gin and Juice. Grapefruit juice is freshly squeezed and then clarified using pectinase enzyme and a pair of clearing agents chitosan and kleselsol, often used in the wine industry. The mixture is then spun in a centrifuge resulting in a pasty texture separating from the juice and leaving by a slightly tinted liquid that can be filtered through a super bag to seperate from any remaining pulp.

To this they add water, sugar and alcohol which is then bottled, carbonated and chilled. When served, the glass is cooled to below zero using a splash of liquid nitrogen that is swirled around the glass and left to evaporate.

The hot poker technique has been around for hundreds of years, although it was very crude and often left an undesirable after taste. Today we most often turn to hot water, which has the unwanted side effects of diluting and not adding any flavour to the drink to create Hot Toddy's or Irish Coffee's.

Dave has built his own "holster" to house his poker and keep it safe behind the bar. As well as heating, the poker also caramelizes sugars, ignites the alcohol vapours adding to and augmenting the flavour of the drink to stimulate your sense of smell as well as taste.

Turning Water into Whisky

2012-02-01T12:36:00.004Z

The Whisky Water Trick from Casey Neistat on Vimeo.

This is a very very simple but very very fun video. It's something we've all pondered on occasion. Staring at a bottle of water and trying desperately to concentrate so hard that upon opening our eyes the liquid will be thick, dark and woody. Despite my best efforts I have gotten nowhere.

The video plays on the simple fact that alcohol is lighter than water. This means it will do one of two things. Either sit on the top or sink to the bottom. It may do both, however it is impossible that it will do neither.

Thanks to film maker Casey Chan for creating the video.

Valentine Scent Seduction with The Cocktail Lovers

2012-02-01T12:00:00.002Z

As we inch ever close to one of the most wonderful or awfully lonely and depressing days of the year, Valentines Day, it's time to start planning. What better way then to take your partner to an evening fuelled with scents, seductions, naughtiness and alcohol.

"It doesn't get more romantic than cocktails and fragrances. That's why we've teamed up with specialist perfumery Les Senteurs to host the second in our specially themed cocktail clubs - Valentine Scent Seduction."

"Celebrating Valentine's Day we'll be exploring sensuality and the senses with delicious, specially created cocktails to echo the mood of the world's most sensuous scents.
The evening is a celebration of the tastes and perfumes that effect the brain to produce physical stimulation and guests will be seduced by some of the most delicious ingredients ever to intoxicate the senses - ranging from flirty to downright naughty. And to get you in the spirit, we'll be serving sexy mini cocktails based on the fragrances highlighted throughout the evening.
So come join the party, have a few drinks and pick up some tips along the way. And don't forget to indulge in a little bit of romantic shopping while you're at it. With classic and contemporary scents from top names including Creed, Caron, Annick Goutal, Frederic Malle and Juliette Has A Gun, there's something here for everyone."

Valentine Scent Seduction takes place at the brand new, super-chic Les Senteurs Boutique on 14 February, from 6.30pm-8.30pm. Tickets cost £25 per person; £45 for two people booking together and includes Champagne on arrival, nibbles, cocktails and goody bag.

Book HERE

Flavour of the Week - Dried Apricot

2012-02-01T11:03:00.004Z

We could expand this easily to include apricots, however the dried apricot has a very specific sweetness that you do not have with the run of the mill fruit. After drying the water is removed from the fruit, meaning, you find the flavours are sweeter and more concentrated. Essentially you are un-diluting the fruit.

The apricots origin is slightly confused and some have theorized that it may have began life in Armenia. However this is based on their high number of exports and production rather than any proof. The fruit thrives in continental climates and embraces cold winters.

There is a great old recipe that featured dried apricots being flash fried in brandy which created a brilliant warm sweet tangy flavour. It will also infuse under sous vide or over time very easily and offer a sweet tangy addition to a neutral spirit like vodka or a darker more flavoursome spirit such as rum or whisky.

Flavour - Sweet, tangy.

Sean Ware Interview

2012-01-25T18:03:00.000Z

After tending stick behind many familiar bars in London including Townhouse, LAB and of course, Callooh Callay, Sean Ware has recently made the move to work for a brand. Now one of the UK brand ambassadors for Bombay Spirits Company he can currently be found touring the UK with Sam Carter bringing their Aroma Academy sessions and amazing Gin Aroma kits to
bartenders and bars across the country.

1.What was the ﬁrst spirit you ever tasted and what was your reaction?
Malibu out of the bottle in the mine dumps in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Back then it was the most exotic thing I could of imagined.

2.What is the ﬁrst cocktail you ever made?
It would have been a French Martini, I got the garnish a little wrong because I kept ﬂaming an orange peel over the top like it was a Cosmo.

3.What was the ﬁrst drink/spirit you really fell in love with and why?
The ﬁrst drink would be a G&T, so gin as well. I remember hot afternoons on the veranda in Zambia sipping on a refreshing G&T after tea and scones, I think the whole theatre and routine behind it works for me.

4.One of the more trickier questions...what are your 3 favourite cocktails?
This changes quite often, but today I will be drinking in this order ;
1.Daiquiri
2.Martini
3.Sazerac
all cliche classics I know, but thats what I'm going to have.

5.Given your extensive experience working behind the bar & also managing them, if you could pass just one thing on to a young bartender what would it be?
Customers ﬁrst, your ego and technique second.

6.And if you were to break a bartending golden rule what would it be?
You don't always have to follow the recipe, for me it is about balance, accord and the harmony of ingredients together. Besides, ingredients and booze have changed over time so old recipes may not turn out how you expect. But don't run before you can walk.

7.Outside of ﬂavor and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion affects the customer's appreciation of cocktails the most?
Time and a place. A bartender should know that it's not always about the drink, you need to use atmosphere, lighting, music as well as ﬂavour, banter and technique to win over people.

8.Is there anything that inﬂuences the drinks that you create from outside the industry?
The blues, food and moments in time or experiences.

9.What is a ﬂavour you have discovered recently?
As opposed to a speciﬁc ﬂavour, I have been doing a lot of work with aroma connection with emotions as part of ﬂavour-as ﬂavour is the sum of aroma, retro-nasal aroma, taste, aftertaste and trigeminal effects.

10.You've just moved across to be a UK Brand Ambassador for Bombay Spirits Company, how did you ﬁnd the move from behind the bar to brand work?
I think we work in such an amazing industry and I'm lucky enough to work with such amazing people, both Team Bacardi and other, so the transition has been relatively easy. If only I could get Leanne to do my expenses though...

11.Ha, good look persuading her! I know you've only just moved into the new role, but any ideas what the future may hold for you?
My new role is keeping me pretty busy, but I might have a few things up my sleeve...

12.How very cryptic...! Do you have any industry predictions for the next couple of years?
Smaller bars specialising in either wine, beer or cocktails, with smaller but wiser choices, and hopefully better service, easier booking systems and less of those rude doormen.

13.Absolutely with you on the rude doormen - no thanks! If you where to
champion a cocktail which would it be?
Before Christmas I couldn't get enough of Victor from Callooh Callay's I amThe Moon. Go try it.

I Am The Moon

Recipe:
50ml Belvedere Intense
10ml Briottet White Cacao
Stir and serve in a coupet glass

14.Ha, loving the bromance ;) So, I had to ask this final one...What gin do you prefer in your martini?
Tough question, you see there are so many things to consider: what ratio, gin in the freezer or not, olive or twist, which amazing vermouth to choose, but of course anything from the Bombay Spirits Company.

Two words: Cop out!

Interview conducted by Emma Stokes

Rum Sheets

2012-01-25T18:00:00.000Z

I don't need to re-iterate, science and food, science and drink, science and all of catering are edging ever closer together. Soon people will be studying Drinks Physics at the same time as tending bar.

Some of the more simple forms of innovation are being overlooked in lieu of others which may be more useful simply because they appear flashy and will wow a crowd a deal more than something we are able to prep and whip out ready to go.

The video above gives a good break down of a very simple technique that can easily be incorporated into any busy service, with the proper prep prior to the event. The technique consists of rum, agar agar, a fridge, a pan, and something to heat the pan.

The result is a versatile "sheet of rum" that can be rolled and molded into a garnish.

Taking the garnish one step further, you could infuse the spirit with subtle lemon/lime zest. Perhaps a hint of coffee to add to an after dinner cocktail or pineapple for a tiki. However you approach the flavour combinations the result can broaden the cocktail experience and take steps to make a drink more than just a drink.

Is This The End for Oak Aged Whisky?

2012-01-25T16:35:00.006Z

Machine Aged Chris Buzelli

Though the title of the post may be slightly over-dramatic, and yes it might be a way of grabbing your attention in the overcrowded land that is twitter and Facebook, if you really think about it after watching the video and reading the article it may lay hold to some truth.

A Brief Overview of the TerrePURE® Process from Daniel Hewlette on Vimeo.

Whisky ageing is an essential part of any Whisky distillery. The ageing is responsible for the vast majority of a whiskies character. More than just character though, it is a whiskies identity. Smell, texture, taste are products of many many years of meticulous distilling and ageing that have rich histories, whether it be in Scotland, America, Ireland, or Japan. Each has subtle, or more obvious difference that are easily recognised to a trained pallet.

Whisky, specifically Johnnie Walker, is the 4th biggest selling spirit in the world ,and in the UK alone, sale of bourbon have increased 20% 2009-2011. The demand for whisky is not going away. This does ask an interesting question though. How much would the distiller stand to make if they didn't have to go through that long and arduous process of waiting for their whiskies to fully mature. What if whisky production was as quick as vodka or any other clear spirit.

Well potentially this question could be one crossing a few people minds with the news that retired chemist Orville Tyler has found a way to do 6 months work in only a few hours. Before we get ahead of ourselves, bear in mind the process at the moment is more of a "make young, unaged, bad whisky taste like older whisky and actually make it taste a lot better" rather than "lets get a 16 year Laphroig aged in a day." The potential is certainly there though, especially considering the research only began in 1999, 13 very short years ago.

Currently there aren't really any viable substitutes to the ageing process. Some distilleries use smaller barrels, which increases the ratio of surface area to volume exposing more of the liquid to the effects of the oak. This process is more of a mask than anything. It sweetens, adds colour, and mellows slightly but does not go as far as eliminating the unwanted flavour of a young spirit. Whiskies need time to react within a barrel and create esters, which are the main source of whiskies flavour.

Orville argues, the way distillers spirits are treated is so inefficient that him and his team decided to see if they could come up with something different. They found that they can pump whisky (or any other spirit) through oxygenated chambers which subjects it to "high intensity ultrasonic energy" which then trigger esterification. Orville says that "in six hours you have every reaction you need for vodka, and in 12 hours every reaction you need for darker spirits". The team were sent a young whisky to age"They are already creating bespoke branded spirits for shops, restaurant and hotels having around 50 clients

Now back to my initial statement. There is currently not a lot of information of how much the process can be controlled or if experiments have been carried out to see if you could take a young whisky or rum, and put it through the process to reach the same result as if it was aged traditionally. One immediate important point is the the process has no effect on the colour of the spirit, so potentially an "aged" whisky would look exactly the same as a young whisky.

The research and process does raise some interesting questions for the future. The fact that they have made such headway and refined the process in such a short time begs the question where will they be in 30 years. Could distillers have embraced this as a step of the ageing process, as after all it achieves the same results.

Could it lead to a new system, the next lever of premium and super premium spirits. Whiskies would be aged for hundreds of years with a super super premium stamp being available on some. Potentially barrel aged whiskies would be produced in such tiny quantities their price would be reserved for a select few and maybe go the route of the super car and be made bespoke for the most willing bidder, while 10 year whiskies are created in a few days.

Flavour of the Week - Dandelion

2012-01-25T11:50:00.004Z

The more I read about dandelions the more amazed I am at how they are not used on a daily basis, by more than the holistic or alternative remedy crowd.

Dandelions are a type of weed, with the most common two species growing throughout the world and seemingly able to adapt and thrive in most weather conditions. The plant is also famed for being one of the most beneficial naturally growing sources of a variety of vitamins and minerals. Dandelions contain more iron and calcium than spinach, are higher in beta carotene than carrots and contain at least 6 different vitamins including B5, B12, C and E.

Used in cooking for many years, everything including the root can be eaten. The root is most often used dried and can be ground to make "dandelion coffee". The leaves are known for being added to salads and produce a slightly crisper more individual flavour than normal greens. The flowers, best harvested early spring, can be used to make wine, and again added to a salad or eaten raw.

Dandelion tinctures, oils and absolutes are readily available as well as dried dandelion leaves, however maybe best of all this "super" plant is completely free if you can go and find a patch of grass and pick your own.

Flavour: Flower - slightly bitter-sweet taste, citrus, hint or rose and aromatic. Leaves - similar to other greens, slight bitterness, crunch, vegetable like in flavour.

Alex Kamerling Interview

2012-01-18T14:30:00.007Z

What do you do after you've worked your way around the world, after you've worked for some of the biggest names in the industry and after proved yourself to be a world class cocktail maestro? Well if your name's Alex Kammerling you lock yourself away, import exotic botanicals from all over the world and create your own spirit!

Inspired by the medicinal history of alcohol, the resulting ginseng spirit is composed of 45 natural botanicals including grapefruit peels and manuka honey alongside four different kinds of ginseng. Previously called Kammerlings, the spirit has recently undergone a re-brand due to a dispute with a German brand. Now called Kamm & Sons the new name reflects the family involvement and indeed inspiration behind the product (Alex's great grandfather worked as a confectionist specializing in herbal remedies).

1.What was the first drink/spirit you ever tasted and what was your reaction?
Aquavit from my parents drinks cabinet. Said to myself there and then I would never have another spirit again in my life...

2.What is the first cocktail you ever made?
No idea...being shown how to make a singapore sling on my first bar job rings a bell though

3.What was the first drink/spirit you really fell in love with and why?
Campari – Although I hated it the first time I tried it...but it takes a while to fall in love!

4.What is a flavour you have discovered recently?
Currently playing with Bergamots

5.What does the future hold for yourself/product/company?
Lots of work, lots of travel, line extensions and other general world-domination activity

6.Any industry predictions for the next couple of years?
Drinks simplification – less is more

7.What is your greatest satisfaction from creating your own product?
People coming up to me and telling me how much they love it is amazing!

8.If you were to have a conversation with a spirit (and presuming it could talk back and tell you its past) what would it be?
Would love to have a good old chin wag with a bottle of Punt e Mes

9.What are your 3 favourite cocktails?
Negroni, Martini, Boulevardier

10.What prompted you to make your own product?
I wanted to make a ‘Healthier’ spirit as I was concerned by the amount of hard liquor I was consuming!

11.If you could pass just one thing, on to a young bartender what would it be?
Don’t lose focus

12.What has been your biggest satisfaction from working with Bartenders?
Experiencing their passion and dedication

13.What influences your drinks from outside the industry (i.e. art, fashion)?
I love scultpure (used to be an artist!) Architechture, Photography

14.If you where to break a bartending golden rule what would it be?
I would finger the glassware.

15.Outside of flavor and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion effects the appreciation of cocktails the most?
Good company

16.If you where to champion a cocktail which would it be?
Adam & Eve – Kammerling’s, Lychee and Grapefruit juice served tall over ice with a lemon wedge and a slice of cucumber. Best cocktail in the world. FACT.

