Molecular Cocktails

[tkerby]

Why not use an ISI Thermo Whip? All you would need is a strainer of the right size. Just dont fit a nozzle and keep it upright when you come to release the pressure using the product release handle. Insulated, pressure capable and perfect for the task. You could also carbonate further if required with their CO2 cylinders

[slkinsey]

I don't think you'd have an easy time getting ice cubes into the top of an ISI Thermo Whip.

[bostonapothecary]

I've been thinking that a salt, sweet or sharp foam would be useful to float instead of coating the rim of a glass.  I can imagine a Margarita with a Salt foam float.

I've been researching and found some more interesting links

Robert Hess interviews Jamie Boudreau

Photomicrography of Cocktail crystal structures

Apple White Lady (Sous Vide)

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no. 9 park is doing a really simple fernet foam that sits atop some chilled rye with a little simple to become a modernists toronto... (they name it after a neighborhood of which escapes me in toronto with lots of bars...)

i was skeptical for a split second but it was really tastey. better than anything i've ever had with fernet.... because of the shape of the common martini glass you never used up all the foam before the rye. it married with the booze as you sipped. best foam drink i've had so far....

the greatest technological breakthrough in cocktails is the measured drink.... its as significant as indoor lighting.... unfortunatley so many bars are working in the dark....

[tkerby]

I don't think you'd have an easy time getting ice cubes into the top of an ISI Thermo Whip.

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Not sure about the thermo, but my 0.5l gourmet has a neck about 5cm wide so it should be plenty big enough to put ice inside.

The gourmet could be coated in a neoprene sleeve like the ones you get to keep beer cans cool to protect your hands from the dry ice

[slkinsey]

the greatest technological breakthrough in cocktails is the measured drink.... its as significant as indoor lighting.... unfortunatley so many bars are working in the dark....

The "measured drink"? What does this mean, exactly? Using a jigger instead of free pouring? This is something the best bars in NYC have been doing for years.

[bostonapothecary]

the greatest technological breakthrough in cocktails is the measured drink.... its as significant as indoor lighting.... unfortunatley so many bars are working in the dark....

The "measured drink"? What does this mean, exactly? Using a jigger instead of free pouring? This is something the best bars in NYC have been doing for years.

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i mean the jigger.... it is not very common in boston....

boston is really wierd. consumer demand for a good drink outpases the supply. there is an old generation of bartenders that have really bad habits.... i keep seeing so many people interested in a good cocktail but going to wine because they know the bartender can't mess it up....

its kinda funny you think the bartenders would be setting the pace. it only takes a couple incredible bars spoiling their clientelle to make other places' drinks look really bad relative....

[eje]

A co-worker pointed out there's an interview with Eben Freeman in the December issue of Food and Wine Magazine.

One sort of interesting technique he talks about is for infusing the flavor of fats into alcohols.

Mix a liquid fat with alcohol, then chill, and filter out the fat.

He describes a brown butter infused dark rum he uses in a drink and discusses using bacon fat to flavor bourbon.

He also talks a bit about Kazuo Ueda's "Hard Shake" method of chilling cocktails.

[johnder]

Yah, "fat washing". It rocks.

Infuse with fat flavor of you choice, chill, strain, enjoy.

[thirtyoneknots]

Wow. Foie Gras infused Cognac (or Armagnac), anyone?

[jmfangio]

A co-worker pointed out there's an interview with Eben Freeman in the December issue of Food and Wine Magazine.

One sort of interesting technique he talks about is for infusing the flavor of fats into alcohols.

Mix a liquid fat with alcohol, then chill, and filter out the fat.

He describes a brown butter infused dark rum he uses in a drink and discusses using bacon fat to flavor bourbon.

He also talks a bit about Kazuo Ueda's "Hard Shake" method of chilling cocktails.

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Bacon Bitters. I can see it now...

[donbert]

Wow. Foie Gras infused Cognac (or Armagnac), anyone?

