opinionated alchemist

The year 2021 is still quite young... and 2020 wasn't really fruitful. However even though the title says, 2020 and 2021, this drink took me by surprise and it is easily one of the best drink I have had in a far longer time. Look - to rating drinks (and compare them with classics like a good Old Fashioned) are problematic to say the least, but this drink is surprisingly simple and incredible good. Introducing: the Bourbon Horseneck.  I know, you expected more. And let's face it, we are not talking about a normal Horseneck here! First, we are looking at Knob Creek - one of my favorite "every day bourbons". It is very rich, has some caramel, maple syrup and nutty notes.  But what really makes a difference is the ginger ale... my new recipe just remarkable rich and indulgent and there is just no ginger ale on the market which can come remotely close to it.  So- if you want to experience the drink, I am talking about, there is only one way: some hands-on approach. Black S...

It seems, that the Mai Tai got quite a revival these days. I seen it on quite a lot of menus - unfortunately in the most despicable recipes and ingredients lists. Let’s first of all state, what the Mai Tai isn’t: the Mai Tai isn’t your typical tiki drink. For sure - it started in a Tiki restaurant - and it has been the creation of one of the two most iconic Tiki fathers - it was either way Don the Beachcomber or Vic “Trader Vic’s” Bergeron. And while nobody seems to know, who really have been the first who named their cocktail “Mai Tai” - only Trader Vic provided the iconic recipe, which has been copied, simplified and abused. Look, the Beachcomber recipe is the typical Tiki drink - which is far too strong, uses far too many ingredients - you get the point. No - this isn’t a rant about Tiki drinks... Trader Vic’s Mai Tai is a combination of great aged funky rum, quality orange liqueur, orgeat and fresh lime - and maybe a hint of hyper concentrated sugar syrup. That’s it. It is...

Xmas 2017 - one more time an awkward Secret Santa event with work colleagues (it is not that I don’t like to have Xmas parties with my colleagues or any F&B party - but Secret Santa or anything similar is just too much for me to swallow). Anyway - I got from my lovely no more so Secret Santa a Vinturi wine aerator. This device is just a shortcut of decanting wine. I think the problem with these devices is, that you still need to know wine. It doesn’t make “every wine” better - it just makes wine better, which fits into specific categories ( • red wine • rather young • close/unbalanced/harsh tannins etc.). Check out this video, which explains better what it is: Well - let me break the news for my colleagues first: I am not a wine drinker (in fact, I got a wine connoisseur set in my previous year’s Secret Santa as well...). However the Vinturi wine aerator was actually a pretty cool gift - as it sparked an idea: What if aerated cocktails are changing in taste? I got...

Folks... A belated Happy New Year to all of you. There has been a lot of changes... I have got the feeling, that these changes will lead to a great year 2018... First: I have left my position as Beverage Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Dubai Beach. Better said, they made my position redundant (we will see, how well this works out for them 😶). I am not gonna lie - I loved to work with my previous Executive Assistant Manager i/c F&B Isabelle. It was simply inspirational and we have had a lot of brilliant and at times borderline crazy ideas! However Isabelle left the beginning of last year - and nothing was the same again. Let me not get into this too much... Second: Despite the fact, that I have had some offers as Beverage Manager again, I decided to go back into the operations - I am now “freshly appointed” Bar Operations Manager at Noir at the Kempinski Mall of the Emirates. The bar is beautiful, and had a short but somewhat controversial and very turbulent history. Th...

via GIPHY om/gifs/rooster-teeth-xoUiNjrK8iHwA">via GIPHY I am not a big fan of using a lot of crazy ingredients. Well - this isn't completely true - it is more the random use of crazy ingredients. Rizki, one of my head bartenders and me were discussing today the cocktail for a competition. He had the brilliant idea to use lotus leaf (which is very vegetal but rather very delicate) - and he also opted for gin and for pomelo. We discussed to do a lotus leaf liqueur and use "soured pomelo juice" - and the whole drink supposed to be a type of collins. It turned to be a pretty nice drink - however it lacked something special. It was all pretty bright, acidic and citrus'y - with underlying aromas of the gin (Bombay Sapphire). So we discussed to use the peel of pomelo to enhance the lotus leaf liqueur. However this wasn't enough. I don't really know anymore how it happened, but suddenly I remembered that Mezcal producer in Mexico are producing a...

It is always a bit "touchy" to incorporate anything Middle Eastern to alcoholic drinks. But then it is absolutely legal and accepted to drink booze in Dubai... For a promotion, Robin the Restaurant Manager of our Arabic restaurant asked me to create a drink. We agreed, that a Sangria would be refreshing and would have sufficient mass appeal. At the end, it did not really taste Arabic - just had few hints, which made it to one of the best Sangria I  have tried since quite a while... The Idea These days, I am picking a specific drink and then go to foodpairing.com to pick other aromas, to compliment the main ingredients. Unfortunately I don't have the "pro" version (which in my humble opinion, is outrageously priced), so I could not choose red wine - but the other flavors are going well together - and I am sure, that red wine and pomegranate also share similar aroma molecules... The Wine Sangria should not be made with expensive wine. In fact, a fu...

Darcy did a great job, in hosting this event and we had quite a lot of guests who could try the different G&T. Unfortunately I didn't made pictures... Cucumber & Coriander G&T with Strawberry Darcy: Strawberry & coriander share similar aroma compounds; coriander is further very common in gin. Darcy emulsified coriander essential oil in simple syrup, he was using for the drink. That we quite a slam-dunk - most guest liked it. It was very refreshing and very cool - we used Plymouth for it, which was definitely a great company with the drink. Cardamon & Mint G&T Darcy used the popularity of the Mojito, to "capture" guests - the cardamom syrup (again made with essential oils and emulsification) was giving it a more unique and Middle Eastern flair - basically there was only cardamom syrup, gin, mint, lemon and tonic water involved. Again very refreshing, with a distinctive oriental note. We used partly Plymouth and Bombay Sapphire for it a...

So Adam Teeter on Vinepair.com made a case, that Tennessee whisky isn’t Bourbon - due to the charcoal mellowing process. I have already debunked it before:  Is Jack Daniel's a Bourbon Whiskey? However since then, there is more circumstantial evidence, why Tennessee whisky isn’t an unique “denomination of origin (or simply a official style on its own): As mentioned: It is listed under NAFTA as Bourbon There is no specifications under the TTB Other (official)) Bourbons are using also a similar charcoal mellowing process (e.g. Evan Williams black label). Now these points are not mentioned in the previous article: At least Prichard’s, one more boutique Tennessee brand, is not using The Lincoln County Process (charcoal mellowing) - yet are officially considered Tennessee whiskey! That takes eradicates the argument, that Tennessee whiskey is a style! Jack Daniel’s also offers now a (Single Barrel) Rye Whiskey. Yeah - they are calling it Tennessee Rye Whiskey - but as...

These days it seems, that your schedule is filled with a triangle of fake news, opposition of fake news and political correctness. One big part is contemporary marketing, which really takes the mouth full. Another trend are millennials which seem to fake it until they (never) make it - they are confusing their own perception with facts. The big loser on this war of information is good ol' culture. Not contemporary arts, galleries and artists, which seem to do just fine (and probably also fake it until they make it)... it is more the culture of being a grown up - a lady or a gentleman.  It is about drinking culture (I am cringing, when people are ordering a Bloody Mary in the evening - well this is still better, than people ordering drinks, which I don't want even to remember...), it is about cigar culture, table etiquette, dress code - and so on. The question is - should you go with the flow and with the trends and join - or should you stand up actively and try ...