17.What has been your biggest satisfaction from working behind the bar?
Just meeting a cool bunch of passionate people

18.What gin do you prefer in your martini?
Can’t go wrong with Tanqueray

You can find more about Alex and his ginseng spirit Kamm & Sons Here

Tony C on Mastering the Manhattan

2012-01-18T14:08:00.004Z

Congratulations to The Zetter Townhouse on being featured in GQ. The article delves into the trends and fashions of being male and choosing a cocktail that shows your identity but also seperates you from the rest of the crowd. Tony C then offers some advice on what to look for in a good Manhattan, how to order properly from the bartender and offers an insight into some of the techniques he uses to keep his Manhattan of the highest standard.

Bespeak to your bartender  
The Manhattan is tailored to you. "It's like buying a suit," says Conigliaro. "You buy a suit from a brand or tailor because you like the fit. It's the same with a drink. Most suits look the same but the cut is different and if you opt for a particular rye or bourbon, that's the cut you want. I'll always have a rye Manhattan because I like the toasty, aniseed notes, and an orange twist rather than a cherry. Most good bartenders will let you taste a bit of the spirit "in the raw" so you can make a decision. If you don't know, they can guide you."

Spirit levels
Conigliaro's recipe is two parts rye or bourbon to one part vermouth with a dash of bitters. "Rittenhouse 100 is my favourite, with Martini Rosso. Some people use a heavier vermouth, but I like it lighter, to let the rye or bourbon come through - and Angostura bitters." The most important ingredient? "Good ice; the bigger, the better. The other common mistake is over-stirring - 25 times maximum. The flavours should integrate on the palate.........."

Continue reading the rest of the piece HERE

Ferrofluid Sculpture

2012-01-18T12:01:00.005Z

How much fun is Ferrofluid? A question that has plagued me for many many years. Only now can I finally offer an answer. Ferrofluid is alot of fun, or at least watching it on youtube is........

Ferrofluid is a liquid that becomes magnetised when in close proximity to a magnetic field. The science from here on in becomes very compicated so I won't even try to explain.

The fluid does, however, have a variety of uses including art scupltures, medicine, mechanical engineering and various electronic devices

Alcohol Makes You Happy - Official

2012-01-18T12:00:00.003Z

Yes. It is once again time to delve into a recent study that has now proven what many of us could have told them for free, that alcohol does infact release endorphins and creates feeling of pleasure, satisfaction and happiness.

I should explain. Scientists have suspected this to be the case for 30 years. After carrying out experiments using animals, they found that alcohol releases and affects the "pleasure centre" of the brain, occupied with pleasure and reward. Meaning endorphins are released in one specific area of the brain.

A recent study has found that this is only partly true. We now know that endorphins are actually released in two different areas of the brain, the nucleus accumbens, and the orbitofrontal cortex. Scientists used a PET scan to observe which areas "light up" when stimulated by alcohol creating the first direct and clear evidence of alcohols affect on happiness.

The study was carried out on 13 "heavy drinkers" and 12 "control subjects". All participants were observed to have increased levels of endorphins after drinking alcohol. The more it was released in the nucleus accumbens, are of the brain, the greater the pleasure reported was.

Interestingly, when the levels of endorphins in the orbitofrontal cortex increased, heavy drinkers reported feeling more intoxicated but not those who were part of the control group.

This leads researchers to believe that brains of heavy drinkers are actually changed in such a way that makes them more likely to find alcohol pleasant.

So next time you are enjoying yourself, after several drinks too many, bear in mind that this may in fact put you into a "heavy drinker" category. Also bear in mind that are most likely having a better time than most other people at the party!

Flavour of the Week - Rosehip

2012-01-18T11:17:00.004Z

Personally, one of my favourite flavours in all the world. How we don't see more of this in bars and it isn't a main stay of flavoured spirits I'm still unsure. Maybe it is price or availability issues. Whatever the case may be, be sure to experiment and play with rosehip at least once.

Dried rosehip is available throughout the year and can easily be found online or purchased from alternative remedy shops. Alternatively the fresh fruit can be used either raw or cooked. Be careful when using the raw fruit, as the irritant hairs need to be removed. Although they can, and are, used in itching powder so they do not necessarily have to go to waste.

High in natural Vitamin C, rosehip is famed for it's internal and external medicinal uses. It has been proven to help with heart disease, arthritis, skin problems and is a strong antioxidant.

Rosehip can also be found as an oil, tea, or syrup, though dried rosehip is often the most useful for infusing a spirit.

Flavour - Tangy, fruit, slight citrus, full

J. Kenji López-Alt Interview

2012-01-11T16:13:00.000Z

J. Kenji López-Alt is the Managing Editor of Serious Eats where he pens the popular "Food Lab" column, dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of home cooking with science. After graduating from MIT, he learned the craft of cooking the traditional way - as a line cook and chef at some of the best restaurants in Boston including No. 9 Park, Clio, Uni, and Toro.

He spent the next three years as a Senior Editor and in-house science adviser at Cook's Illustrated Magazine in Brookline, MA. During this time, he produced the popular Cook's Live! Video series, as well as cohosted several episodes of the public television show America's Test Kitchen.

In 2010, he was named one of "40 Great Thinkers under 40" by Food & Wine Magazine. His work has appeared in many publications including the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, Gourmet, Cooking Light, Details, Wired, and the 2010 edition of Best Food Writing. He is the author of "The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science", to be published by W. W. Norton in 2012.

1.What is the first cocktail you ever tasted?

I'm not sure that my first cocktails actually qualified as "real" cocktails because they were--as I'm sure is the case for many folks out there--nasty colored concoctions we came up with in college. Probably something invloving a mixture of blue curaçao and peach schnapps, or perhaps an attempted martini made at room temperature without ice and consumed as a shot. The first real cocktail I tasted that made me go, "holy cow, that's what a cocktail should taste like?" was a Sazerac made by John Gertsen at Boston's No. 9 Park.

2.What was the first flavour you really fell in love with and why?

Scotch. There's just such an amazing depth to it and a wide range of flavors produced in such a small area of the world. It's amazing to me the variety you get and the huge differences just from slight changes in geography or process.

3. Tell us about a new flavor you have discovered recently?

My father just gave me a bottle of really nice Chinese rice wine. Totally different from the acidic, tart, cheap stuff I've been used to in the past. Smooth and complex.

4. If you could pass just one thing, on to someone starting out in the
industry what would it be?

There are no shortcuts to the top. You have willing to slave away unrecognized and underpaid for as long as it takes to break through, often many years or even decades.

5. What does the future hold for yourself and what do you see happening in the
future in the food and drink?

With the drastic and unforseen changes my life has taken in the last five years, there's absolutely no way of knowing what the future holds. All I know is that I hope I can continue to have as much fun as I'm having working at something that I'm passionate about. As for the future of food and drink, I think over the next few years people will continue getting back to the basics, eschewing fancy ingredients and tools, and hopefully this will translate into more ad more folks coming up with techniques and recipes that can be recreated at home.

6. What has been your biggest satisfaction from working with food?

I get immense pleasure whenever someone writes in to tell me that my work has encouraged them to step into the kitchen and cook more. The packaged food industry probably won't like me for saying this, but the more people who cook at home, the better!

7. If you were to have a conversation with a cocktail or dish, (and presuming
it could talk back to you and tell you its past). Which would it be and why?

The Sazerac. The king of the cocktails, and one of the oldest to boot. I'd like to hear all about its early history and changes its seen in both itself and its drinkers in its lifetime.

8. What influences your food from outside the industry (i.e. art, fashion)?

Science has always been a huge part of my life and my work.

9. If you where to break a kitchen golden rule what would it be?

I drink straight from the milk carton and eat food I've dropped all the time (don't worry, I wouldn't serve it to guests).

10. Outside of flavor and the craft of the cuisine what in your opinion
effects the appreciation of taste the most?

Perception affects taste almost as much as actual flavor and craft. Tell someone that a food is something they want it to be, and it'll taste better. Countless studies have shown that identical foods presented under different guises will taste completely different to people, even when tasted side-by-side.

11. If you where to champion a dish which would it be?

Fresh made tofu! I love meat, but tofu is one of my favorite foods in the world when it's well made and very fresh.

Fluid Dress

2012-01-11T14:15:00.003Z

Apparently liquid can be used for more than just drinking!? Who would have thought.

The video below shows off a very innovative use of fluid. Made by Casual Profanity, who described themself as "the name and philosophy behind a ridiculous series of clothing experiments".

Not only is this visually striking but offers some interesting ideas for either decor or an extremely original way of using straws.

The Boston Molasses Disaster

2012-01-11T13:25:00.000Z

We always attempt to be as forward facing as possible at Drink Factory. However there are a few occasions where however you might try, something in history demands you take a moment and give it the thought it warrants.

One such event may well be the Boston Molasses Distaster that occurred January 15th 1919. As the anniversary looms ever closer we thought it a a poignant occasion to share or remind you of the story that had a profound affect on American Distillers at the time.

Jamie Baxter tells the story. Jamie was a master distiller at Chase Distillery where he was responsible for designing, installing, commissioning, running and then developing products. He now works as a consultant, working around the UK and South America aiding in start up small scale artisan distilleries.

1917 was a difficult time for American distillers. State after state was backing prohibition and it would have been obvious that it was only a matter of time before the bill was ratified. Prohibition would ban the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages (with the exception of wine and cider made for home consumption) and so distilleries were to be effectively legislated out of business. Many of America’s distilleries disappeared when prohibition came into force. One was the Purity Distilling Company in Boston. It used to distil molasses from the Caribbean into rum, and in 1915 had built a huge great tank, 58 foot tall and with a 90 foot diameter giving a volume of 2.5 million gallons. Two years later, with prohibition looming, it sold out to United States Industrial Alcohol, a company that supplied industry with alcohol as a solvent and therefore would be able to continue to trade as long as the alcohol produced was rendered unfit to drink. At the end of 1918, a ship from Puerto Rico off-loaded 2.3 million gallons of molasses into the tank. I would estimate that this would weigh over 11,000 metric tonnes.

On January 15th 1919, the day before the prohibition bill was ratified, disaster struck as the tank ruptured and a tidal wave of hot, dense, sticky molasses swept through the Boston dock area at speeds estimated at 35mph. Men, women, children and horses were caught up in the wave and crushed. Lorries were flung through houses. An overhead train track was brought crashing down just after a train had passed. When the power of the wave had subsided, some unfortunate survivors of the initial flood were unable to escape the sticky mass and slowly slipped under the surface. The quote from Stephen Puleo describes the scene

"Molasses, waist deep, covered the street and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage. Here and there struggled a form — whether it was animal or human being was impossible to tell. Only an upheaval, a thrashing about in the sticky mass, showed where any life was... Horses died like so many flies on sticky fly-paper. The more they struggled, the deeper in the mess they were ensnared. Human beings — men and women — suffered likewise"

It was so thick that rescuers could not make their way through it. The dead were still being found four days later, their bodies frozen in the position that they died. The final death toll was 21, with over 150 injured and a number of horses also killed. The clean-up operation took weeks and the Boston harbour area smelled of sweet molasses for decades afterwards.

The resultant hearings were the biggest in Massachusetts’ history. Eventually United States Industrial Alcohol was found responsible for the disaster as the safety factor was not great enough in the design of the tank. They were forced to pay almost $1 million in damages and the case has gone on to influence American law with respect to responsibility and negligence.

Flavour of the Week - Peppercorn

2012-01-11T13:04:00.002Z

Officially the most traded spice in the world, black pepper is actually a kind of flowering vine native to India. Peppercorns as we know them are a fruit produced by the vine. The fruit goes through several stages of maturity beginning pale and white, then green and eventually ending dark red when fully mature.

The most common use for peppercorns is to pick them when they are still unripe and green, then to dry them after which they become the shrivelled black fruit we see on a daily basis.

The "peppery", or spice, comes from a chemical called piperine which is also used in various soft drinks.

Most obviously a pairing with neutral spirit would work well. However if used in a more subtle way the peppercorn can mix very well with gin, or even sharp citrus fruits.

Flavour: spice, earth, hot.

Noise's Effect on the Taste of Alcohol

2012-01-04T16:33:00.006Z

A recent experimental study sought to delve into how the perception of noise can effect the taste of alcohol. The study took into account, sweetness, bitterness, and alcohol strength.

The study appeared, uncritically in a mainstream free daily paper stating that "loud music makes alcohol taste sweeter, therefore you drink more". Although this can broadly be said to be one of the findings of the study, it does not take into account the many flaws, and variables within the experiment and also leaves out many of the other findings.

The study took place over 5 hours with 80 participants. 11 were male and 69 female. Each participant was observed for 45 minutes in laboratory conditions whilst they drank a cranberry and vodka.

Participants were subjected to 4 conditions and asked to rate flavour perception under each. Conditions were:

Loud music
Whilst listening to a news story and then being asked to reapeat the story back
Having music in one ear and news in the other ear
Nothing

Amongst the flaws were the fact that the participants had prior knowledge of what was being studied meaning their perceptions could already be altered. The group was predominantly female, all whom were aged between 18-28 and already regular drinkers and the study took place in artificial lab setting, not in "real" settings.

Although participants did rate their drink as tasting sweeter whilst listening to loud music, this does not account for the conclusion "Loud music make you drink more". There could be a number of other factors including the need to release inhibitions, freeing you to dance or being unable to talk as the music volume prevents it.

The study also found, if alcohol strength appeared higher sweetness would decrease whilst bitterness increased. Perception of alcohol was impaired when listening to both music and news as well as causing a more negative mood. And people rated the drink as less bitter whilst listening to music, however the effect was much more marginal.

What is interesting though is that the study was based on a previous experiment which found that music alters the taste of food. Which poses an interesting question in the bar world. Can you change peoples perception of a drink through music?

We have probably all heard of foods being served with headphones to fully stimulate senses and simulate a scene so why not drinks. (See the Drink Factory Havanna Pod) Many bars already have a strict music policy, ensuring that the atmosphere is controlled and maintained throughout the evening.

Why not go further than that and make music a continuation of the cocktail. For instance smooth jazz to accompany smooth old fashioned or Manhattan. Maybe a light hearted and warm electronic track to compliment a bramble or roots/reggae music for a long tropical rum punch.

Any suggestions for fitting music / cocktail pairings are welcome!!

Flavour of the Week - Quince

2012-01-04T14:15:00.005Z

Closely related to the apple and pear family, quince may be one of the oldest recorded fruits with references dating back 4000 years. The fruit appears bright and yellow when ripe and light green when immature and not fully grown.

It is cultivated in many countries but is best suited to hot climates where it becomes soft and can be eaten raw. Turkey accounts for a 1/4 of the worlds production of quince, with Latin America, Central and Southern Europe, the Middle East and America accounting for the majority of the rest.

In cooler climates quince is often hard and very tannic, with the skin being very potent and perfumed. In this condition quince can most often be used to create jam, marmalade or cooked until the skin turns red and used in desserts as it's taste sweetens greatly.

When soft quince can be eaten raw. Although still sour it is much sweeter and very tasty. Hard quince goes very well with honey and lime after being baked.

Flavour - Hard quince is extremely potent and citrussy, less is always more. Tannic, sour, tart.

Iron Filllings With Your Breakfast Flakes?

