Does "being opinionated" get old?

I am writing this blog now since quite a while. The first installment was still on Apple's iWeb platform around 2005- unfortunately I lost pretty much all blog entries (for some it was fortunately). The opinionated-alchemist.com on Blogger is now give or take 4 years old... and grew reasonably well (due to a far better SEO integration than iWeb).

What didn't changed though was my critical and opinionated view on things. And that is just me. Sure, I am nowadays a bit more forgiving... but overall I still don't hold back (however not forgetting to be self-critical as well - I am neither perfect).

Some people find it disconcerting and find my "way" abrasive. I can't blame them, because I even named the blog, because I understood my own personality - especially when it comes to my trade.

I have to say, that it is not always easy, to be the one, which is the biggest critic, the most opinionated guy, and the person who doesn''t agree. Let's say, that it doesn't make a lot of friends. But if you have embraced your character traits, you are adjusting to it.

For a long time I also didn't really felt, that my abilities are in any threat of being not industry leading. However I have to say, with some new outlets in Dubai (especially Cocktail Kitchen), I really have to reflect my own abilities and maybe even have to work harder again to be also in future cutting edge.

Hence I like to focus more on "the future" of mixology on this blog and as always, would appreciate some dialogue with my readers...

Comments

Agar-Agar Clarification

Not often, I am posting here things, which are clearly not my ideas... However Dave Arnold is clearly a mad scientist [no, he really is!] - and he posted amazing stuff on his website www.cookingissues.com - no - don't click now - just follow the link later. One of the most impressive posts about mixology, besides of demystifying the mechanics of shaking, were clarification techniques. Look, after him, you could use a centrifuge [which would set you back a couple thousand bucks] and a chemical compound, which solidifies sediments. I am not a fan of that. Then there is gelatine clarification; this works quite well [I tried it several times my self] - you gelatinize a liquid [with little gelatine only], freeze it, thaw it [in the fridge] over a colander and a muslin cloth. Thats it. Unfortunately this has several problems: Gelatine is made out of animal bones - hence it is neither vegetarian nor vegan, which you won't usually expect of a beverage. You have to freez...

How to use citric acid - and why you might not want to use it anyway!

To be honest, I shied away of this topic, because I think, people can misinterpret this - big time. I don't want to be part of the problem - I want to be part of the solution! But when Chris, over at A Bar Above discussed this subject- I literally could not resist to join into "the discussion". Here is the video: I - however take a bit slower approach than Chris. What is citric acid? Chemical Compound Citric acid is a weak organic acid with the formula C6H8O7. It is a natural preservative/conservative and is also used to add an acidic or sour taste to foods and drinks. Wikipedia Formula: C6H8O7 Molar Mass: 192.124 g/mol Melting Point: 153C Density: 1.66 g/cm3 Boiling point: 175C Soluble in: Water Why is it controversial? In my "mixology world" it is controversial, as citric acid is the stuff, which makes the nightmarish sour mix [ preferably in powder form ] sour. Yeah - citric acid is the main ingredient in one of the most ...

"Monin Rocks!" - Really?

R ussell S anchez MONIN UAE MONIN Rocks @ HARD ROCK CAFE Dubai — with Rhiandro Gardiner and Louie Aquias at Hard Rock Cafe . I have seen this on my Facebook timeline. And well... I wanted to write about Monin since quite a long time, but haven't. However this message was a catalyst, to speak up. It is already a couple of months ago, that I routinely checked the ingredient list of a Monin bottle. ...and was shocked.... Point is, that I have always defended Monin against my US colleagues as decent brand. At least with the products they offered here in the Middle East and in Europe; they came from their factory in France. Most of the ingredients [except lets say in Blue Curacao syrup] were natural. Long time ago, somebody from Monin explained, that this is due to the quite strict regulations in France for syrup - there it is a family culture to drink syrup sweetened water/seltzer. And off course ...

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