opinionated alchemist

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 times Aquafaba is a byproduct - and if "your kitchen" is...

After the high popularity of my Mojito post - as well as the also well liked post about the Diablo , I would like to highlight here, another bar staple: The humble Whiskey Sour. Also: if you can make a proper Whiskey Sour, you can do a lot of other Sours - basically you can take any distillate and make a Sour out of it... I call it the "perfect" Whiskey Sour to be obviously a bit provocative - but also, as you get often a less than perfect drink, when you are ordering one. So what are the ingredients of a Whiskey Sour? American Whiskey [yes - I say it: definitely no Scotch, also for sure no Canadian, no Irish and obviously no Japanese] Truth has to be told - there is definitely something like an adequate Scotch Sour. But it should simply not be called Whiskey Sour, as the character is totally different. Period! Lemon Juice Sugar Optional egg white Additional to the ingredients, these features are also important to consider: Balance between sweet and s...

Picture in courtesy of media.tumblr.com Every craft-bartender knows one thing: even if a lot of things went back into fashion [like Old Tom gin, artisan absinthes, artisan vermouths, bitters] one ingredient is in everybody's mouth: egg white. To be honest, this is one ingredient, which I really have a problem with? Why? Just read on... Egg white makes a cocktail smooth, the mouthfeel is improving really a lot - however it doesn't really water the drink down. Further the appearance of egg white containing drinks is just amazing - shaking it properly yields with a wonderful fluffy, up to 1 inch high crown of froth. So far so great. The fear of raw eggs and salmonella can be countered easily: Fresh, good quality and organic eggs, usually limit the risk of a salmonella food poisoning Proper dealing with eggs make a big difference. Raw eggs are not only used in cocktails, but also e.g. in Chocolate Mousse - nobody can possibly have anything against chocolate mousse.....