2012-01-04T12:37:00.004Z

We have never been one for getting involved with health/food/conspiracy theory trends that appear to spring up throughout the media on a day to day basis. However this video is fascinating both in it's simplicity, regarding the technique used, and also initially quite shocking in the results produced.

Now, hopefully you have watched the video already. We should clarify that this is not actually as bad as it may look. This type of iron filling appears similar to what you might expect to find when you pass a magnet through soil. It also appears that this metallic "reduced iron" will, mostly, dissolve in your stomachs hydrochloric acid.

The iron will then be absorbed into your blood stream for bodily functions. However, also a point of note, this will not happen as efficiently as other sources of "natural iron" found in plants and non-processed foods.

Many do, in-fact, disagree. They say this particular type of iron cannot be broken down very well by our body and has potential to be poisonous. It is not up to us to condemn or celebrate. Although we can safely say that, as with many supplements, natural sources are generally healthier and more easily broken down by your body.

The next question may be, why has the cereal industry chosen this reduced iron specifically? The answer may not come as a surprise, as it appears that iron found in plants and non-processed foods may actually speed up spoiling, whilst reduced iron does not. It may simply come down to a products shelf-life

There is alot more information on the topic, including several other videos demonstrating the effect. We would encourage you to continue researching if you wish to know more.

Imbibe Awards

2012-01-04T11:12:00.005Z

Now that the new year has been seen in and everyone is slowly and glumly making their way back to work lets start voting! The shortlist for the Imbibe Personality of the Year is now in.

Shortlisted for Pub Personality of the Year is 69 Colebrookes Rows very own Camille Hobby-Limon (also of the Charles Lamb pub). Also included for the prestigious Bar Personality of the Year is Operations Manager Marciz Dzelzainis of 69 Colebrooke Row and Zetter Townhouse.

All votes and support is greatly appreciated. Voting stays open till February 10th after which the winners will be announced at an awards bash later in the month.

Vote via THIS LINK

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T11:00:00.001Z

We are very aware this is rather late, however, a very Happy New Year! to all our followers, readers, friends and family. We have a good feeling about this year, with many plans in the pipeline for the blog and otherwise. It should be a good one!

We'd like to start hearing more from you. What would you like to see more of? What is it you like? Do you have any ideas for features you'd like us to write about or even write yourself for us to publish?

Drinks knowledge is growing rapidly.Industries advance infinitely quicker when knowledge is shared. So maybe we can push the boundaries of drinks all over again in 2012!

Get in touch - giles@thedrinkfactory.com

Merry Christmas and Happy Toddy Drinking

2011-12-21T13:44:00.006Z

Christmas is basically upon us. I am sure you are all as organised as we are and have planned down to the second your Christmas presents and when to buy them......but haven't actually done any of it yet!

We here at Drink Factory just wanted to send out a big Happy Christmas from all of us and wish you a happy time wherever you may be and whatever it is you may be doing. (For those of you who's places of work may be open on Boxing Day our most sincere condolences)

To celebrate the season we though a festive recipe was in order. Make sure you give this Hot Toddy recipe a go at home on Christmas Eve maybe.

(Not actual image)

Toddy Recipe:
50ml Somerset Cider Brandy 5yr
25ml Lemon juice
1 slither of unsalted butter
20ml Sugar syrup (2:1)
150ml Breton Cider Horses
Neck of lemon peel

Heat the cider in a pan till it at 80 degrees and
then pour into a Toddy mug with the rest of the ingredients

Flavour of the Week - Sandalwood

2011-12-21T13:31:00.004Z

There are over 19 species that exist within the genus Santalum family. They grow throughout most countries and continents including Asia, India, Australia and Europe.

The tree's hit their most fragrant stage generally at a minimum of 8 ears old, however ideally 14 is the optimum age to get the most scent.

Often found in cosmetics and famed for it's health benefits, absolutes and essential oils have been made out of Sandalwood for a long time. It is also well known for enhancing flavours it is surrounded by, hence it frequent use in perfumes.

The essential oil is said to have a typically woody note, however it does retain a slightly lighter edge meaning it could potentially sit well alongside lighter more fragrant or citrussy notes.

Flavour - Woody base note, aromatic, light, bright, fresh,

Expanding infused Marshmallows

2011-12-21T13:30:00.000Z

So they may not be the classiest or most refined of cocktail ingredient or garnish, but let's be honest, people love them and they are alot of fun.

We are yet to try this ourselves in the sous vide however I imagine it to work in a similar way. If you were to also add a flavoured liquid into the vacuum bag and vacuum both the marshmallow and the liquid it has alot of potential to infiuse the marshmallow.

Think rum marshamllows, cherry marshmallow, or, dare I say, flavoured vodka marshmallow. Maybe not the most high end of ingredient, and be careful not to vacuum for too long as they are liable to burst or shrivel up, but certainly some Christmas fun!

Artisan Distilling Revoltuions - So what exactly is Artisan Distilling all about?

2011-12-21T11:30:00.008Z

Written by and in collaboration with Jamie Baxter. Jamie was a master distiller at Chase Distillery where he was responsible for designing, installing, commissioning, running and then developing products. He now works as a consultant, working around the UK and South America aiding in start up small scale artisan distilleries.

If you are lucky enough to be shown around the Beefeater Distillery in South London, you will see some huge great pot stills that have been mothballed. These were originally used to clean up the alcohol coming in to the distillery as it was not of a good enough quality to make their wonderful gin. Nowadays however, the base spirit that they buy is excellent, and this is just one other ingredient that they purchase in addition to juniper berries, coriander seeds and all the rest of the botanicals. You see, Beefeater, in common with virtually every other gin distiller in the country, do not make their own base alcohol, but ship it in from elsewhere before re-distilling it with the botanicals to convert the neutral alcohol into gin.

EU Regulation 110/2008 sets out the legal definition of all spirit types within Europe, and gin (and indeed vodka) has to be made from “ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin”. This in turn is defined as ethanol with no flavour other than that of the raw material and at a minimum of 96.0% ABV. (The regulation also sets out maximum levels of certain residues, but I won’t bore you with that other than to say that these maximum allowed levels are lower in the finished product for London Gin than for other distilled gins). Every gin distiller therefore has to decide whether to make their own base ethyl alcohol, or to buy it in.

If you have read this far, you will be wondering why on earth I am telling you all this. The reason is that I have recently been drawn into a transatlantic discussion as to what artisan distilling is all about, and the point of view was very forcibly put across that a distiller who buys in neutral spirit rather than making it themselves is somehow cheating. Now, my gut feeling was to disagree with this, but it did start me wondering why I felt that way, and what therefore I would think is the defining characteristic of an artisan distillery. Most of us could probably write a list of artisan distillers in the UK and not argue too much over those distilleries on it. For example, I don’t think that anyone would argue that Ian Hart, the wonderful distiller of Sacred Gin, is not an artisan distiller, and he uses bought-in alcohol in his tiny still. But it is more difficult to decide why these names are on the list.

So if it is not making your own base alcohol, is it the size of the still? Again the answer is no, this is too simplistic. Different products and different methodologies require different sized stills. When Sipsmith Distillery started up they advertised their beautiful pot still as being 300 litres. The fantastic Chase Distillery pot that I know so well is 2300 litres, and yet Sipsmith could produce more bottles of finished product than Chase at that time because they were using bought-in alcohol whereas at Chase we were making it all from potatoes and apples.

Is it the use of a pot still rather than a continuous still? Again no. The thing about designing stills is that there are many different ways of getting to the same point. Pretty much every still is unique, and the distiller must decide what system best meets his requirements (see my earlier blog). Now this might be a continuous still, or a pot still, or various combinations of the two - and this is without considering vacuum distillation and other more esoteric methods. I would argue that a pot still is generally “more artisan” than a continuous still, but this has rather more to do with the way it is run rather than the still itself. With continuous stills it is important to keep the flow rates, temperature profiles, steam pressures, refux etc. relatively even. Pot stills are more forgiving, and so continuous stills would tend to have rather more sophisticated control systems, which nowadays means a computer. Plc controls take the craftsmanship out of running the still – indeed these stills are usually run without an operator even being there, and the dictionary definition of an artisan is “a skilled workman” or “a handicraftsman”. At the risk of alienating computer programmers it is hard to see how this definition can apply to a computer controlled still. So it is not the continuous still itself that moves it away from the realm of the artisan, but the control systems often (but not always) associated with it.

So if I haven’t yet nailed down what defines an artisan distiller, what might disqualify a distillery from being one? Obviously big industrial scale plants are out, and so too are small plants owned by a large organisation – they should be privately owned and independent. This allows for greater risk taking and sheer bloody-mindedness.

The truth is that although everyone is talking about the new wave of artisan distilleries, they have been around for a while. They almost died out with tight excise controls, but the Somerset Cider Brandy Company has now been going for over 20 years. Edradour in Perthshire is capable of producing 2500 bottles a week. Their spirit is produced by just 3 men without automation and claims a history going back 170 years. But it is very true that this is relatively rare in this country. Scotland has around 100 distilleries of various sizes. By contrast, Austria has a similar population and 20,000 registered distilleries, including my cousin who has a tiny still in the shed in his garden where he distils a wonderful Zwetschken Schnapps from the half dozen plum trees there. Every now and again he produces something that he is incredibly proud of, and rightly too. I have come to realise that this is one of the defining characteristics of an artisan distiller for me. Every distiller perfects his recipe and strives to make each batch identical, however variation is inevitable and some batches are better than others. In a larger distillery these variations are blended away to maintain consistency, but the artisan distiller embraces the variability and indeed celebrates it by putting batch numbers on bottles. What is the point of that if each batch is identical?

So celebrate the difference with us. Keep close to the distiller, ask what’s new, what’s recommended, how the runs are going and buy direct if possible. In short, treat your distiller just like your local butcher. It’s a little time-consuming but worth it to get the best drop, and if the distiller can’t make time to talk to you, then that’s not an artisan distillery.

Stefanie Holt Interview

2011-12-21T11:08:00.005Z

Stefanie Holt has been an easily recognisable face around the London bar scene for many years. She has been heading up the El Dorado Brand in the UK since 2008 and in January 2011 she took the next step and became the International Brand Ambassador for the rum and holds the post to this day.

1. What is the first cocktail you ever made?

Hmmm, I worked in a Belgian Beer bar which had awful creamy blended
cocktails on the menu, so I probably made a few of them (although I used to
hide the cocktail sections of that menu whenever I started a shift to avoid
having to make any!), but after that I moved to a proper cocktail bar and I
think my first one was a lovely, foamy French Martini. We made millions of
them and after my first shift it felt like my arms were going to fall off!

2. What are your 3 favourite drinks plus recipes; old, new and your own?

I think my favourite old drink recipe is a negroni. Love those equal
measures for making quickly/easily and it tastes soooo good at any time of
day.

Favourite 'new' one that really surprised me was a Rhubarb & Coriander
Mojito that the Sanderson Hotel did with El Dorado a couple of years ago. I
think of Rhubarb as really British and very wintry, and Coriander as more
exotic and summery, so it was a surprise when the flavours worked so well
together. Nice & easy to make as well!

Hmmmm, my own; well its been a while since I have come up with anything, but I always love it when I use stuff on a bar that doesn't really move. There was one I created at the Groucho (called 'On Your Marx') which contained Pisco, limoncello, yellow chartreuse and lemon juice which was very tasty...

3.Tell us about a new flavour you have discovered recently?

It's not new, but I am mostly playing with Kummel at the moment; bit of a rediscovery as I used to use it a lot in comps.

4. If you could pass just one thing, on to an apprentice bartender or someone wishing to enter the drinks industry what would it be?

Oh god! Quite a few of my old trainees still call me 'Mum', so I'm sure they
would tell you I couldn't pass on just one thing! Mainly to have fun & to
smile, that you can never stop improving/learning and that going even a
little bit above & beyond pays dividends.

5. What does the future hold for yourself and what do you see happening in
the future in the industry?

I think the industry is pretty exciting just now as there are a few really
developed markets who are really pushing the boundaries, but also they are
influencing the more developing countries/cities around the world who are
growing & becoming advanced really fast. It's nice to see that bartenders
around the world are using the internet to form a global community and
sharing ideas. For myself, I'm pretty happy - I still have a lot to learn
about markets around the world, and my brand still has plenty of growing to
do, so I'm settled!

6. What has been your biggest satisfaction from working in the bar world?

I think the biggest satisfaction with this industry is discovering that you
can have a career/job you love and lots of fun. I think at school all jobs
sound quite boring and like proper 'work', and I never dreamed I would find
such a vibrant and interesting industry. It certainly wasn't suggested by a
careers advisor!

7. If you were to have a conversation with a cocktail, (and presuming it
could talk back to you and tell you its past). Which cocktail would it be
and why?

It's kind of pre-cocktail, but I reckon the most interesting
stories would come from Navy Grog, I'd want to hear all about the daily
routine as well as battles it played a part in! Get it to teach me some sea
shanties as well...

8. What influenced your drinks from outside the industry (I.e. art,
fashion)?

Science probably - I did genetics at university so things have to make sense
scientifically for me. When I was learning I thought of cocktails as
following formulas to make balance - they usually tasted good, but my
garnishes often needed some work!

9. If you where to break a bartending golden rule what would it be?

Goodness, I can't think of any golden rules now! I'm sure I have broken them
all at some stage...

10. Outside of flavour and the craft of the cocktail what in your opinion
effects the appreciation of cocktails and spirits the most?

I think the overall environment in the bar (decor, lighting, music etc)
affects the appreciation of a cocktail a lot, but the thing that can sweeten
or sour an experience in a bar the most is service - v simple and it seems
like people never stop banging on about it, but you can still walk into a
bar and be ignored while the staff talk to each other or do 'more important'
things, or be made to feel like a nuisance for wanting a drink.

11. If you where to champion a cocktail or spirit which would it be?

Apart from El Dorado & Rum? I reckon a spirit would be Mezcal - there is so
much fascinating heritage there as well as the interesting production
techniques, and that flavour - wow!

Food Pairing: Fad or Totally Rad

2011-12-14T17:15:00.000Z

Since its conception food pairing has been on the tip of every chef and bartenders tongue. Combine that with the work of people like Bernard Lahousse, who has created a website which offeres the easiest and most approachable access to possible combinations, it is definitely a "trending" topic you might say.

Recently though there has been more and more questions raised concerning the theory and whether it stands up both on a scientific level but also from a cultural and empirical level. We thought we would take a look at what is being said and then let people make up their own mind.

Lets begin with the basic premis of what food pairing actually is.

The more aromatic compounds 2 substances have in common the better they will taste when paired together. This idea is said to be even more true when these aromatics are shared amongst a foods "characteristic flavour"

In more practrical terms it means that we can take flavour A and substitute it for flavour B. The two flavours are not naturally something that would "work" together however due to their similar aromatics it means they should, in theory, be easily swapped out. This is the first step to creating a new combination.

The theory is also based on the idea that we taste volatile compounds 80% through our olfactory or smell. The other 20% is perceived through mouth feel and taste on the tongue.

So in short we can put this flavour with that flavour because they share aromatics. Regardless of what we have "learnt" through our experiences of taste, or ideas we have formed on what should be served with what, scientifically the two will work. This does not detract from the fact that the flavours must still be balanced and a symphony created between the two.

