The Myth of the coldest Martini Cocktail and overall gimmicks.

Oh my... I feel, that I should convert into "Cocktail-Mythbusters".

Apparently there is a "competition out there" for the coldest Martini cocktail. This is... dumb. There are bars, which are using super-chilled water, to dilute a mixture of freezer Martini premix or just gin or vodka. This is counterproductive (because of... science). Water doesn't become much colder than 0ºC. And super chilled it is max -5ºC - but doesn't really store the thermal capacity (because water has a freezing point and the "naturally coldest" temperature of 0ºC). All what you do is increasing the temperature of the drink.

Oh - there are also different ways. Point is, that these are gimmicks. If you really need to, put a bottle of premixed martini (super-super dry, vermouth has less alcohol, means, it increases the freezing point of the water-ethanol solution) into a specialty freezer, which goes below -20ºC. But as Dave Arnold have pointed it out - a too cold cocktail is no fun. It can freeze-burn your gums, it can be hazardous to your teeth. And it really doesn't "taste" at all.

So I would suggest, that a cocktail should never be colder than about -10ºC (which probably is approximates, if you take it out of a normal freezer and put into a chilled glass).

But let's talk about gimmicks in the bar... I am happy, to look for new experiences in a bar - but please don't give me any pseudo-scientific explanations. It is the controversy about "mixology" in its 2.0 expression (in the glamour days of the cocktail re-emergance around 2005-2015, some bartenders argued, that bartenders should not call themselves mixologists - and there were self-proclaimed mixologists which were not even average bartenders).

I am for pushing the bar forward - but in a reasonable and contemporary way - not in pushing a narrative, which just can be explained as pseudo-science.

Thank you!

Comments

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

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

King Robert II Vodka

Who would knew, that I am reviewing a budget vodka here - on the opinionatedalchemist.com. But this isn't a normal review. I skip the marketing perception and use this product to cut directly to the case: Vodka is a "rather" neutral, colorless, "rather" flavorless and odorless distilled beverage from any agricultural source - and depending on the country, it has a minimum of 37.5% and 40% abv. As I said time and time again before: at times it is absolutely nonsense to talk about premium and luxury, when the original product doesn't really "hold this promise". Luxury water can have luxurious marketing, luxurious packaging, can be even rare and slightly more expensive "to produce". However really it is just water. Maybe it has some nuances to normal water - however those nuances (in a blind-test) are pretty small. Vodka is extremely similar - and the chain of evidence (despite a lot of people trying to proof otherwise) makes it re

opinionated alchemist

Search This Blog