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Old Fashioned Barrel Finished Malt

The older I become, the more I see opportunities to do some really significant (and new stuff) without using arsenic in cocktails and poison people (or like a trend a couple of years ago, make tobacco infusions, which are basically more poisonous than arsenic - as nicotine is quite a bit more poisonous...). Off course I am kidding - however you don't need to mix Bourbon with Mountain Dew to do something really exciting...
In the place I have worked before we did a barrel aged Last Word. This was actually a great idea - the cocktail was pretty awesome. But as we used a very small oak vessel, the oak was quickly exhausted and we tried to age Glenmorangie in it (Last Word finished Glenmorangie 10 years old). It was a success - not for everyone (especially the Chartreuse gave the whisky a hint of funk, which isn't often experienced) - but it was subtle enough and I loved how different yet recognizable (Glenmorangie) it has been 
 Now we are aging Negroni (thanks to the original Je…
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The Opinionated Alchemist's Ideology of the Old Fashioned

It seems that there is for the moment a big Old Fashioned promotion going on. Angostura, which is one ingredient, which is in essentially every bar, tried to push their popularity even further - well they know, that 99% of all bartenders and bars are using their product.
But what is an Old Fashioned? And what makes an Old Fashioned an Old Fashioned?
I have been annoyed, when one of my favorite YouTube channels "How to Drink" really screwed up with this cocktail. So first the video below...
Why did Greg screwed up?
Let's start first with the origins. 
We can safely presume, that the Old Fashioned was the original cocktail:
The first definition of cocktail known to be an alcoholic beverage appeared in The Balance and Columbian Repository (Hudson, New York) May 13, 1806; editor Harry Croswell answered the question, "What is a cocktail?": Cock-tail is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters—it is vulgarly called bittered slin…
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Chartreuse: hasn't it really not been changed since the 18th century

I have just read an interesting article on Punch, which did discussed the rare Chartreuse Orange. No comments about this story...

However - as always when it comes to iconic brands, the original story has been written up:

At the beginning of the 18th century, the manuscript was sent to the Mother House of the Order – La Grande Chartreuse – in the mountains not far from Grenoble. Here an exhaustive study of the manuscript was undertaken.The Monastery’s Apothecary, Frère Jerome Maubec, finally unravelled the mystery and, in 1737, drew up the practical formula for the preparation of the Elixir in 1764.The distribution and sales of this new medicine were limited. One of the monks of La Grande Chartreuse, Frère Charles, would load his mule with the small bottles that he sold in Grenoble and other nearby villages.Today, this “Elixir of Long Life” is still made only by the Chartreuse monks following that ancient recipe, and is called Elixir Vegetal de la Grande-Chartreuse.This “liqueur of he…
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The Ultimate Guide to Aquafaba in the Bar.

I know, that a lot of people in the industry are rolling their eyes, if you are using the moniker mixology or mixologist. However I totally see, that a lot of modern cocktail creation and especially the ingredients manipulation goes far beyond the classic methodology of a bartender.

I believe, one of the most clever new introduction in bartending in the last years has been the use of aquafaba as egg white substitute in the bar.
What is aquafaba? Aquafaba is the cooking liquid of pulses - and in most cases it is based on chickpeas.
What to do with aquafaba? Instead of using egg white in foams or as cocktail ingredient (as foaming agent and for a smoother mouth feeling), you can use aquafaba (1:1 ratio).
What are the advantages of aquafaba? There is one significant advantage: aquafaba is vegetarian / vegan. More and more people are avoiding animal protein - hence it fits perfectly into these timesAquafaba is a byproduct - and if "your kitchen" is using chickpeas, it is literally fr…
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Why there should be only one rum in a Mai Tai

The Mai Tai is a difficult drink - no let me rephrase this: bartender are often confused, when it comes to the recipe of a Mai Tai.

The main issue is the public. Unfortunately "common customers" love the name "Mai Tai". It reminds them on the tropics - and probably their past vacation there. Different when they went on vacation and drank a "not so great bottle of wine", which they though covered with their glorification of their experience (just to find out at home, that the wine hasn't been that great), the Mai Tai remains in their glorified memory - simply, because most consumers don't make cocktails at home.

So people remembered the "romanticized" name Mai Tai - but really didn't had a recollection about it - other than it tasted exotic (and let's face it - cocktails in a vacation destination aren't usually that great or authentic).

However there always has been a Mai Tai. Let's first of all turn to the rivalry betwee…
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The "science" of super premium vodka

There has been a video by THE EDUCATED BARFLY

And while my rebellious years seem to be gone, I could not pass on and not comment on this video - and even worse, I could not not write an article about it here...

So first the video:


Let me be frank, I am on one hand absolutely frustrated about the things, YouTube-Influencer-Bartender say... but then, I cannot really complain, because I am not (because of various reasons) try to do it better.

So in this case - thanks of bringing us any content about drinks and bars (and the educated barfly isn't half-bad).

But - this video, pulled out basically all misconception about vodka, alcohol etc. which I could imagine.

Let me first of all start with this: consumer prices today are often not even close related to the actual value. Some prices are (sometimes basic groceries). Some aren't. One product which stands out, of being based on a fantasy (speak solely marketing) value is: TaTaTaaaaa... VODKA.

That's true. Let us look at the pro…
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Truth - and no Faux Science

There is an article about:SCIENCE EXPLAINS WHY SOME BASE INGREDIENTS MAKE BETTER VODKA It is unfortunate, but in these days science is mostly misinterpret and also used "wrong".
Strangely people relying on science but don't really understand how. Science seems to be a "new religion" similar to catholicism in the dark ages: people don't read and understand the scientific papers, but rely on the press and on "spokes people" which are simplifying and explaining. This isn't so bad if it comes to popular scientists like Neil DeGrasse or Bill Nye. They are trained scientists and understand scientific reasoning. However when it comes to the press and other people who are "using" science it is a complete other issue;
Let's look at the article to understand what I mean:

By definition, vodka in the U.S. must “be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color,”according to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).That's …
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