The idea was given birth back in 2002 by Heston Blumethal. He was searching for alternatives for salt when he stumbled upon the combination of white chocolate and caviar. Bemused and intrigued, equally, Heston sought answers. They came from a man named Benzi who cited the combination of pork liver and jasmine. It was a similar anomaly of delicious flavour combination, and worked because they both share the volatile compound indole.

Maybe the best visual illustration of the principle can be seen over at Khymos and is illustrated below.

The letters represent a food and the colours represent how many odourants / volatiles/ aromatics they have in common. In the example below A and K have no aromatics in common however they taste delicious together .

Because the colours are similar we can see that A and C share aromatics. It would be unsurprising that the two would taste good together and indeed taste similar.

Here we see A and Z. Despite the letters being at opposite ends of the scale Food Pairing shows us that they share key aromatics and so should taste similar.

Imagine A is a prominent experiment in a dish. The colours surrounding it are traditional accompaniments. We see this in the way the colour tones are matched.

Based in the Food Pairing theory we can then add Z into the mix, as it shares similar aromatics to A and so should sit well with the surrounding flavours.

Following this theory one step further we should be able to substitute A for Z entirely. Carry on the process with the surrounding ingredients and it will slowly but surely become an entirely new dish.

Some have begun to argue that the idea is just a fad sweeping through Europe. Used as a method to separate kitchens, and their chefs, based on 'those who do' are excellent and pushing the boundaries. 'Those who don't' are average and doing nothing innovative. There may be some truth in to this, however the idea has already been around for a solid decade and seems to be gaining pace rather than slowing. Especially with the advent of it's path leading towards bars and drinks meaning we are seeing more weird and wonderfully unapparent combinations springing up on Cocktail Menu's all over the globe.

A study was conducted recently which offered some interesting, yet hotly contested, findings.

Undertaken by Yong-Yeoul Ahn at Harvard University. The group mapped and studied over 56,000 recipes taken from website Epicurois.com, Allrecipes.com and the Korean site Menupan.com.

The recipes were split into geographical groups. I.e Asian, North American, European and analysed to understand the flavour sharing components between them.

The results found that recipes from North America and Western Europe lean toward ingredients that share flavours. However Southern Europe and East Asian cuisine tend to avoid ingredients that share flavours and actually leant more toward a concept dubbed 'Antipairing'.

Now, arguments abound that this has more to do with location, availability, tradition, and cost in some cases. Rather, that in certain places these dishes are eaten out of necessity rather than for the pleasure of flavour combinations. Others contest that Asia is actually one of the most successful examples of Food Pairing theory.

Whether or not this theory applies to drinks is another question. An entirely new study could be conducted on cocktail ingredients and their origins. However one thing is for certain currently the Food Pairing theory is laying down the gauntlet of how far we can push drinks combinations. The idea of savoury flavours within cocktails is only just really being breached, beyond Bloody Marys, Bull Shots, and dare I say bacon infused vodkas we have stuck to what people know and are comfortable with.

I think we would be hard pressed to find another time when people's mind were more open to food and drink breaking down boundaries.

JJ Goodman meets Drink Factories Marcis Dzelzainis

2011-12-14T17:00:00.001Z

After participating in the Beefeater 24 G&Tea competition a couple of weeks ago (His recipes you can find HERE) Marcis has now sat how with JJ Goodman who is doing a series of interview dubbed "You're Hired".

JJ: Tell us where you’re at and what are you working towards?

MD: I work for Tony Conigliaro as the operations manager for 69 Colebrooke Row. What I’m working towards? I haven’t a clue! But that’s the whole point of working for Tony: you never know what’s around the corner.

Who’s behind it?
The infamous Tony C and the lovely Camille Hobby-Limon

What was your previous job?
I was assistant bar manager at Quo Vadis

Why did you leave?
Tony offered me the opportunity to work on a wonderful project, which was to become the Zetter Townhouse.

What are you drinking at the moment?
Pina Coladas

Where do you drink on your day off?
Happiness Forgets on Hoxton Square..............

Read the rest of the interview at over at View London HERE

Drink Factory Guardian Feature

2011-12-14T14:15:00.001Z

A very warm and Christmassy thanks to everyone who made it to the Drink Factory Masterclass. A special thanks to Alex Petridis fo this article in the Guardian. You can read the entire article HERE.

Have a read to find out what he thought of the practical home applications of some of our techniques, his occasional "eureka!" moments compared with his slightly more often miserable failure moments and where his passion for cocktails began.

Ferran Adria - Final Harvard Lecture of 2011

2011-12-14T12:58:00.008Z

The man who really does need no introduction Ferran Adria graced the Harvard stage with the final lecture of 2011 last week.

The El Bulli mastermind was joined by Jose Andre who acts as both a translator and also takes the opportunity to add his two cents to what Ferran has to say.

The lecture begins with Ferran explaining his thoughts and process behind finding the concept for El Bulli and how despite initial criticism, and many people scoffing at the idea he followed through and turned what was a simple 50 seat restaurant, open for 10 months of the year, into arguably the worlds most famous restaurant in the world.

He then goes on to describe a project, set to roll out in 2014, called The El Bulli foundation. The project comes in collaboration with Telefonica, who are a communications company, ,and it's basic goal is to create platforms to share their knowledge.

The project will include an idearium, a brainstorming room, the kitchen workshop, with all the ideas and creativity being open to the public. He explains the idea around the 50min mark. It truly looks groundbreaking both visually and conceptually.

Flavour of the Week - Linden/Lime Blossoms

2011-12-14T12:15:00.003Z

Lime (UK) and Linden (US) Blossoms are derived from a variety of tree called Tilla. There are around 30 species of the tree and they exist in most temperate climates, but with the largest variety being found in Asia.

Despite what it's name implies the blossoms have no relation, by species or by taste, to the citrus fruit.

The blossoms/fruit are taken from the leaves of the tree and are commonly used either dried or as an essential oil or tincture. The flowers themselves are edible and are also said to be very tasty when used as a tea, in addition to having various internal and external health benefits.

The flavour works very well with o.j peel, blackcurrant or fruits that have slightly deeper notes. As a scent it is used more often than simple beeswax tincture for it's more complete and round flavour.

Flavour: Floral, rich honey aromatic.

Beefeater 24 G&Tea Recipes

2011-12-07T17:22:00.004Z

In reaching the finals of the Beefeater 24 G&Tea finals 69 Colebrooke Row's and Drink Factories very own Marcis Dzelzainis was one of only two participants left representing the UK.

The remaining participants spanning Canada, Greece, Italy and UK were put through two rounds. The first was "Flavour Matching" where each contestant was randomly assigned a tea and allowed to build a cocktail from there. The second round was "Tea Ceremony" where the participants had to come up with a ritualised tea ceremony to serve and accompany their cocktail.

We can now bring you Marcis' two recipes (unfortunately minus high quality photos) and their serves.

Round 1 - Camellia Cocktail

"I really wanted to accentuate that sensory connection you make with sencha tea and the seaside. It can have quite a seaside, seaweed taste, so I'm transporting the drinker by creating a personal beach for them." - Marcis

Camellia Cocktail  

Glass: Ceramic Japanese tea cups

 Garnish: Grapefruit zest

 Method: Stir all ingredients with ice then strain into cups  

40ml Beefeater 24 gin  

2.5ml Lemon sherbet (finely grated zest, sugar and lemon juice)

 20ml Homemade kiwi cordial (made with kiwi fruit cooked sous vide and then separating in a centrifuge)  

5 drops Sencha tincture (made from tea brewed twice)

Round 2 - Tippy Assam

A black Assam tea that produces a darker and stronger liquor after brewing for 3-4 minutes at nearly boiling point, with raisin notes and a more tannic character

Tippy 24

Glass: Coupe

Garnish: Grapefruit twist (discarded)

Method: Rapid infuse tea and gin using nitrous oxide in a siphon. Shake all ingredients with ice then strain into a chilled coupe.

50ml Beefeter 24 gin infused with Tippy Assam tea (3g tea to 350ml gin)

25ml Salted Uzu and lemon juice (1:5)

25ml Plum wine

15ml Elderflower cordial

For the rest of the contestants recipes head over to Class

Tasting Tips

2011-12-07T14:54:00.008Z

Though many of us will do this all the time, many of us will also have asked am I doing right? Well, yes, you probably are, however this post is more of a general reminder and some informative bits of knowledge that other, not so seasoned tasters, can take away with them.

Knowledge is the enemy of indifference - Study your products. Learn what botanicals go in what gin, learn the subtle differences in the soil, climate, or distillation and then attribute them to the spirit.

Try and make a mental note that this botanical tastes like this. If possible try and get hold of fresh ingredients and then smell/taste them alongside the spirit. Your pallet and sense of taste can become encyclopedic in the number of flavours/areas/methods of production it can recognise.

Beyond this make sure you use your own words to describe flavours and create personal associations. These can then be built into a table and refered to in dire times or when you are so far into the tasting memory lapses occur.

Your nose knows - Your sense of taste is profoundly reliant on your sense of smell. Always go in with the nose first but be careful not to reach in too close as you may burn your nasal receptors and smell nothing but ethyrs.

Be sure you set your nose back to "neutral" inbetween each smell otherwise you will be smelling part of the previous spirit. This is easily done by smelling the skin on your hands which has a neutral odour.

Your are never wrong - True, there are certain aspects of a spirit that everyone should be able to taste and recognise however tasting is SUBJECTIVE. Try not to take others lead on what you can taste. The quote "Madness is rare in an individual but the rule of groups" often springs to mind when the room nods in agreement with a confidently stated flavour.

This leads back to the earlier point about being sure to recognise as many flavours as possible meaning you can confidently make suggestions. Everyone will perceive flavours slightly differently and everyone has a different threshold for what they can and cannot taste. This does not affect peoples ability to pair flavours and understand what works and how.

Dilution is good - Never be worried about diluting a spirit. Various studies have shown that, in whiskies particularly, adding water actually releases new flavours that would not have been present prior.

Myth - Do not trust anyone who tells you that a certain kind of glass is better for tasting because it means the liquid hits points of your tongue. The tongue map is not accurate and we now know that we can sense each kind of taste with very little difference all over the tongue.

Caramelized Cream

2011-12-07T12:48:00.006Z

Having never been a big fan of drinks with cream I wasn't exactly gripped by the idea of "caramelized cream". However I went away and gave it some thought. With the light of a new day came an open mind and some inspiration.

The main reason for my disdain of creamy alcoholic drinks is their taste. Cream, for me doesn't impart a great deal to any drink beyond thickening and texturising. Flip that on it's head though and why not add flavour to cream whilst retaining the texturising effect.

We can thank Ideas in Food, for the news. The recipe goes like this.

Add o.5% baking soda to the cream. This will have the effect of expediting the browning process. The mixture was added to a mason jar (it is essentially a jam jar pictured below) and the lid loosely screwed on. An inch of water was then added into the bottom of the pressure cooker and turned on at a high pressure for 2 hours. Once the pressure had naturally dissipated the cream was left looking brownish in colour and with rich deep nutty notes.

Essentially what you are doing here is cooking the sugars in the cream and "caramelizing" them to release the deeper, sweeter flavours.

An alternative method to try, is placing the cream in a airtight jar or sous vide bag and then cooking in a water bath for around 15 - 20 hours until brown. The cream will curdle however this can be addressed simply by blending the mixture. This method is time consuming but cost effective.

The resulting product can potentially be used to add a new dimension to a cocktail. Perhaps a Caramelized White Russian, or a Irish Coffee with a distinct edge. Let us know if you come up with anything exciting!

Flavour of the Week - Pine Needles

2011-12-07T12:23:00.004Z

Now I can't say I have ever heard of pine needles being used in Western cooking, (let us know if you have or know of any recipes) however I do know that they are used in Korean serves and Asian cooking. Firstly because the flavour they impart cannot be substituted and secondly because they are easily available and can be picked directly from the tree.

All pine needles are edible, however the amount of flavour varies greatly so be sure to either ask advice when buying or taste before harvesting.

Alternatively Pine Needle Extract is easily available both over the internet or from health food shops. In addition to having a distinct aroma and taste the extract boasts a wealth of health benefits.

It is said to work very well as a vinegar, and sit comfortably within a gin or cranberry juice.

Flavour - similar to juniper in ways, deep citrus, fresh, clean

Portrait Created with 3.2 Million Dots

2011-12-07T11:08:00.005Z

Clearly this does not have anything to do directly with drinks, or catering. However as people that appreciate art in all it's forms, especially when that art is taking something known and mundane to add a new dimension and pull it back from the brink of obscurity, we hope that you will enjoy this not only for the skill of the artist but also for the cinematography and editing involved.

Lip Smacking Science - Crystals, Emulsions, Foams

2011-11-30T16:00:00.000Z

An absolute treat today, coming out of the Harvard Lecture Series. The talk is lead by Bill Yosses who now acts as the pastry chef for The White House! He is accompanied by Naza Tanesh who achieved the rare feat of working her way around every section of the El Bulli kitchen, but began life in the pastry section.

The lecture focuses on creation of crystals, emulsions, and foams. We see the recipe for how to make El Bullis legendary hot and cold gin drink and let into the secret of how to make a meringue without using any egg whites.

The pair are maybe two of the worlds foremost pastry chefs and as we know many of the techniques used in the pastry section were amongst the first to cross over into the bar world.

With that in mind this is pretty much a masterclass in how to achieve the perfect crystals emulsions and foams.

Gelatin Cube Bouncing of a Table

2011-11-30T15:00:00.001Z

Modernist Cuisine - High-Speed Video : Gelatin Cubes On Solid Surface 6200 FPS from Modernist Cuisine on Vimeo.

Though the video may not be directly related to cocktails, there is something quite beautiful about watching Gelatin Cubes bounce of a solid surface over and over again.

The video is another gem to come out of the Modernist Cuisine camp and is shot at 6200 FPS.

How To Carbonate Cocktails

2011-11-30T13:42:00.009Z

Personal experience is a valuable thing. I could probably already tell you the answer to “Do bubbles get you drunk quick?” - In my case yes, champagne makes me go wonky, shots however I can put away for hours. Though, that’s no reason to not look into the idea further.

The idea of carbonating a spirit is something I can’t say I have seen being used behind bars too much. Maybe the process seems overly complex or not practical for service. Maybe the idea just doesn’t appeal to people. However I sent a mail to Kevin Liu over at Why Cook asking if he had any info on the matter……… his response and a few additions from myself are below.

Giles asked me a few weeks ago what I thought about carbonating hard liquor. I’d heard of the technique previously via the Cooking Issues Radio Show, but I hadn’t played with it and didn’t really understand why anyone would want to try it. After messing around for a few hours this past weekend, I can definitively pronounce: carbonating liquor is easy and definitely worth doing.

Some Science

First, it’s worth understanding some things about carbonation.

- It seems to get you drunk faster. Something about the carbon dioxide increases ABV more rapidly than if you drank vodka alone. This only happens in some people, however.

- When you carbonate something, you are literally dissolving the gas CO2 in a liquid. That CO2 has no reason to come out of solution unless it’s disturbed or if there happens to be a nucleation site available.