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I have a seared foie infused burbon drink in the Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition at the end of the month. I'll be making enough for a 100 people as part of the competition for a sherry book launch party. If anyone is in NYC on Nov 29th and wants to attend just PM me.

Bacon Bitters.  I can see it now...

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Stephan Berg of Bitter Truth Bitters and I were tossing this idea around. There might be something in the works...

Edited November 20, 2007 by donbert (log)

[eje]

Oh, hey, I found a link to the article on the Food & Wine Website:

Secrets of a Cocktail Master, By Nick Fauchald

Making Freeman a focal point of Tailor seems like an odd choice, given that the restaurant’s chef, Sam Mason, has a following many rock stars would envy. But the booth is the first indication that Tailor approaches cocktails from a new direction. The second is its menu: Freeman’s drinks are as subversive as the salty-sweet, kitchen-lab creations—mustard ice cream, candied olives—that made Mason famous at New York’s temple of molecular gastron­omy, WD-50. A glance at the ingredients on the Tailor cocktail menu confirms this: house-smoked cola, walnut-infused Cognac and dry-hopped gin among them.

There's also a piece about using fat washing for Jello Shots (really!) on the Food & Wine Blog:

Haute Jello Shots, By Kristin Donnelly, Food Editorial Assistant

I tried two different versions: cranberry-pomegranate shots with rye whisky, sweet vermouth and bitters, and maple-sweetened Fuji apple shots with bacon-infused bourbon. While I actually preferred the flavor of the tart, intense cranberry shot, the gelatin didn’t set well, so I need to work on the recipe for that one. The apple shot, however, was a huge hit, and I’m very happy to share the recipe here.

Edited November 20, 2007 by eje (log)

[jmfangio]

Bacon Bitters.  I can see it now...

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Stephan Berg of Bitter Truth Bitters and I were tossing this idea around. There might be something in the works...

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Oh God. Yes, please.

It just occurred to me that if someone uses Ted Breaux's Perique liqueur as a base, that'd be three vices (alcohol, fat, and tobacco) in one.

[donbert]

Oh God.  Yes, please. 

It just occurred to me that if someone uses Ted Breaux's Perique liqueur as a base, that'd be three vices (alcohol, fat, and tobacco) in one.

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I can think of a few other vices that are alcohol soluble...

[bostonapothecary]

Oh, hey, I found a link to the article on the Food & Wine Website:

Secrets of a Cocktail Master, By Nick Fauchald

Making Freeman a focal point of Tailor seems like an odd choice, given that the restaurant’s chef, Sam Mason, has a following many rock stars would envy. But the booth is the first indication that Tailor approaches cocktails from a new direction. The second is its menu: Freeman’s drinks are as subversive as the salty-sweet, kitchen-lab creations—mustard ice cream, candied olives—that made Mason famous at New York’s temple of molecular gastron­omy, WD-50. A glance at the ingredients on the Tailor cocktail menu confirms this: house-smoked cola, walnut-infused Cognac and dry-hopped gin among them.

There's also a piece about using fat washing for Jello Shots (really!) on the Food & Wine Blog:

Haute Jello Shots, By Kristin Donnelly, Food Editorial Assistant

I tried two different versions: cranberry-pomegranate shots with rye whisky, sweet vermouth and bitters, and maple-sweetened Fuji apple shots with bacon-infused bourbon. While I actually preferred the flavor of the tart, intense cranberry shot, the gelatin didn’t set well, so I need to work on the recipe for that one. The apple shot, however, was a huge hit, and I’m very happy to share the recipe here.

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i dry hopped some rum a while ago. it can be intense and intimidating. but if you do one short infusion throw out the booze and then do your second real infusion you will lose your most over the top pharmacudical type bitter and reveal more of the floral character... all in all fun. rum kissed by hops makes a good floridita...

the bacon whiskey concept uses the "Enfleurage" technique... it is one method of making essential oils... dissolve something in a fat... (that smokey character is dissolved in your bacon) integrate it to an alcohol... the alchol pulls the stuff out of the fat... rack away the fat...

i had great salad dressings this season with walnut oil and aged sherry vineger... i wonder if that oil is a shortcut for nocino... i'd drink that walnut cognac with a spoonful of pear liqueur...

