20 GREATEST ADVANCES IN FOOD AND DRINKS HISTORY

Ever wondered what the most influential factors have been in humankind’s history relating to the advancement of food and drink? Here The Atlantic breaks down the 20 most influential. Hint: The list does not include a waffle or a cheese toastie maker.

20 GREATEST ADVANCES IN FOOD AND DRINKS HISTORY

DRINKS INTERNATIONAL AND TONY C

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                      Drinks International profiling the one and only Tony C.

DRINKS INTERNATIONAL AND TONY C

TRANSLATING SCENT INTO LANGUAGE

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An interesting article from Chemistry World on some of the problems scientists face when trying to translate the world of scent into the world of words. It's pretty difficult- judging from the fact that DrinkFactory couldn't even decide what photo to put up to illustrate the article...

SCENT INTO LANGUAGE

THE COCKTAIL LOVERS FAVORITE LONDON BARS

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This Telegraph article has the Cocktail Lovers listing their 10 favorite cocktail bars in London by occasion, energy level, and ambiance. Amongst the illustrious few? The Zetter Townhouse, for “English Eccentricity”.  Naturally, Old Boy, naturally…

THE COCKTAIL LOVERS FAVORITE LONDON BARS

DAVE ARNOLD ON COCKTAIL SCIENCE

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Dave Arnold, one of Drink Factory’s favorite enfants-terribles of the food science, (and now cocktail science) world, breaks down EVERYTHING he has learned about cocktail science in the past year. Dave Arnold is the man behind the excellent bar, Booker and Dax, in NYC.

                                                        DAVE ARNOLD ON COCKTAIL SCIENCE

Microbiologist Gastronomist

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A very interesting New York Times profile of Rachel Dutton, a Harvard microbiologist who has become the leading resource for chefs and food scientists to get even more involved in their food, down to the micro-organic level.  Ms. Dutton’s work with microorganisms has been used by the likes of David Chang and Harold McGee to further their own projects and research. Her career all started with her fascination with examining the colonies of bacteria that live on hundreds of different types of rinds of cheese.

  Microbiologist Gastronomist

Flavour of the Week

The flavour of the week is Manuka Honey. Manuka honey is a honey derived from the Manuka plant, otherwise known as Leptospermum scoparium (manuka myrtle, New Zealand teatree, broom teatree, or just tea tree or Leptospermum).  The manuka is a shrub or small tree native to New Zealand and southeast Australia.

Manuka plant itself has an astringent medicinal quality to its leaves and bark, and when distilled into a hydrosol can be quite pungent. This savory, earthy, medicinal quality translates to a robust, spicy, faintly funky flavoured honey. Manuka honey is also normally creamier in texture than most honeys. Manuka honey is widely used throughout New Zealand, though is not generally known off that continent.

In New Zealand it serves not only as a flavouring agent but is also purported to have many medicinal qualities, among those a strong efficacy as an antiseptic. Manuka honey is graded by its “activity levels”, meaning how active and how many enzymes there are in the honey at the time of its bottling. Those enzymes purportedly are what provide the health benefits of the honey itself.

Though the health benefits of the substance are intriguing enough to seek it out, the flavour itself is the real star. Riding a fine line between menthol and barnyard, sweet and savory, Manuka honey has got to be one of the more interesting sweeteners one can find. And perhaps it’s good for you, too!

Manuka honey is best when it is not heated, which makes it an interesting choice to use as a sweetening agent in a cocktail.

Affordable At-Home Sous-Vide Cooking

Thanks to a successful kickstarter campaign the Nomiku at-home sous-vide cooker has gone into production. Once the realm of perfectly cooked meats and even cooking temperatures were relegated to professional kitchens and expensive equipment, but no longer! The sous-vide is a fantastic tool in the kitchen but also functions as a great asset for a bar as well. It can be used to make infusions, flavour sugars, and create an aging effect on spirits. This is a piece of equipment that you will be glad that you bought and that you can get really creative with. The Nomiku can be pre-ordered for December for a mere £260. 

NOMIKU WEBSITE

Imbibe.com Explores the Intersection of Spirits and Perfume

 A great article by Alice Lascelles from our archives exploring two of the things we at Drink Factory are most passionate about: spirits and perfume. Alice came into the lab back in 2011 to talk about what we do and smell her way through some of the things we had up on the shelves. I think its safe to say she was hooked... Read the full article below.

 Imbibe UK Article

"Cocktail Dress" No Really- a Cocktail. Dress.

Though it might be a bit much for your next get-together we can't help but wonder a bit what it might be like to wear a dress that dispenses cocktails.  It doles them out based on whether or not the wearer is pleased with how the recipient has played a game of Truth or Dare. Click on the link below for a very interesting video demoing the dress and the concept behind it.
"Cocktail Dress"

Space Booze

That's right. Turns out scientists found an alcohol cloud spanning over 288 BILLION miles in space. Now that's a lot of Margaritas. But, don't get your hopes up too high... Most of the massive cloud is methanol, and that doesn't make for a very good, (and non- fatal) drink.

Booze Cloud

Flavour of the Week

The flavour of the week is Urfa biber. Urfa biber (also known as Isot pepper) is a dried Turkish pepper cultivated in the Urfa region of Turkey. It’s flavour can be described as smoky and moderately hot, with a undercurrent of sweetness reminiscent of raisins, tobacco, and chocolate. Urfa biber is technically a red pepper, ripening to a dark maroon on the plant. The peppers go through a two-part process, where they are sun-dried during the day and wrapped tightly at night. The night process is called 'sweating', and works to infuse the dried flesh with the remaining moisture of the pepper. This creates a color ranging from deep purple to a dark, purplish black. The dried chili has a higher moisture content than other peppers, such as Aleppo, due to this process. Though the flavour is reminiscent of smoked peppers, such as chipotle, it is only the plants’ natural smokiness that gives it this taste.

Urfa biber is less spicy than many other chile peppers but provides a more lasting build of heat. It was traditionally used in Turkey in meat and savoury foods but because of its fruity overtones it is becoming popular in to use in sweet dishes in North America. An excellent pairing with chocolate, and vanilla pairs well with the raisin-y notes.

TimeOut London Names Best Cocktail Bars in the City and 69 Colebrooke Row Tops the List!

                                                              TimeOut London

Books on Two of Our Favorite Things- Wine and Perfume.

Here's a great article from the Huffington Post reviewing four books about the worlds of wine and perfume. Though the summer is almost over hopefully we all can get the chance for one more lazy, sunshiny getaway. If Drink Factory does we are definitely going to have "The Scent Trail" in our luggage.

Four Late Summer Reading Picks on Wine and Perfume

Ferragosto this Sunday 19th at 69.....