- On that note, although people tend to describe a “tingly” sensation related to carbonated beverages, in fact it’s more likely we are able to taste the CO2 even if it stays in solution. Scientists think we are somehow detecting the carbonic acid that CO2 forms when it’s dissolved in water, probably with the same taste buds that are responsible for sourness.

- Don’t believe me? It turns out you can taste carbon dioxide even in a pressure chamber, when the bumbles can’t come out.

- When CO2 does come out of solution, it seems to physically irritate our taste buds, so spicy things may taste spicier. At least one study I dug up, however, seems to indicate that

pretreating the tongue with capsaicin actually decreases sensation of carbonation. Weird.

- Well, maybe not that weird. Another study showed that capsaicin and carbonated water both create sensations of burning, stinging, and tingling, though capsaicin was much stronger than carbonated water. So what was probably going on in the first study was that the capsaicin was so strong, carbonated water seemed weak in comparison. Mmm, weaksauce.

What does all this mean? We’ve written before about how alcohol may trigger nerves that are also set off by capsaicin. It seems like we must enjoy some facet of the irritation we get from each of these ingredients or some combination of all of them. I’d love to know the why’s and how’s of all this, but in the meantime, it’s time to do some observational experiments…

How to Carbonate Vodka

Carbonating hard alcohol is very easy. The basic rules, as dictated by Dave Arnold are:

- get the alcohol cold
- clarify as much as possible
- remove air
- as many rounds of carbonation as possible.

You see, ethanol doesn’t dissolve CO2 as effectively as water does, so the colder the product, the better. Clarification removes potential nucleation sites. With nicely distilled vodka, which is what I used, clarification isn’t an issue. Removing air helps to prevent foaming and can be done either by letting the product sit or by sucking a vacuum on it.

The two easiest ways to carbonate at home are either using an ISI cream whipper with CO2 canisters or a modified SodaStream home carbonation system. This is pretty simple, so here are the pictures showing you how to do it.

I used silicone aquarium tubing I had lying around after building an immersion circulator. The tubing is required in order to carbonate a small amount of product (which, in the case of vodka, probably makes sense). It’s also smart to use less product if you’re concerned with foaming, for example if you’re trying to carbonate white wine.

Here are a few lessons learned:

- Toss the vodka in the freezer for a while. I got mine down to 20F.
- It will take a lot longer to carbonate such a small amount of liquid than with a full bottle. Be prepared to use a lot of gas.
- A weird cloud develops above the vodka. It’s cool.
- Use immediately if possible; the gas doesn’t stay dissolved very well.

What Should we Use it For?

The vodka tasted sweeter and less alcoholic than I remembered a shot tasting, though one test probably wasn’t enough to draw any conclusions from. The texture was definitely fun, more of a velvety sensation than traditional bubbles like would be found in soda. The potential of this is two-fold. You can either simply add a flavoured liqeur to the spirit and you instantly have a fizzy shot that doesn’t actually require a dilution like soda or lemonade, but also you could simply take a pre flavoured vodka and charge it, creating a whole new dimension to the drink.

The most obvious application I can think of for this technique would be traditional highballs served up, without the seltzer water component. Imagine a gin and tonic that used only gin, lime, and quinine. What a kick in the pants that would be. This would also be a convenient way to present service. For example, if you wanted to premix and prechill a drink, then carbonate a whole bottle of it and pour straight from the bottle. The possibilities are endless, all you’d need is empy bottles with a screw cap and ideas on what to fill them with. The idea of being able to create your own fizzy soft drinks, or long fizzy cocktails may indeed take a bit of prep but the results are bespoke and individual to your own tastes/bar

For instance - still water, sugar, and lemon to create Vodka lemonade, or a long sparkling drink that used charged white wine instead of champagne.

On the topic of which……..how useful would it be to get that fizz back in a bottle of flat champagne or prosecco. Potentially not the best practice but useful for maybe staff drinks or parties at home…..!

What would you do with this technique?

More Good News For Drinkers...Kind Of

2011-11-30T12:00:00.000Z

A new study has show that we (people of the UK and Ireland) are now drinking more but living longer! We have an average life expectancy of 80, up 10 years from 1960. The study was conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The study found we are drinking more than we were 20 years ago. However notable is that the UK and Ireland are the only countries where this has occured. Of the 34 countries studied the rest were found to be drinking less. In France and Spain drinking has dropped 37% and 46% respectively and risen 18% in Ireland

Japan was found to have the highest life expectancy rate at 83.

Flavour of the Week - Raisin

2011-11-30T11:56:00.005Z

Basically a form of grape, but dried, raisins do however hold their own distinct flavour profile.

"Raisin", in the UK specifically refers to a large dried dark grape, while we use Sultana for a dried white grape and Currant to describe a dried black corinth grape.

Widely used in cooking, mainly in desserts, owing to their high level of sweetness they also lend themselves very easily to infusions. The simplest method being to let the raisin soak overnight in the base spirit.

Less know for being used as a fresh muddled fruit, the flavour can be intense and overpowering, but sits very well with rose, oak, or citrus notes.

(Dried large dark grape variety) Flavour - Sweet, rich, succulent.

High Speed Video:Water Balloon Popped 6200 FPS

2011-11-23T15:37:00.005Z

The Cooking Lab is part of only a few "elite" kitchens that can boast to be alot more than just a kitchen. During the making of the book Modernist Cuisine there was up to 30 people working at any one time, ranging from chefs to video editors.

The books are said to strike a perfect accord between art, cookery and science, with the imagery and photography being jaw dropping before you even read any recipes.

The video above is part of a new Video Vault, available on their website. Simply put it is very very cool.

Artisan Distilling Revolutions - The Basics

2011-11-23T12:54:00.007Z

We are in the middle of a particularly English revolution. It’s very small, and rather quiet, but believe me, it is happening. Companies like Chase, English Whisky Co and Sipsmith led the way. Others such as Sacred, Adnams, Charles Martell and Ludlow have followed and there are others coming over the hill. I am talking about a wave of smaller-scale, artisan distilleries all pushing to see what has happened in America also happen over here. It’s almost the reverse of what happened with beer where the American craft brewers followed the rise of British micro-breweries.

I have been fortunate enough to be involved with several new distillery projects to a greater or lesser degree. Although there is huge variety in the products proposed, all these projects have a traditional pot still at the heart of them. The design involves a little thought:

Size:

It is best to buy the biggest pot that can be afforded and that will fit in the space available. Oddly a 450 litre still does not cost much more than a 300 litre one, and the extra capacity will always be useful. That said, all the other ancillary equipment will need to be scaled up accordingly. Similarly, it is important to consider the work patterns. With a small still, many runs can be made in one day, but a lot of time is spent waiting for the still to warm up each time and energy costs are higher. A bigger pot means that fewer runs are required. However, there comes a point where the entire run cannot be done in a single shift.

Material:

Traditionally copper was used because it has good heat transfer properties, but we now know that it also acts as a catalyst to certain reactions so removing sulphates and giving a smoother spirit. Stainless steel is cheaper and easier to maintain, and there are wooden ones still knocking around (El Dorado anyone?). Even glass is used, particularly for gin where neutral alcohol is usually bought in. But for the artisan distiller the only way is copper.

Reflux:

You will have seen the wonderful whisky stills with their tall, conical tops, and maybe an Armagnac still with an olive shaped contraption mounted on the pot. Others of you will have seen a column with several bubble plates. These are all different methods for increasing the amount of condensation of the alcohol vapour and is called reflux. Put simply, the more reflux, the purer, stronger and smoother the spirit becomes. A huge amount of reflux is needed to get the spirit to 96% ABV (the EU required purity for vodka production) and less is needed for spirits such as whisky, rum, brandies etc which will subsequently be barrel-aged to smooth the spirit out. Designing the amount of reflux is very much about getting a balance between purity and flavour.

Energy:

This is dictated by the location. Mains gas is cheapest, but if you’re not on the mains then oil or LPG is a good alternative. Charles Martell uses a wood-fired boiler for his Stinking Bishop cheese plant, so it was a natural choice to design a wood-fired still as he has all the equipment needed to handle 20 tonne deliveries of logs. Electrically heating a still is perhaps easiest in a small space, but is expensive to run.

Heating:

Most stills nowadays are heated indirectly using steam raised using one of the fuels above. The simplest and cheapest method of transferring this heat into the still is to run the steam through a coil in the belly of the pot. An alternative method is to run the steam into a jacket surrounding the bottom part of the pot. Although this is more expensive to make, it has the advantage that because it has a bigger surface area, and because it gives a smoother interior to the pot, particulate material can be put in the still without the risk of burning eg cider brandy (when the pot is filled with cider) can be heated easily with a steam coil, but if apple brandy is to be distilled (where the whole fermented mash including the apple bits go in the pot) then a jacket is better because lower steam pressure (and therefore temperature) can be used so reducing the risk of particulate material burning, and it is easier to clean without a coil getting in the way.

Direct heat, whereby naked flames heat the bottom of the pot, is still used by Glenfiddich and Glenfarclas in Scotland. Nolet, home of Ketel One, do the same as do many grappa, rum and cognac distillers. I must admit that naked flames in an area where highly flammable vapour might be around gives me the heebie-geebies.

Indian method of making perfume

Wash:

This is the term for what the still is filled with initially. It might be thin and with few particles like cider, wine or beer, or it might be thick and gloopy or full of chunks of fermented fruit and vegetables. The former is easy to handle, the latter needs a bit of care. Perhaps a stirrer or rummager might need to be built in. Certainly a larger outlet will be required to empty it. Flavoured spirits might require easy access into the pot to put in and remove sprigs of wormwood (mmm… absinthe), orange peel, and other larger flavouring material.

Waste:

One of the biggest problems faced by many distilleries is what to do with the stillage. This is what is left in the still after the alcohol has been distilled off. Depending on the spirit being produced, this might be fed to animals or sprayed on fields as irrigation where there is not much nutritional content left. Whichever way the distiller gets rid of waste, he needs to ensure that that it is done with all the appropriate licences and permissions, and that it is done at no cost.

Aesthetics:

I find all stills fascinating, and most of them beautiful. The artisan distiller should remember that tourism offers a good additional revenue stream. Over 1.3 million people visited Scottish distilleries last year spending nearly £18 each. Tap into that market. Even if you cannot receive visitors, make the distillery look nice and it will give you a nice warm feeling every morning.

Expansion:

Every business plan shows that the distillery will be a success, otherwise the project will not get off the ground, so plan for success and make sure that you can expand. Similarly, every business plan is wrong. Things happen and so it is wise to build in as much flexibility as possible. The artisan distiller may set out to make vodka from parsnips, but find a big demand for cherry brandy after a glut in the orchard.

Of-course the list above is not exhaustive, and there is far more to consider than just the still. The growing of the ingredients is becoming more common with distilling often being considered as a farm diversification. Mashing, fermentation, blending, storage, ageing, bottling and distribution all need equally careful thought, and in particular the choice of site is critical, but it’s really, really good fun

Flavour of the Week - Thyme/Lemon Thyme

2011-11-23T12:02:00.005Z

Found everywhere from my Dad to your Mums garden, thyme is a robust herb that can survive in the harshest of conditions. Often found growing naturally in wet grassy areas.

Used predominantly in cooking, the herb lends itself well to roast dinners and red meat very well, with it's strong pungent flavour. Responsible for this flavour is a chemical called thymol which is present in many other similar herbs.

Thyme is one of the few herbs that retains it's flavour after drying and can actually become more potent.

It's flavour is released slowly when cooking which lends itself well to low temperature sous vide infusions.

Also notable is lemon thyme, which adds a citrus edge to the flavour and may have a more interesting flavour profile for bar and drinks use.

Flavour: pungent, earthy, deep, aromatic, slight spice

Beefeater 24 Masterclass

2011-11-23T11:25:00.009Z

Masterclass time once again, and just in time for Christmas. Tony Conigliaro is hosting the class at The Drink Factory Lab to explore the secrets of Beefeater 24 Gin. Guests will be guided through the art of mixing the perfect martini, as well making party classics and finding out out all about the current trend for tea based cocktails.

The event takes place on 3rd December between 3 – 5pm at 35 Britannia Rown, (The Lab). Best of all its FREE!

RSVP – david@bacchus-pr.com

Harold Mcgee - The Chemistry of Thanksgiving - Free Webinar

2011-11-16T16:43:00.002Z

Our friend and collaborator Harold McGee is participating in the next in the series of free webinars organised and presented by The American Chemical Societies "Joy Of Science" Food Chemistry series.

Granted not many of the UK population has ever given to much though into how the chemistry of thanksgiving dinner really works. However I'm sure we can find some striking similarities or take some inspiration for our own Christmas dinners or just a family meal.

You can register for free and get some more information HERE

Below is one of the previous lectures delving into the chemistry of wine. I will do a more detailed breakdown including slides in another post. If you'd rather not spend an hour watching the whole film hold on till next week!

Layered or Un-layered?

2011-11-16T15:56:00.004Z

This is probably the best example of layering and viscosity we have ever seen. Viscosity is a measure of a liquids resistance. In simpler terms it is basically a measure of how thick a fluid is. For instance water is thin and has a low viscosity, while syrup or honey is thick and has a high viscosity.

In bartender terms it basically means, and is the reason for why we can layer some fluids atop others. Often for our purposes this is also dependant on the sugar content of the fluid.

Would you like you drink layered or patchy madam?

Too Few Layers of Clothing? - Drink!

2011-11-16T14:43:00.003Z

Probably any Russian you meet will be able to tell you this, purely based on empirical/experiential evidence, but alcohol does actually warm you up. Especially red wines.

More than just being a psychological effect of red wine being associated with, blazing open hearths, bear skin rugs, wrapping yourself up in a blanket and clinking glasses to begin what is bound to be a warm and steamy eve. The tanins and histamines from red grape skin actually react with your body, to help heat itself.

Furthermore, alcohol in general dilates the blood vessels which increases blood flow, throughout the body and to the extremities. Combine that with the tanins of red wine and one can understand why so few people naturally turn to a glass of red on a warm summers day.

The official verdict is that red wine makes you warmer. Serves a pretty darn good excuse to nip in for a glass of red or shot of vodka next time you find yourself trawling the streets in the freezing cold.

Why Do Some People Hate Drinking?

2011-11-16T12:45:00.011Z

This post was prepared in collaboration with Kevin Liu and Naveen Sinha, who describe themselves as - "Two geeks from Harvard and MIT who explore great food from a scientific perspective and blog about it" - Personally I'd describe them as two of the coolest people I've come into contact with, but that might say more about me than about them!

Being scientists they can take a much more detailed look at many of the things we talk about on the blog. Check out there site Why Cook for weekly updates on the latest news from all over the culinary and cocktailian world. Enough chit chat lets get into some knowledge.

I take great pride in asking people what they like to drink and finding something in my home bar that will make them happy. I enjoy alcohol as a lubricant for social experiences and am convinced that in moderation, it has at least some moderate benefits to health. The vast majority of friends I've tested have enjoyed the drinks I've made them. People who swear they can't stand hard liquor or only drink vodka have refilled on swizzles made from anejo tequila.

Except for Tom.