[sygyzy]

Hi,

Last Saturday I was making espresso foam to top donut soup. I had about 8 oz of espresso and added about 1/4 tsp of soy lecithin and hit it with an immersion blender. While I did get foam, it was only about 1/2 inch and once you try to scoop it out, you end up with very little foam. I ended up adding at least 2 tablespoons and got only slightly improved results. I bet my problem is with technique and not the dosage of lecithin, since I added so much. Does anyone have any tips?

Thanks.

[chickenfriedgourmet]

Hi,

Last Saturday I was making espresso foam to top donut soup. I had about 8 oz of espresso and added about 1/4 tsp of soy lecithin and hit it with an immersion blender. While I did get foam, it was only about 1/2 inch and once you try to scoop it out, you end up with very little foam. I ended up adding at least 2 tablespoons and got only slightly improved results. I bet my problem is with technique and not the dosage of lecithin, since I added so much. Does anyone have any tips?

Thanks.

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I found the best results by using a deep wide rimmed bowl that gives a lot of surface area. Skim the immersion blender just barely below the surface and you should get better results. Check out This Thread for a play on Minibar's Fizzy Mojito that I did with cranberry and vodka. I also have done the passion fruit whiskey sour and have had some good results.

[mkayahara]

I was watching the molecular mixology episodes of The Cocktail Spirit the other day, specifically the one for 90 Years of Aviation, and became intrigued by the idea of using gelatin instead of sodium alginate to make "caviar." Has anyone tried this? Boudreau says you're looking for a "thick, sauce-like" texture in the gelatinized base; is that just a function of not chilling it completely, so that it doesn't set all the way, or is there some concentration at which gelatin thickens the base but doesn't cause it to gel firmly?

I hope that question makes sense. Fundamentally, what I'm wondering is whether you can store the base in the fridge indefinitely and form the caviar to order, or whether you have to make up the base right before you want to serve it. (Or, I guess, form the caviar all at once, keep them chilled, and spoon them into the glass to order.)

I'm hoping to be able to use this technique for a Kir Royal where the cassis caviar will rise and fall on the bubbles of the champagne.

Also, someone way upthread mentioned El Bulli's hot and cold gin fizz; it's worth noting that the recipe can be found here.

[bostonapothecary]

I was watching the molecular mixology episodes of The Cocktail Spirit the other day, specifically the one for 90 Years of Aviation, and became intrigued by the idea of using gelatin instead of sodium alginate to make "caviar." Has anyone tried this? Boudreau says you're looking for a "thick, sauce-like" texture in the gelatinized base; is that just a function of not chilling it completely, so that it doesn't set all the way, or is there some concentration at which gelatin thickens the base but doesn't cause it to gel firmly?

I hope that question makes sense. Fundamentally, what I'm wondering is whether you can store the base in the fridge indefinitely and form the caviar to order, or whether you have to make up the base right before you want to serve it. (Or, I guess, form the caviar all at once, keep them chilled, and spoon them into the glass to order.)

I'm hoping to be able to use this technique for a Kir Royal where the cassis caviar will rise and fall on the bubbles of the champagne.

Also, someone way upthread mentioned El Bulli's hot and cold gin fizz; it's worth noting that the recipe can be found here.

