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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 controversial [and in the modern craft bartending wor…
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The Best Alcohol-free Drink - Ipanema

Usually I call them [out of laziness] mocktails - but really I never liked this denomination.
As "mocktails" are usually long drinks, it is even twice wrong, to connect them to a cocktail [which is technically a short drink with alcohol]. 
Apart of this, I am not a big believer in mocktails. Sodas can be fantastic [home made grapefruit soda is fantastic, or homemade ginger ale, ginger beer or any other odd ingredient sodas]. Juices - fine. Lemonades - yes, refreshing and good. And iced teas - can be absolutely amazing. Hence you don't need sickly sweet syrupy juice mixtures.
But yes - there are few good ones.
Most of them a mimicking drinks with alcohol. You can make a pretty good alcohol-free Planters Punch, Hurricane or Mojito, if you are using Caribbean Syrup. Or you can use a juniper syrup for some alcohol-free gin drinks.
A drink which I got to know long time ago, very early in my career, is a bit a different beast [well - you cannot call an alcohol-free drink a bea…
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Do not do that! - DO NOT POISON YOUR GUESTS!!!

Dear Bartenders,

Please do not make tobacco infusions! I am serious - don't do it - don't try it - do not think about it.
Tobacco contains nicotine. What is the big deal, you might ask? Nicotine is highly poisonous. There is not as much nicotine absorption when you are smoking tobacco - this would be rather save.  Chewing tobacco - has a higher absorption - but yet, isn't soluble in water (hence it is still "quite save").

On the other hand, nicotine is soluble in alcohol - that means there is a great absorption - and it becomes very very dangerous.

How dangerous, you might ask? 

Let me ask a counter question:

Would you make a strychnine infusion? Or a cyanide cocktail? Or an arsenic essence?

The lethal dose of strychnine (for a male healthy adult) would be ca. 100 mgThe lethal dose of cyanide (...) would be ca. 200 mgThe lethal dose of arsenic (...) would be more than 70 mg

While the lethal dose of nicotine (for a male healthy adult) would be ca. 60 mg or less!

This…
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