Tom (his real name isn't Tom) cannot stand the taste of alcohol. At all. And I know it's not his fault. He's always a good sport, tasting every single drink I've made for him. Each time, he smiles, as if confident this time, this drink, he'll find something he'll genuinely enjoy and know exactly what to order at bars forever. For me, it's like watching a car wreck in slow motion. I carefully study his face, looking for a sign, the slightest hint of a smile that indicates he's pleased, satisfied, or at least indifferent. But, every time, this venture ends the same. Tom's face tightens with disgust, his eyes squint, his tongue hangs limp from his defeated mouth.

Tom drinks Bud Lime and Coronas. I drink Tom's cocktail leftovers. Once in a while, I'll mix up something exceptionally light and he'll happily accept a glass, knowing he'll never be able to bring himself to ask for an amaretto sour or a dark and stormy (hold the stormy) in a bar. Poor Tom.

I decided to start doing some research. I had to understand why Tom didn't enjoy the same drinks I found so delicious.

Does Alcohol Actually Taste Good? (or are we all just addicts?)

Humans have been drinking alcohol for thousands of years. The earliest evidence we have dates back to the production of alcohol in China around 8000 B.C. And for as long as we've made it, we've treasured it. Pottery fragments left by Neolithic settlements living in modern-day Georgia around 6000 B.C. reveal images of celebration associated with alcoholic beverages.

Of course, early fermented wines and beers were relatively low alcohol. Some societies may have used alcohol production more as a means of preservation than for alcohol's inhibition-reducing effects. In fact, we didn't know how to distill alcohol to stronger strengths until 1200 A.D.

For more on the history of booze, see Drink: a Cultural History

A few thousand years is far too little time to evolve any sort of biological preference for alcohol, but we humans are very good at passing along our taste aversions and preferences through cultural and other unconscious cues. So what if the only reason I think alcohol tastes good is because people enjoy getting drunk and somehow that drug reliance has translated into a taste preference for ethanol? Would cocktails taste better if they were all virgin?

Some of the most telling research I found on the taste of alcohol came from the Department of Otolaryngology (the study of the ear, nose, and throat) at Warsaw Medical University in Poland. In 2000, Dr. Anna Scinska and five of her colleagues performed an experiment that, so far as I can tell, is the most definitive exploration of how people experience the flavor of alcohol available.

Dr. Scinska recruited 20 volunteers to taste small squirts of various concentrations of ethanol, sugar sucrose syrup, citric acid, saline, and quinine, a bittering agent. Perception of ethanol's taste was in question. The other solutions were meant to represent the tastes of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter - the four basic tastes the tongue can experience (MSG is a fifth, but is less explored). The results were intriguing. Every single test subject said that ethanol is bitter, even when it was present only as a 0.3% solution. The second most common taste descriptor, however, was that ethanol tasted sweet.

In the second part of Dr. Scinska's experiment, the test subjects were invited back to compare ethanol to tastes, but this time they were asked to rate the taste similarity of ethanol to a combination of both quinine and sucrose. The results confirmed what had been observed during the first test. When subjects tasted a 10% ethanol solution, they found it tasted most similar to a 3% sucrose solution with just a little quinine (0.005%) mixed in.

From this research, it seemed clear that people find alcohol both bitter and sweet. Everyone appears to find alcohol bitter, but apparently not extremely bitter, regardless of concentration. People also thought alcohol was sweet, but once again, only slightly, regardless of concentration.

These revelations were fortifying for me. The research showed that alcohol delivers a complex mix of bitter and sweet. Even at cocktail concentrations, the flavors were described as "pleasant". In fact, as I did more reading on the subject, I found that other animals (rats, elephants, birds included) seem to seek out naturally occurring alcohol for its sweet taste.

So why did Tom still hate cocktails? Going off the Scinska research, I thought maybe it might have something to do with the way he perceives bitterness. More research was needed.

It's Not Tom's Fault

In 2004, Sarah Lanier, a graduate of the dietetics program at the University of Connecticut, recruited 49 undergraduate students from the UConn population for an experiment. Lanier was working with Dr. Valerie B. Duffy, a professor at UConn who earlier that year had published a paper linking ethanol (the stuff that makes alcohol alcoholic) to a compound called 6-n-propylthiouracil, commonly known as PROP.

Here's how Lanier's experiment played out. Each of the 49 recruits sampled four different drinks: pilsner beer, blended scotch whiskey, instant espresso, and unsweetened grapefruit juice. They rated how bitter or sweet each drink tasted on two scales - intensity and whether they liked the taste. And that was it. The session must have been pretty easy for the college kids. They got free booze, a little coffee, and a few dollars for an hour of work.

But Lanier found some interesting results with this simple experiment. She collected two more important pieces of data about the students: (1) how much alcohol they consumed and (2) whether they were sensitive to PROP bitterness. People who are sensitive to PROP are known as "supertasters" because they find certain foods unbearably bitter. Most people are middle tasters, while some are "nontasters" - people who barely experience PROP bitterness at all. Lanier discovered that nontasters not only found bitter foods to taste less bitter, they also experienced sweet foods as sweeter. On the other end of the spectrum, supertasters found all bitter drinks to taste more bitter.

When Lanier linked people's perception of sweet and bitter to their consumption of alcohol, she discovered something really unexpected. People who thought scotch tasted sweeter and less bitter drank more alcohol on average. In addition, this effect appeared regardless of whether people said they actually liked scotch or not. How the students experienced beer, however, did not seem to have any predictive value on total alcohol consumption. Instead, Lanier found simply that more men tended to say they "liked beer" and those that showed this preference tended to drink more.

The UConn experiment seems to show two things. First, some people experience hard alcohol as extremely bitter and they drink less alcohol of any type as a result, even if they say they like the taste of hard alcohol. Second, although people experience beer very differently as well, they seem much more able to overcome their taste aversion, probably as a result of social pressure.

Aha! Now I understood why Tom could stomach some light beers, but struggled with sweet cocktails. He had probably overcome the bitterness of beer through social pressure and acquired tolerance to aversion, but the whole point of a craft cocktail is to use different strong liquors in harmony. You want to taste the alcohol. But that taste was torture for Tom.

But What About the Burning Taste of Alcohol?

There was one more thing I had to look into before closing the book on the "why do some people hate the taste of alcohol" case. Many of the participants in Dr. Scinska's 2000 study ascribed a sour taste to ethanol, but upon interview, described more of a "burning sensation". The characteristic burn of alcohol is well-documented, but, I wondered, what impact did it have on taste perception?

I posed the question to the question and answer site Quora and after a few months got a well-researched, thorough response from a medical student named Jae Won Joh:

The answer is not simple, unfortunately, and it's actually a bit difficult to pinpoint. Let's go through some of the research I've been able to dig up. Skip the bulletpoints and just go for the intermittent summaries if you're impatient.

· In 1965, Hellekant discovered that cat gustatory fibers respond to ethanol by increasing their firing pattern[1]. These fibers were also responsive to water, acetic acid, quinine, and salt. In cat non-gustatory fibers, ethanol caused a direct increase in firing up to a certain concentration before causing paralysis[2]. This was one of the first studies looking into how ethanol affected taste nerves.

· In 1999, Sako and Yamamoto showed in rats that you could induce aversion to alcohols, suggesting a possible burning/unpleasant sensation[3].

· In 2002, Danilova and Hellekant duplicated Hellekant's 1965 work in rhesus monkeys, showing that ethanol induces increases in firing in about half of lingual non-gustatory receptors. The taste fibers which respond to ethanol are also sensitive light touch and cooling. This suggested some sort of neuronal manipulation by ethanol, possibly with mechanoreceptors.

· In 2002, Trevisani published a brilliant paper showing that ethanol actually potentiates TRPV-1, a heat-gated ion channel that is responsible for the burning sensation elicited by capsaicin. Ethanol potentiated the response of TRPV-1 to capsaicin, protons, and heat; lowering the threshold for heat activation from 42°C to 34°C. This provides a likely mechanistic explanation for the ethanol-induced sensory responses that occur at body temperature.

Layman's summary up till 2002: we thought ethanol was just messing with nerves, but apparently there's this special receptor that it wreaks hell on, and it just so happens to be the receptor for capsaicin, which causes the burning associated with spicy food. Innnnnteresting. Veeeeery interesting...

· In 2004, it was found that ethanol actually activates a neural pathway reactive to sucrose[5]. That's right: ethanol is, at least to a rat brain, not all that far off from sugar. Which, in an evolutionary sense, is not all too surprising, given that they're both energy sources.

· In 2004 and 2005, Lyall showed in a nice series of papers that TRPV-1 is in taste receptors[5], proving that they were definitely in the right location for stimulation. This is basically further confirmation of Trevisani's work, I think.

· In 2005, Simon and Araujo published a nice review of the data thus far[7]. Just thought I'd recognize their paper, it's good.

· In 2009, Blednov and Harris demonstrated that if you knocked out the TRPV-1 receptor in mice, they would show significantly greater consumption of ethanol than their normal counterparts. However, you could still induce aversion in both groups, and withdrawal symptoms weren't different between the two[8].

Layman's summary up till 2009: we know now about alcohol and capsaicin, but it's apparent that alcohol has other taste pathways as well, possibly involving sweetness. It may even involve something else as well, given that you can still get a mouse to hate alcohol even if it doesn't have the capsaicin receptor.

Basically, what Joh summarized was that ethanol seems to trigger a pathway that is also responsible for the burning sensation you get from eating spicy foods and, importantly, that ethanol reduces the temperature at which the pain gets triggered.

I knew from previous research that there is only one way to build up a tolerance to spicy food: eat more spicy food. Perhaps sensitivity to alcohol works in a similar fashion?

How to Deal with Different Types of Drinkers

Everyone knows that flavor preferences vary greatly between people, but I had no idea ethanol could deliver such a complex range of pleasurable and unpleasurable flavors to different tasters. How one experiences alcohol depends on their genetics, social/cultural influences, and tolerance built up over time. Rather than go into all the takeaways, I've organized some advice for dealing with different types of drinkers.

For the beginning drinker

You have to be careful with the beginning drinkers because you have no idea whether they are a supertaster or not. Beginning drinkers are also the most prone to developing preferences for or aversions toward alcohol, so you want to make sure they don't drink too much or have a negative experience - it could deal irreparable damage.

Test the waters - mix something they're familiar with, like lemonade, and add half the alcohol you might add to a full drink. See if they appreciate how the alcohol adds complexity to the drink, or if they immediately pull away, cringing. Then you might have some idea what type of drinker they are and proceed from there.

For the Supertasting Social Drinker

For those individuals who are sensitive to PROP, the only way to make sure they enjoy their drink is to keep the abv relatively low. Highballs, swizzles, shrubs, and the like are classy and can be just as strong as an up drink, but are more diluted. Steps should also be taken to reduce the perceived bitterness of the drink. Avoid bitters and quinine if possible. Instead, emphasize sour and sweet flavors. Consider adding some salt, as salt can reduce the perception of bitterness (see here for an example). Experiment with complex flavors that are not alcohol-based, such as herbs and infused syrups.

For the Connoisseur

For a guest who's a fan of fine scotches or whiskys, you're probably safe to assume either they're not a supertaster or they have acquired a powerful enough preference for alcohol that the bitterness doesn't bother them anymore. Mixing drinks for people like this can be especially difficult because it can be hard to gauge how much tolerance they've developed in their TPRV-1 receptors. If ethanol works anything like capsaicin, what one person sees as a spicy, pleasant sip might appear to another as bland and pale. If at all possible, it might help to have the guest taste a simple blended scotch and describe it. If they find it bland and are looking for a complex drink, it may help to add bitters, quinine, or aperitifs to up the complexity.

For Nontasters

I somewhat suspect I am a nontaster. I love spicy, bitter cocktails and eat kale on a weekly basis (supertasters find many bitter vegetables overwhelming). It's not a bad life, though sometimes I wonder whether I've missed out on taste experiences others with more sensitive taste receptors enjoy. This may be one reason I enjoy smoky cocktails (have you seen our DIY cold smoker?), carbonation, and cocktails with capsaicin mixed or infused in. Nontasters are easy to please, but tough to impress. I've found that simply using higher proof spirits doesn't cut it; the harmony of other ingredients is thrown off. Challenge nontasters with new flavors. I remember once taking a shot of angostura bitters with John Gertsen of Drink. It was one of the strangest things I could imagine doing, but it was delicious. A shot of fernet, anyone?

What type of drinker are you?

Cool Hunting - Lab Video

2011-11-16T12:07:00.002Z

Thanks to Cool Hunting for this brilliantly shot "behing the scenes" video of the lab at 69 Colebrooke Row.

Although alot of the equipment and technology has been moved up the road to the new, and more spacious, lab, the video provides insights into the methods of thinking and ideas behind many of the cocktails at 69.

Flavour of the Week - Cranberry

2011-11-16T11:30:00.004Z

The christmas adds have already started, along with decorations springing up all over town.

In some ways I feel like I am somehow subtly being coerced into this choice of post, however the flavour is delightful regardless.

Though cranberry is an obvious choice when it comes to juices and longer drinks, I can't remember the last time I saw a cranberry syrup or a more concentrated version of the juice used in a cocktail.

For instance an interesting idea would be cranberry and almond syrup, that can be used in place of sugar. Perhaps a cordial mixed with lime or maple syrup.

Flavour - Tart, sweet, fruity. If eaten fresh they are very sour and bitter so will need sweetening.

Caffeine Inhaler by Aeroshot

2011-11-09T17:40:00.005Z

We all hit that point in the day, 4 or 5 coffee's in. Still feeling as though you need that extra hit to get you through the final hours before it is socially acceptable to start drinking. Now there is an alternative. Delivered by Aeroshot, who had previously developed an "inhaler" of chocolate.....just without an calories and no actual masticating involved.

Each container consists of 3 puffs of powdered caffeine that is absorbed directly onto the tongue. The total value works out to around 100mg of caffeine which works out to about the same at a large cup of coffee.

Created by Harvard biomedical engineering professor David Edwards, Aeroshot also contains your daily recommended does of vitamin B6, B12 and Niacin.

"Frequently, the first time people do it, they laugh" Says Edwards. "There's something funny about the act, how it happens in your mouth."

Pressure Cooking in Cocktails

2011-11-09T15:39:00.007Z

Inspired by Dave Arnolds splurry of knowledge on the post below we thought it was time to take the time to look at the pressure cooker as a whole and talk about how we can use that behind or above the bar.

Firstly, what is pressure cooking? Basically the pressure cooker allows you to preset and control the pressure inside the cooker and does not allow any air or liquid to escape below that pressure. This allows you to increase the boiling point of liquid inside the cooker so that the food can be heated to a higher temperature before the liquids start to boil.

The build up of pressure is created before cooking starting with the use of water and steam. The steam is trapped inside the cooker. Put simply "the higher the pressure the shorter the cooking time". Generally speaking you only need around 1/3 of the normal cooking time.

It is only recently that experiments with pressure cooking have begun to show us how much more they can do, than act as an expedient alternative to normal cooking.

For instance if you have watched the video below you will now that pressure cookers react in a interesting way with foods high in sulphur. To demonstrate onions were cooked at 15psi and if cooked in just the right way you can take away the pungency normally associated with onion flavour. The same happened with horse radish, and garlic. After cooking you can eat as much as you like without suffering the usual burning or after dinner garlic breath you would normally expect.

Dave Arnold also goes on to mention how the most prominent flavour left in the onion is it's sweetness. Leaving the options open of making ice cream or even a sweet syrup we could use in cocktail. For, maybe, more practical bar purposes we also find that you can "press" the juice out of fruits.

