opinionated alchemist

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 ...

You might already know [otherwise just read my last post ], that Fentiman's Botanical Tonic Water taste great. And I mentioned, that I am not totally convinced of the other flavours... Let me now and here explain why. First to the great ones: Rose Lemonade is really nice... however I have to come across one rose drink, which doesn't taste really good. A couple of years I have reviewed [and tried] Sence - also a drink which is based on Bulgarian roses - and it was lovely. Fentiman's Rose Lemonade is not different - maybe slightly too acidic. Anyway - it is just great [however also very simple to replicate - citric acid, sugar syrup, carbonated water and rose water is all what you need...]. The Curiousity Cola is also nice - it is a bit more standalone and unique as other cola sodas- but hit the right spots. Only problem still is: the original just taste better and - well like the original. Cherrybark Cola - is another good soda. While I've expected it to taste...

I do have for the moment quite regular with Scott Young, who founded extremebartending.com and bartendingschool4free.com. He asked me, if I have posted something about Molecular Mixology.  I did. But I picked out some techniques, which I think, make sense in good 'normal' bars. Sigh... some will know, that I am not that  keen on MM. But yeah, there are techniques, you can't really ignore anymore. Molecular Mixology in a pure form is in my eyes a dead end. The drinks are over-complicated, take too much time, they are fuzzy and its all surface. Yes, there are some successful bars, which are doing MM. But except of Tony Conigliaro's bar " The bar with no name", 69 Colebrooke Row in Islington and maybe Aviary in Chicago, I don't remember one. Let's face it - most of these bars repeating the few better known MM recipes with few variations over and over again. After I left, the folks over at Emirates Towers had a promotion of the  flown  in Antonio L...

It might sound strange, however ginger is one of the flavors, which is working fantastically in mixed drinks. Especially with aged spirits, it really shines. But even white spirits you can combine with ginger - hence it might be one of the most versatile flavors in the bar. There are different beverages carrying the aroma ginger - ginger liqueur, ginger syrup, fresh ginger which you could muddle, but the most common ones are ginger ale and ginger beer. But what are the differences between those two? One can be sure, that ginger beer was the first concocted ginger beverage. An interesting note is the traditional preparation. The strained liquid [you may call it juice], from fresh grated ginger, was combined with water, citrus juice and simple syrup and was fermented. However originally no yeast, but ginger beer plant was used. This ginger beer plant [usually abbreviated to gbp] is a composite organism - a in symbiosis living microorganisms- bacteria and yeast [lactobacillus...

Four more drinks, which I like to introduce to Rush: Bellini Sgroppino This drink is a fusion between a classic Bellini and a quite contemporary Sgroppino, which is a sparkling wine drink, featuring lemon sorbet. Here we substitute the lemon sorbet, with white peach sorbet, to create the bridge between sgroppino and bellini. Basil Smash There are only few drinks, which we keep as they are - the Basil Smash is one of them. Already recognised as modern classic- it was the brain child of Joerg Meyer, the owner of the fantastic bar Le Lion in Hamburg / Germany. It revives [as well as violates] the archaic category smashes with the changes of adding citrus juice and substitute mint with fresh basis. Not yet sure, if we will use Asian fragrant basil or the classic Italian rather sweet variety... Ultimate  Mojito Now this drink was tricky. I wanted to depart the usual path, to vary the classic Mojito with any muddled fruit, fruit puree, syrup or liqueur. And I also wanted to...