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seems like something that would be fun to play with. i've used gelatin to thicken things with out creating a solid like my "tart pineapple-irish moss syrup"... i don't know if you could rival the effect of a egg yolk (nearly negligable membrane holding in explosive liquid flavor) which is what the alginate tries to approximate... with out creating the recipe it seems like it would only produce nice perfect spheres of jello. seems like he used the technique and understood the drink really well in relation to everyone around here advising that violette should only be a tiny accent unless the drink's name be changed to something french and raunchy...

i wonder if i could make some violette spheres... gently add them to a ramos-esque fizz and then serve it with a very thick bubble tea straw... the violette fizz sounded cool on paper but turned out kind of gross in practice. maybe it just needs the right medium... slurp it down and suck up some explosively flavorful spheres as you go...

i think i can get some nice straws like that from starbucks and have it all ready to go by tomarrow...

[mkayahara]

i think i can get some nice straws like that from starbucks and have it all ready to go by tomarrow...

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FWIW I saw bubble tea straws for next to nothing in our local Asian market the other day.

Let me know how it turns out!

Edited January 22, 2008 by mkayahara (log)

[Provocachic]

There is actually a recipe designed with a salmon sashimi as the garnish:

http://www.gildedfork.com/provocachic/2007...r-epiphany.html

For a little background on "Molecular Gastronomy" you can refer to this: http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-mol4.htm and for a little more reading, you can refer to this article http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0218/p11s02-lifo.html

In short, it is about looking at food preparation from a scientific angle. Somewhat similar to the "Food Scientist" approach of Harold McGee ("On Food And Cooking", "The Curious Cook") and Alton Brown ("Good Eats" on the Food Network), but perhaps taking things even a little further. One aspect of testing the boundaries, is what Heston Blumenthal does at his Fat Duck restaurant, and pairing foods together because "chemically" they have an affinity for one another, even though on the face of it they might not sound terribly appetizing. Caviar and White Chocolate apparently is one of the more noteable examples, although I have not yet tried this out myself.

So I read into this sort of two different methods of thinking. One is to question "traditional" methods and wonder what the scientific rationale is behind it, the other is to challenge convention, and discover new ways of doing things.

For example: Cocktails are traditionally served in a conical glass... is that really the best shape to use?

and: Would a garnish of a cube of medium-rare steak work better then an olive in a Martini?

(not that I have an answer to either of the above questions :-)

To return back to part of the initial question/observation and something like a Mint Julep...

Assuming that part of the intent with a Mint Julep is to impress a mint flavor to it... what is actually the best way to do this and get the best possible flavor result? Do you use just the mint leaves, muddling them hard into a little sugar syrup, and then add the ingredients... or do you use the mint, stems and all, and not muddle them at all, instead simply shaking everything together? Or perhaps there is a chemical compound in the mint that can't help but turn slightly bitter when combined with whiskey, and therefore the best way to get the mint "essence" without the bitterness is to festoon the top of the glass with a "veritable forest of sprigs"... That, would be Molecular Mixology.

While we are also on the topic of flavor combinations, I might take a moment to recommend "Culinary Artistry" by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Nothing really Mixology related about it, but I think it is a facinating look into cuisine, flavor pairings, and insights into how a number of renowned chefs "think" about the cuisine they create. Conceptually there is some cross-over into Mixology as well.

-Robert

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[Provocachic]

Hi,

may i ask, how do you dry hop rum? I'm curious about the process & techniques, if may be so kind as to share it.

Oh, hey, I found a link to the article on the Food & Wine Website:

Secrets of a Cocktail Master, By Nick Fauchald

Making Freeman a focal point of Tailor seems like an odd choice, given that the restaurant’s chef, Sam Mason, has a following many rock stars would envy. But the booth is the first indication that Tailor approaches cocktails from a new direction. The second is its menu: Freeman’s drinks are as subversive as the salty-sweet, kitchen-lab creations—mustard ice cream, candied olives—that made Mason famous at New York’s temple of molecular gastron­omy, WD-50. A glance at the ingredients on the Tailor cocktail menu confirms this: house-smoked cola, walnut-infused Cognac and dry-hopped gin among them.