Berries you can do whole and harder fruits simply need to be roughly sliced into smaller pieces. You can also make syrups and extract flavour from herbs and flower. Just be very careful the flowers are edible, not covered in chemicals and can also be used in steam distillation! To do this you will need a heat proof container, a trivet and a steamer basket. All of which you can buy from the same supplier as your pressure cooker if they did not come with it already .

Specific recipes we will go into another time however make sure you start testing out the best ways of juicing or extracting at different pressures. This potentially leaves a very quick and controlled method of creating our own juices, syrups,and concentrated flavours that we can use every day on the bar.

Historical Context and Demos Illustrating the Relationship of Food and Science

2011-11-09T13:53:00.005Z

Amongst all the new techniques and knowledge beeing passed back and forward between the drinks and culinary world, it is often the most basic questions that can be missed.

For instance "how do you define cooking?" or "how do you define being a cocktail bartender or, to coin a popular term, a mixologist"

These basic questions often supply the best guidelines from which you can then build and grow as a bartender or chef but keeping these guidelines in your mind.

In the above lecture we are treated to the combination of Harold McGee and Dave Arnold, teaming up to answer both basic and advanced questions and demonstrate mdoern techniques.

Perhaps most interestingly they also demonstrate and give examples of how cooking has played an essential role throughout humans history and may have actually contributed to our evolution.

Though we have only relatively recently started using gelatins and clarifications in the drinks world, there is evidence that the techniques have been used since the middle ages.

2011-11-09T13:26:00.005Z

Fireballs That Don't Burn

2011-11-09T13:26:00.004Z

So firstly a reminder that fire is DANGEROUS! and do not try this at home.......

However imagine how much fun it could be if a trained professional were using this, under stirct safety conditions, behind a bar to zest an orange or toast a garnish infront of a customer.....

Flavour of the Week - Lemon Verbena

2011-11-09T11:54:00.004Z

Grown mainly in Chile and Peru, the plant can sprout 5 feet per season and has the potential to reach 15 feet in height.

Often used in cooking, after being dried out, mainly for the fact that it retains it's flavour almost indefinitely and is easy to prepare.

For bar uses it is possible to use when both dried and fresh, however both will give a different flavour profile. The leaves can be used to infuse a spirit or be muddled fresh into a drink. Due to their high concentration of flavour small amounts are needed per drink.

The leaf also provides an interesting alternative to stand in place of lemon juice or lemon zest, adding a similar yet cleaner flavour.

Flavour: intense lemon, pure, clean, fresh, floral.

Drinkers are Smarter.........?

2011-11-02T17:12:00.004Z

This study itself is a couple of years old however, today feels like any justifications for drinking are welcomed, it has been one of those weeks already! Plus we haven't reported on this before so here it is!

The findings come from two seperate studies, one based in the US and one in the UK. They followed two groups of children, measuring intelligence before the ages of 16 and subsequently volume of alcohol intake later in life.

Intelligence levels were categorized as "very dull", "dull", "normal", "bright" and "very bright". At the age of 23 the group from the US was revisited however the group from the UK were followed throughout their 20's, 30's and 40's.

Re-assuringly for many of us, it was found that the more intelligent a child the greater their volume of alcohol intake later in life. So binge britain is in fact a rabble of geniuses who've lost their way from a white board of equations to a gleaming back bar full of shiny spirits and temptingly named cocktails. *Phew*

Now, we have all had the experience of meeting someone who could be described as "very dull" and observed their high level of alcohol intake. These very dull people often suddenly became more interesting as a result. However I'd bet we have all also met someone "very bright" or someone wildly creative who drinks just as much if not more. Musicians and artists are a good example of the latter. Often in this case we find that the only way they can bare to look out onto this cruel and unjust world without shedding a tear for its occupants is to turn to a bottle and just get through it "day by day".

Many talk about how they are inclined to drink more in order to numb themselves and relate more easily to those around them, though often finding this may in-fact is not be the case in the morning. A good opportunity for the "very bright" to think fast and formulate a non-akward exit strategy. Others will swear blindly that it helps their creative process (it doesn't, alcohol doesn't add anything at all, bar verbal lubrication). Whatever the reason for every "dull drunk" we can find a "very bright" one and often they will get on just fine.

Theories range from Satasho Kanazawaat of Psychology Today siting evolutionary causes...… "

"Drinking alcohol was "unintentional, accidental, and haphazard until about 10,000 years ago. Smart people are generally early adopters and, in the context of human history, the substance [alcohol] and the method of consumption are both evolutionarily novel." - Ummmmm so alcoholics are more evolved then…….okay, moving on.

To people who theorise more intelligent people may have higher profile jobs that require socialising, and thus drinking. The classic "everyone else was having one" reason, nice!

Others argue (rather loosely) intelligent children were suppressed during their youth and studied hard meaning they missed out on the rebellious and often more "fun" side of growing up. Now that there are not any drinking taboos in adult life they are making up for lost time and getting the booze in. I wonder if this might show more about their personality that the study at hand…….

Personally I'm not entirely sure, we do however know that some of the worlds greatest men and women were booze addled drunks for instance Freud, Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac and Johnny Cash all enjoyed a tipple every other 10 minutes or so.

Whatever the reason at least the next time we worry we might be delving slightly too deep into the cocktail pot for a Tuesday night, we can safely assume that it is infact because we are actually geniuses and we feel oppressed by a world that can never understand our intellect………Yep that's what I'm sticking with.

Alternative theories are welcome! Comment or send them in.

Three Coloured Liquid

2011-11-02T15:30:00.004Z

Imagine a drink that changes colour, or texture, or even flavour as you drink it!? The flavour one has already been done and unfortunately the reaction above, as amazing as it looks, is also quite poisonous although very easy to do. It will be a while still before we have drinks that change colour as we drink them.

The affect is called Briggs-Rauscher reaction and is a combination of 3 different solutions

1. Potassium Iodate, Sulfuric Acid, and Water

2. 30% Hydrogen peroxide solution

3. Malonic Acid, Manganese sulfate monohydrate, starch and water

Exploring Thickeners to Manipulate Mouthfeel

2011-11-02T13:55:00.004Z

We know that thickening a liquid makes you think it is sweeter, even if that liquid is water, we also now that by adding what feels like pulp to a juice we think it is fresh and therefor healthier.

The lecture above is given by Carles Tejedor (Via Veneto), Fina Puigdevall and Pere Planagumà (les Cols) all from Harvard University.

The lecture itself is very very long so come prepared with pen paper and a couple of hours spare.
The cooking and demonstrations start around the 36 minute mark.

Flavour of the Week - Aloe Vera

2011-11-02T13:09:00.005Z

It's getting cold(ish) so all the help in waring of illness and getting through flu season unscathed is a good idea.

Aloe vera can help. There are over 500 varieties of Aloe Vera Plant and it's health benefits have been documented for many years. Whether it be internal, juice or capsules, or external, creams, it seems it can be used for a range of purposes including being a daily supplement to aid health in general.

Easily available both in juice, jelly, or pulp from most suppliers.

Flavour: Fresh, light, floral, slightly citrus.

Fresh Strawberry Daiquiris are Healthy?

2011-11-02T11:04:00.005Z

"In an experiment on rats, European researchers have proved that eating strawberries reduces the harm that alcohol can cause to the stomach mucous membrane. Published in the open access journal Plos One, the study may contribute to improving the treatment of stomach ulcers."

So in theory this could mean that any fresh strawberry pummelled into a cocktail is actually counter-acting the potentially bad effects of the alcohol in the drink.......

Good news for all drinkers!!

Cocktail Lovers New Online Mag

2011-10-26T16:50:00.007+01:00

Our very own Tony and Cami are on the front cover of the new online mag from our friends The Cocktail Lovers.

Dubbed as a "New Online Mag for the Discerning Drinker" you'll find more than just great drinks.

Take a look at the premier edition HERE

Enhancing Umami

2011-10-26T16:16:00.002+01:00

After our initital post on umami we came to realise that there is still a hell of a lot of information to sift through. After much deliberation we decided that another post was in order. ....... and maybe another one a little further down the line.

This time round we focus on how you can increase Umami, or deliciousness, in certain foods or liquids and think about how some of these processes can be harnessed for our purposes.

We inherently find Umami appealing. We have come to associate it with gustatory and health benefits, as well as that satisfying feel and taste that we get from certain ripe foods. This has lead to methods of cooking and preparation that increases this sensation. Some specifically to increase Umami and others serve a practical function i.e. preservation.

Ripening is the first naturally occurring way of increasing Umami. As foods ripen they gain flavour. This much is obvious but illustrated very well by tomatoes. When they are green and unripe there taste is unappealing. As they ripen the natural levels of glutamates and amino acids increase and so does the deliciousness.
The same can be seen in various other vegetables most notably mushrooms. The insufficient ripeness is often displayed through bitter flavours while if something is over ripe or off we sometimes taste that as sour.

Ripeness is often measured through palatability. In this method of increasing umami we see something which is completely practical and serves both a function of deterring people from eating to early or too late. Similar to fruit, we have learnt that certain flavours are unpalatable or poisonous.

With fruit, especially this is often displayed as sourness. In cheese's we see what is a similar process to ripening however it is often referred to as maturation. In many foods, the moisture present can often be one of the main hurdles to cross when attempting to increase Umami. Drying in many instances can be the easier way of getting around this problem.

The simplest method is to use sunlight, however with England being the temperamental climate that it is, a dehydrator can also be a simple method.

Curing is a very similar process to drying, however it includes the addition of salt or smoke being applied to the product. This method is both practical in that it preserves the food and also sensual in that we can see an increase in Umami.

Fermentation is arguably the most useful for our purposes. It is also slightly different from the other methods in it's use of enzymes, bacteria and other living organisms to break larger molecules down into smaller compounds or convert one compound into another. Many Umami rich compounds use this technique.

For instance, soy sauce, miso, mirin, sake, shochu, wine. These result in high levels of glutamate and a satisfying Umami feel. One avenue interesting to explore is the use of mirin in drinks. Although very sweet, in small amounts it could add interesting dimensions and potentially act as an alternative for sugar but adding a prominent Umami feel and interesting flavour profile.

Also, in theory wine can potentially posses very high levels of Umami and mouth feel. Also if U
umami is as much as sensation as it is a part of a food we can begin to work out ways to re-create it artificially in products for our own benefit.

Jake Burger in Jameson Cult Cocktail Series

2011-10-26T13:59:00.006+01:00

The Jameson Cult Cocktail Club has just released a series of films which is a creative collaboration between bartenders and filmmakers.

The films aim to give an insight into the inspiration behind bartenders drinks and put an interesting cinematic twist on the process.

This one in particular featuring man, legend and friend Jake Burger, made by Matthew Snyman, a London based filmmaker originally from South Africa, really caught our attention.

Check out the rest of the films here.

Archive Cocktail - Western Sling

2011-10-26T11:51:00.005+01:00

A very early variation on what is maybe on of the most famous cocktails in the world; The Singapore Sling.

2oz Gin
1/2oz Cherry liquer
1oz Lemon Juice
10ml Sugar
2oz Pineapple Juice
1Tsp Grenadine
5ml Benedictine
Shake and strain over Ice

Flavour of the Week - Marigold

2011-10-26T11:13:00.004+01:00

Also referred to as Calendula Oficinalis is arguably one of the healthiest and most beneficial naturally occuring remedies in nature.

Wholly backed by science, rather than tales passed down through generations. Marigold can be used to aid colon cancer, heart disease, to purify the blood and skin conditions.

For the best results it is wise to dry the plant out first. It can then be used to make tea or essential oils. Both being fairly simply processes.

Alternatively the plant and the stem can be juiced and used in conjunction with other fresh fruits.

Flavour - Musty, hay, earthy.

Conratulations 69 Colebrooke Rown / Zetter Town House

2011-10-26T10:51:00.004+01:00

Big congratulations to both 69 Colebrooke Row and The Zetter Townhouse for being this years runners up at the Observer Food Monthly Awards.

The event as a whole was a great success and the 69 Colebrooke Row team were on hand to provide cocktails after the award ceremony.

The Leidenfrost Effect

2011-10-26T10:14:00.007+01:00

Created for the release of Modernist Cuisine the Art and Science of Cooking, this video shows the Leidenfrost Effect in action.

In very simple terms it basically shows the effect of if you were to drop a droplet of water into a very very hot pan and then film it skittering across it.

Archive Cocktail - Kanu No (Sensual)

2011-10-19T12:23:00.002+01:00

Havana 7yr 4.5cl
Olorosso (Valdespino Solera 1842) .1cl
Harvey Bristol cream. teaspoon
Taylors Ruby Port. teaspoon
Stir and strain in martini glass.

Kanu-No. (or Sensual). Created by Mr.Ueno at the Star Bar in Ginza, Tokyo.

Ferran Adria Interviewed by Tony Conigliaro in 2006.

2011-10-19T11:59:00.004+01:00

This interview was published in Class magazine in April 2008 however the interview was actually conducted in July 2006 as no body wanted to publish it as it was to cocktail related and everybody wanted Ferran food articles until Tom Sandham editor of class saw it... So a big thanks to Tom for that!!

Tony: How did cocktails start at Elbulli? What was the timeline of how they evolved?

Ferran: At El bulli we used to watch the old technicolur Hawaiian based movies . Films with Elvis in them. Which had people drinking cocktails. Also they were in hotels of 4 stars and above who would give cocktails as a welcome in the evening. We felt that this part of the welcome was missing in high gastronomy. This was all happening 93/94 when we started experimenting with the snacks. The solid snacks were where it began. We then started along the lines of:

1. solid
2. liquid,
3. espumas (foams)

The third part was the liquid with the foam on top.

If it wasn’t for the foam we would not have started delving into the cocktails. As it opened the arena of cocktails for us.

The first cocktails where the passion whisky sour and the pina colada. These first cocktails took the cocktail making away from the bartender to the chef. Thus applying a different skill set to cocktails.

There were pros and cons of taking the job away from the barman 1: that chefs think outside of the cocktail box.

2.The cocktail/barman box is outside of the chef box.

So what you have in fact here is a chef cocktail.

Even though I am a big fan of what they do in the Barcelona cocktail bars. The style of cocktails at El bulli are not practical to do in a cocktelaria.

Tony: Where did the inspiration for the hot and cold drinks come from?

Ferran: It was a natural progression because cocktails where now in the kitchen. This lead to the separation from the classic cocktail in that they could be consumed with a spoon. Something which was unthinkable before. It also made them special in a different way.

Tony: Do you see a major difference in liquid as a flavour conduit than the solid of food?

Ferran: Look at it this way. What happens when you have a cocktail? It becomes an acupuncture of the senses..

We worked on the visual, temperature and the texture. We did not want to invent new cocktails as such. We played with these three premises, very few times have we deviated from the classics.

Tony: Was there no temptation to?

Ferran: No, because there are a lot of professionals doing that and we would bring nothing new to those combinations.We have invented no new combinations, we felt we could be more influentional in those areas I specified,by changing the design.

I was in a bar in London and they where doing this, but we don’t want to do what those people are doing. The things we look at are the limits The empty glass being the extreme!
Our job is to ask the why of things. A cocktail without alcohol is it a cocktail, or a mix of fruits or just a mix, If you ask yourself questions everyday, the answers change.I change my mind everyday. Haha!

