Molecular mixology

Molecular Mixology is the term applied to the process of creating cocktails using the scientific equipment and techniques of molecular gastronomy.

These methods enable the creation of greater intensities and varieties of flavour, flavour combinations and different ways of presenting drinks, for example using gels, powders, foams, atomised sprays etc., as well as affecting the appearance of the cocktail^[1].

History

The Art of Drink website suggests that the earliest example of what we now call molecular mixology is the long-established bartending practice of layering ingredients in cocktails. This experimentation with the density and viscosity of fluids uses the principles of scientific investigation that are fundamental to molecular mixology.^[2]

Equipment

The equipment used in molecular mixology can range from comparatively simple items such as blowtorches (frequently used in restaurant cooking) to more specialised items such as a vacuum sealer, a device for combining and infusing ingredients in a vacuum and thus preserving their flavours and enhancing the finished product. These infusions allow unexpected combinations of flavours in cocktails, including flavourings from non-edible substances, such as tobacco and leather (found in the Smoked Old Fashioned cocktail^[3]) and perfume (as in the Champagne No.5^[4]).Another machine which is used by the best mixologists is the Rotavap. This is a vacuum rotary distillation setup, which allows the extraction of aromas, low temperature reduction of juices and the production of flavored spirits.^[5]

Techniques

The techniques used by a mixologist are mostly bound to the new equipment which is provided by the molecular gastronomy. They are, for the most part, adaptions of new techniques for food preparation, for example: airs were originally created for food applications, but nowadays you can find aires on top of cocktails.^[6]

Prominent figures

One of the main proponents of molecular mixology is Tony Conigliaro, a bartender who has collaborated with pioneering molecular gastronomist Heston Blumenthal at the award-winning Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire. Other names associated with molecular mixology are Eben Klemm, molecular biologist-turned-bartender, and Eben Freeman, a New York based mixologist.

References

1. ^ [1] An article from the Guardian, with some examples of how the techniques of molecular mixology can effect the appearance of the finished cocktail.
2. ^ An Introduction to Molecular Mixology
3. ^ Drink Factory: Smoked Old Fashioned
4. ^ Drink Factory: Champagne Cocktail no. 5
5. ^ http://cookingissues.wordpress.com/primers/rotovap/
6. ^ An Introduction to Molecular Mixology