There's also a piece about using fat washing for Jello Shots (really!) on the Food & Wine Blog:

Haute Jello Shots, By Kristin Donnelly, Food Editorial Assistant

I tried two different versions: cranberry-pomegranate shots with rye whisky, sweet vermouth and bitters, and maple-sweetened Fuji apple shots with bacon-infused bourbon. While I actually preferred the flavor of the tart, intense cranberry shot, the gelatin didn’t set well, so I need to work on the recipe for that one. The apple shot, however, was a huge hit, and I’m very happy to share the recipe here.

←

i dry hopped some rum a while ago. it can be intense and intimidating. but if you do one short infusion throw out the booze and then do your second real infusion you will lose your most over the top pharmacudical type bitter and reveal more of the floral character... all in all fun. rum kissed by hops makes a good floridita...

the bacon whiskey concept uses the "Enfleurage" technique... it is one method of making essential oils... dissolve something in a fat... (that smokey character is dissolved in your bacon) integrate it to an alcohol... the alchol pulls the stuff out of the fat... rack away the fat...

i had great salad dressings this season with walnut oil and aged sherry vineger... i wonder if that oil is a shortcut for nocino... i'd drink that walnut cognac with a spoonful of pear liqueur...

←

[Provocachic]

hi,

just like to add an interesting idea of using simple gelatin and cold oil to make 'caviar/pearls' (http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/video/26/molecular_mixology_aviation/) or simply the age-old egg white to create a foam (http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/video/19/jamie_boudreau_molecular_mixology2/)

Some of the items needed for molecular mixology may not be easily available, and in the current trend of MM, some of these items are just being marketed at a unnecessary price range. The videos above are good reminders to look back at the main concepts behind and to find more 'friendly' alternatives.

I finally got around to mixing a drink out of el Bulli 1998-2002: a passionfruit whiskey sour:

Unfortunately, even after 4 packets of gelatin, 4 nitrous oxide cartridges, one frozen hand (screw the top on the cream whipper before inserting the nitrous cartridge. duh.), and a quart of passionfruit juice, I didn't achieve a successful drink. The first problem was the quality of the passionfruit: the Ceres juice I used must be weak compared to whatever is used at el Bulli/minibar: the recipe calls for cutting the juice with water, which results in a very dilute cocktail base, without any sour component to speak of. Second problem was the foam: it was supposed to sit in the fridge for 2 hours, but after 30 minutes or so half the foam had collapsed and the rest had gelled into something the consistency of a marshmallow. The recipe calls for 1.5 sheets of gelatin, but I can only find packets of Knox. Neither 1, 1.5, or 2 packets seems to work, and at the high concentrations you can clearly taste the gelatin (yech!). Has anyone else experimented with foamed cocktails? Any advice?

thanks

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[Dante]

So I've got it in my head that I'd like to try a spherification of Green Chartreuse for my impending trip to New Orleans (I'm a member of the Completely Mystical Order of the Krewe of Chartreuse), but I'm wondering about the viability of doing this with an alcoholic substance. Would I go about it in the standard manner, is there some added factor I should account for or is it chemically impossible? I've only done this with fruit juice so far. I'd really love to present the Krewe founder I'm staying with down there with a container of Chartreuse "Caviar".

Sincerely,

Dante

[mkayahara]

So I've got it in my head that I'd like to try a spherification of Green Chartreuse for my impending trip to New Orleans (I'm a member of the Completely Mystical Order of the Krewe of Chartreuse), but I'm wondering about the viability of doing this with an alcoholic substance.  Would I go about it in the standard manner, is there some added factor I should account for or is it chemically impossible?  I've only done this with fruit juice so far.  I'd really love to present the Krewe founder I'm staying with down there with a container of Chartreuse "Caviar".

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Are you thinking of doing this with sodium alginate/calcium chloride, or gelatin and cold oil? In either case, I think this would be extremely tricky, especially with the high proof of Chartreuse. AFAIK, alcohol interferes with both gelatin and alginate, so the only real option would be a reverse spherfication using a sodium alginate bath and calcium chloride in the Chartreuse (see this post, for example).