Tony: Do you think that the chemistry of alcohol and the chemistry of food create emotions which can vary because of the alcohol?

Ferran: We are now talking about subjectivity. The difference of reaction in subjectivity. I can speak for myself but I cannot speak for others. Everybody has there own tastes there are 365 days in the year this is a opportunity to taste 365 different cocktails. There are no restrictions.

Tony: What kind of cocktails do you like?

Ferran: I don’t like strong strong cockatils not like the dry martini the ones that bomb you.
Things like the caiparinia, the sangria. Things that are lighter in tone.

After 7yrs of evolution we got quite close to the limits then we brought out the spray.Which is a dry martini in a spray, in a perfume bottle. We were asked to do this with comme de garcons which is made by puig in Barcelona..

(I am now shown a comme des garcons bottle which is filled with a martini mix)

Look this has been in the bottle for 1yr, 1yr and a half and it is still good.

There were two things with this invention that we wanted to say (everything we do has a reason we do nothing without a reason)

1. It applies flavour directly to your taste buds, it covers all of your mouth with those flavours, by changing the form you change the experience. It obliges you to chew like you would wine. Unlike the martini which is very cold. It goes back to taste. It appreciates the need to drink to quench thirst. It is a quick hit.

2. The second reason is that it opens possibilities it is more fashion, it is more London, not Cala Monteja. In London it has more applications to sell. It exposes possibilities opens barriers. We look it as chefs not as bartenders but we want to start the communication.

Tony: What has it been like to meet some of the people you have met through your fame?

Ferran: Fame its not about fame or famous people. I am interested in meeting the guy in the bar down the road. This is more important than meeting mick jagger.

But the benefits are that it opens up a world of ingredients and professionals. To meet good people.

Tony: The work you did in the bar in Barcelona can you talk about that?

Ferran: We used different points of referance drinking as drinking, selling cocktails as business things were much simpler.

Tony: There is a fun side to your work. A sense of humour to your food/ cocktails?

Ferran: Nothing is serious apart from love. Love and death. I am not interested in anything serious with no shade of fun. Like everything its quality things can be bad or good. Comics can be bad. You can have bad humour or you can have good humour.

But we do nothing without reflection. We just do not ‘do’ with no reflection. We do not move on without having reflected on what has happened. No superficiality.

Tony: What is your drink of choice at the end of a day?

Ferran: A gin and tonic.

Saying Of The Week - Hawkeye

2011-10-19T11:33:00.005+01:00

I'd like a dry martini, Mr Quoc. A very dry martini. A very dry, arid, barren, desiccated, veritable dustbowl of a martini. I want a martini that could be declared a distaster are. Mix me just such a martini.

- "Hawkeye" Pierce M*A*S*H
- "Cheers to Barchaeology for heads up

Chris McMillian - Ramos Gin Fizz

2011-10-12T11:40:00.007+01:00

Chris McMillan is without question one of the godfathers of the American cocktail scene and maybe one of the best known to come from New Orleans.

Here we see him making arguably one of the most famous, and richly documented drinks in the world: The Ramos Gin Fizz.

Saying Of The Week - Grapefruit

2011-10-05T13:13:00.004+01:00

Customer - I'm allergic to citrus, could I have a mojito?
Bartender - Yes, although it won't taste as nice without the lime.....
Customer - Ok, can I have a margerita instead....
Bartender - Um again the cocktail will be quite bare without lime or any citrus....
Customer - Oh ok (getting slightly agitated) just give me a grapefruit juice then!
Bartender - Are you SURE?
Customer - Yes grapefruit juice is fine.
Bartender - ..............

Bitters

2011-10-05T11:55:00.009+01:00

It seems bitters are very much back in fashion once more, not only that, but bespoke bitters seem to be the way the trend has gone. Why get boxed into a pre-made brand when you can create something to your own specific needs with relative ease?

The most arduous part of any bitters is how time consuming it can be. Maceration can last anything from 5 days to 3 weeks and making sure you hit that sweet spot between flavours is also a process that seems as though it can only be overcome with trial and error.

We thought we'd give you a brief run down of Bitters and then follow it up next week with some of our own techiniques and recipes we have used in the past.

Bitters originally were marketed as potent medicinal substances. Originally drunk on their own, they eventually became used as digestifs and a way of settling one's stomach after a meal.

They are produced mainly using bitter and aromatic plants and fruit extracts and/or distillates, fruit juices, essential oils, with or without the addition of sugar or glucose syrup. Products of this type are for example Boonekamp, English Bitter, Spanish Bitter or Angostura (which was named after a town in Vnezuela which today is Ciudad Bolivar). Angostura to this day is the most popular cocktail spice made from bitters and other aromatic botanticals. Originally made in 1824 by a German physician. While bitters can be a very simple set of ingredients, basically consisting of:

Bittering agent - Gentian, quaissia, wormwood, quinine etc
Flavour - O.j peel, grapefruit, angostura bark, cinnamom etc
Solution - vodka, whisky, gin etc

You can also create a much more complex flavour, simlar to angostura who use approximately 21 ingredients in their bitters.

We also seem to be enjoying a bit of a renaissance in the "old school" bitter making a come back and attempting to impede on Angostura's market in the shape of Bokers bitters which were infact the same bitters used by Jerry Thomas way back when.

We found this, potentially quite old recipe for Angostura:

4500g Angostura Bark
3000g Carobe
3000g Sandalwood, red
3000g Raisins
2000g Sweet orange peel
1500g Bitter orange peel
1500g Bitter orange fruit unripe
1500g Galanga root
1500g Gentian root
1500g Cinchona bark
1500g Vanilla beans
1000g Cinnamon bar, ceylon
1000g Lemon peel
1000g Massoia bark
750g Ginger root
750g Caramom
700g Mace
700g Clove buds
500g Cedoary root
60l Alcohol 96%
40l Water

Process: Macerate for approx 5 days; expression of soaked botanicals required. Alcohol recoverey by dry distillation of botanicals is recommended. Chill-filtration of macerate is important to avoid sedimentation of insoluble extractives.

Archive Cocktail - Clover Club (2006)

2011-10-05T11:07:00.004+01:00

"This is a version of the Clover Club cocktail that was part of a project which was to show case methods learnt from chefs. Then showing how those processes can be used to make drinks. This was a foam Clover Club, with a couple of additions rhubarb gin and a touch of rose. The spun sugar is made from clove sweets which contrasts and compliments the drink."

Flavour of the Week - Yuzu

2011-10-05T10:56:00.006+01:00

Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit that has a flavour that is almost half lemon and half lime but still with a light almost floral tinge to it. It still remains fairly bitter and citrus but also a touch sweet.

The flavour it self can be quite overpowering and often proves hard to balance with it's surroundings.

The fruit originates from East Asia and it is generally believed to be a cross of mandarin and ichang papeda.

We Requires you! - Drink Factory Cocktail

2011-09-21T16:30:00.000+01:00

This week we start something a little bit different. We thought it might be an interesting idea to create a new cocktail, however the ingredients will be chosen by you!! Yes, you! The kind reader of this blog.

We want you to write to us, either over email, comment on the blog, facebook, twitter, whichever is easiest for you, and tell us what you think. The cocktail will be built as below........

-Base Spirit-
-Liquer-
-Aroma-
-Juice -

Ideally we'd like to get one suggestion for each from you, however all ideas are welcome! The ingredients that are suggested most often for each section of the drink will be used in the final cocktail.

We will piece the cocktail together, however crazy or whatever general mish mash of ingredients we have, and make it work!

Once finished, the cocktail will be available over the bar at 69 Colebrooke Row.

Archive Cocktail - Hei Sour (2008)

2011-09-21T15:33:00.007+01:00

Hei Sour

50ml Jasmine Shochu

25ml Lemon Juice

15ml Orgeat

Dash Ylang Ylang

Dbl Strain into Coupette

Lemon Zest Garnish

(artists impression rather than actual image)

John Gertsen On The History Of Cocktails and Why Punch Is Where It Is At

2011-09-21T14:21:00.008+01:00

I think we can safely say, that many of us share some of the sentiments put forward by John Gertsen in the video.

Have a listen to him talk about why Punchs are "where it's at" and why bartenders don't actually serve cocktails...........

More videos from this brilliant series from TEDx will be on the way, including edible scents, the origins of taste, the science and craft of food and the incredible egg......

Saying Of The Week - Nietzche

2011-09-21T14:09:00.005+01:00

"Serve those who cannot serve themselves and you are great......" - Nietzche

Flavour of the Week - Nettle

2011-09-21T13:56:00.003+01:00

Showcased a few months ago in our Nettle Gimlet recipe, it is perhaps amongst the most under-utilised plants native to the UK and Europe.

Easily available either fresh, or pre-made as a cordial. In cooking, when the plant is soaked in water or boiled the stinging element is removed meaning they can be eaten and handled raw.

When cooked the flavour resembles that of spinach, however when raw, as they are often used in cocktails, the flavour is light and grassy. It works well with more herbacious spirits and citrus flavour.

Dr Charles Spence Interview (part2)

2011-09-15T14:55:00.001+01:00

Professor Charles Spence is the head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory based at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University. He is interested in how people perceive the world around them. In particular, how our brains manage to process the information from each of our different senses (such as smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch) to form the extraordinarily rich multisensory experiences that fill our daily lives.

6.Do you think cocktails and drinks can be as experiential as alot of food has become?

Yes on one hand there is maybe less that one can do in terms of sound and poral somatosensory texture with cocktails. However, on the other hand I think that there is more opportunity to play with colour and other unusual experiences.

I am currently working with a designer and some chefs to see when incongruity is used in food. So far, it seems that unusual colouring, things that do not taste as they look and hence give rise to surprise, is simething that you are more likely to come across in cocktails than in any other are of food or beverages. Think only for example, of blue curacao, orange flavour and blue colour.

7.If you could build a drinking / eating experience from the ground up what would it look like and what would it involve?

What we are really intrigued by at the moment is whether we could take flavour out of the mouth. It is relatively easy for me to give you feelings outside your body, by using a rubber hand, but what would it be like if you could make people experience flavours on their hands say, or on the outside of their cheek?

Already we have been playing a little with a rubber tongue, and can give some people a rubber tongue illusion....Whatever next!?

8.Can you break down the effect and the process involved in how each of our senses interact with one another and how this can then affect how we perceive something?

Yes, in fact the scientific approach that we and our colleagues adopt normally involves breaking the multisensory gestalt (or whole) down to a single pairing of senses at once. Once we understand, or at least once we think we understand, how colour affects taste and flavour say, only then may we bring sound into the equation....building or layering the senses one by one.

9.Do you have a favourite flavour or scent?

Currently, I love pulp by Byredo...Though I am not sure that it would taste as nice in a cocktail as on the skin. In terms of foods or odours, I love some of the exotic scents associated with South American fruits like guanabana that haven't yet made it over to the UK

10. Where do you see the future or scents and drinks heading?

I see a lot of exciting opportunities associated with functional scents. Some of the ideas are similar to those attached with aromatherapy, but the possibility is that synthetic scents may be more effective at alerting us / relaxing us... I am also very excited about the possibilities associated with the latest innovations in technology. We are currently working on designing a cup that will make a drink appropriate sound only when the glass is lifted and tilted.

As when someone is taking a sip from from a drink. I also have a Japanese professor working in the lab on a virtual reality device that will allow one to change the colour of a drink to any shade you want as you are drinking it! Just possibly this will allow people to change the taste of a drink as they are drinking it simply by changing it's colour.

Umami - The Fifth Taste

2011-09-14T14:55:00.000+01:00

So we understand this is not a new phenomenon, as umami was discovered in 1908.

However I don't think we have done a post, specifically on Umami, on the blog. So here it is!Umami basically describes a combination of saltiness, sweetness, sourness and bitterness, that also has a "feel" to it when inside your mouth.

It is present in MSG's and various foods. Although readily used in cooking Umami, has yet to take hold of the cocktail world with such a strong grip, despite being present in various ingredients that can easily be taken out of the kitchen and behind the bar.

What would be interesting, from our point of view, though is if we could achieve the "feel" of Umami without the actual flavour, which often does not sit well with fruity and lighter notes.

Although research continues into foods and products that contain Umami, we are still in the experimental stages, when it comes to bars and umami cocktails. However below is probably some of the most interesting results from research which has already taken place. (From Sensory and Receptor Responses to Umami: An Overview of Pioneering Wor, Gary K Beauchamp, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009)

“Umami taste has all four flavour components: sweetness, sourness, saltiness and bitterness. In addition, glutamate has the capacity of stimulating the feeling nerves of mouth and throat to produce the sensation known as ‘satisfaction.

So more than a feel, Umami can actually create a sensation. In theory this could mean we could harness that sensation and "Satisfy" people with only cocktails rather than submitting them to a dastardly full meal of non-liquid goodness. Potentially not the healthiest option however an interesting avenue to explore whilst wandering down the liquid path.

The current research shows that Sake and Shochu are the only spirits to contain Umami. Many of the the other products are foods such as meat and cheese, however there are several ingredients such as shiso, green tea, miso and soy that also contain Umami which could certainly be incorporated into a cocktail. Miso bloody mary's, shiso mojitos, are maybe the most obvious

Umami originates, or was most often used, in Japan where it is present in countless foods and every day ingredients. Dashi stock, which is made from kelp (kombu), and used in making white miso soup is probably one of the most famous Japanese imports to the western food market today. Dr Kikunae recognised early on that the active ingredient in kelp was the key to unlock it "deliciousness". He succeeded in 1908, and extracted Glutamate from the kelp. He was the first to coin the term Umami to describe this new taste sensation.

So, still in it's infancy there are a few Umami inspired drinks around. Ranging from Umami mixed with lager to one bar that has created an MSG powder that they can grind up into drink to get the same effect. It seems though that we are still in need of modifying the techniques and really making Umami as much of a fixture in bars as it is in kitchens.

Saying of the Week - To Build A Bartender

2011-09-14T12:37:00.009+01:00

The Bartender (perfect)
Build all ingredients in shaker
2 part Artist
1 part actor/entertainer
1 part host
1/2 part student
Stir over ice
Strain with a garnish of quick wit

GJG Cowan - 1986 - 2011

Archive Cocktail - Royal Bermuda Yacht Club

2011-09-14T11:17:00.003+01:00

Jim Meehan of PDT in New York introduced me to this Trader Vic drink whilst last in there.

Royal Bermuda Yachtclub Cocktail
2 oz Mt Gay Eclipse
1 oz lime juice
.5 oz Cointreau
.5 oz Falernum
Add all of the ingredients then add ice
Shake and strain into a chilled coupe
Garnish with a lime wheel

Flavour of the Week - Michelia Champaca

2011-09-14T10:44:00.002+01:00

Michelia Champaca are the flowers of a tree native to Indonesian Islands and the Phillipines. In recent time the Melanes people have progressively brought the tree and flowers further west.

The Chinese have started to use the flowers in perfume production and have since created Michelia Leaf Oil which is pale yellow / green in colour with sweet oily grassy delicate grassy notes leading into a delicate sweet tea or hay-like fragrance which has undertones of sage and rose.

Flavour - Warm, floral, leafy similar to high grade teas.