molecular mixology is the popular term for the application of modern scientific investigation, knowledge, tools, substances, and processes to the creation and production of cocktails, usually with a goal of creating an effect that is unobtainable or impracticable using traditional means and methods. Depending on the intentions and aesthetic of the creator, cocktails produced by these methods may be whimsical or challenging in form and/or context or may be broadly similar to traditional cocktails.
The name derives from the so-called molecular gastronomy or modernist cuisine culinary movement as investigated, practiced, and documented by Hervé This, Ferran Adrià, Heston Blumenthal, Nathan Myhrvold, and others and frequently utilizes ingredients, equipment, and techniques pioneered in that movement. Some influential bartenders in this style are Dave Arnold, Eben Freeman, and Eben Klemm in New York, Tony Conigliaro in London, and Jamie Boudreau in Seattle, Washington.
Representative tools, techniques, and ingredients used by molecular mixology bartenders include the following:
Additives
Bartenders avail themselves of the full range of food-safe chemicals and other additives to produce specific results unobtainable or impracticable by other means. For example, citric and other acids can be used to adjust the sourness of fruit juices; sodium bisulfite helps to preserve the color of green juices; and liquid-filled spheres are created using sodium citrate, sodium alginate, calcium chloride, calcium lactate, and/or calcium lactate gluconate.
Barrel Aging
A cocktail is created in sufficient volume to fill a wooden cask and subsequently aged for a period of time in it. When the desired result is obtained, the barrel-aged cocktail is decanted into a nonreactive vessel for storage and service. The type of wood, size, age, preparation, and previous use of the cask, as well as the length of aging, all influence the results of the barrel-aging process. This technique is primarily used for cocktails such as the Negroni or Manhattan that have an inherently strong flavor and do not contain fresh ingredients.
Carbonation
Carbon dioxide is dissolved into one or more components of a cocktail at high pressure in order to produce an effervescent beverage. Alternatively, fruit may be infused with carbon dioxide in order to create garnish that effervesces as it is eaten. Carbonation produces a characteristic “prickling” sensation in the mouth as the cocktail is consumed, and the carbon dioxide that is released can have a significant impact on perceived flavor as a result of the way it affects retronasal olfaction, the process in which odor molecules pass upward from the oral cavity to olfactory receptors in the back of the nasal cavity.
Clarification
Ingredients such as fresh juices are clarified to produce transparent and frequently colorless liquids having the desirable flavors and other characteristics of the original ingredient. Common clarification techniques employed in molecular mixology include enzymatic degradation, fining, and centrifuging, often in combination. Another popular process is to add gelatin or agar-agar to a liquid, which is subsequently frozen and thawed, trapping unwanted particulate matter in the semisolid matrix that is left behind. Each method of clarification has a different yield and effect on the resultant clarified liquid and may be better suited to particular liquids or contemplated uses. Decolored clarified liquids allow bartenders to produce cocktails with unexpected flavors due to the absence of familiar visual cues, and the removal of suspended particles makes it possible to carbonate beverages containing clarified fresh juices.
Edible Cocktails
Various methods can be employed to produce a solid food otherwise having the flavors and alcoholic content of a cocktail. Some well-known examples of edible cocktails include marshmallows, sorbets, breakfast cereal, gelatin in various shapes, and vacuum-infused fruits or vegetables such as cucumbers.
Fat Washing
This traditional perfumer’s technique takes advantage of the fact that most fat-soluble substances are also soluble in alcohol. An aromatic and flavorful fat is combined with a spirit and allowed to rest; then, after the infusion is complete, the mixture is chilled until the fat solidifies and can be strained off. Fat washing has been used to flavor spirits with bacon fat, brown butter, cheese, extra virgin olive oil, duck fat, peanut butter, and chorizo fat, to name a few well-known examples.
Foams
Flavorful liquids are combined with ingredients such as gelatin, lecithin, agar-agar, egg whites, egg white powder, and gum arabic, and air or gas is incorporated to create bubbles. Depending on the ingredients and techniques employed, the foam can be wet or dry, stiff or loose, and having fine or large bubbles. Foams are not typically complete cocktails in and of themselves but are usually layered over a liquid to contribute a contrasting aroma, flavor, and/or texture component.
Gels and Gums
Spirits and other ingredients are combined with a gelling agent such as gelatin or agar-agar, then allowed to set. The gels can be garnished and consumed as an edible cocktail, or they can be used as a garnish or semisolid component in a liquid cocktail.
Liquid Nitrogen
This super-cold liquid is −195.79° C and is used in a variety of innovative and interesting ways in the production of cocktails. For example, green herbs such as mint or basil can be frozen to a very low temperature with liquid nitrogen, shattered into tiny pieces, and combined with spirits to result in an extra-strong herbal extraction without any of the off-flavors normally associated with enthusiastic muddling and oxidation. Liquid nitrogen can be poured onto the surface of a cocktail to create a frozen layer over which other liquids will be added, or spirits may be mixed with liquid nitrogen in order to produce a frozen “cocktail sorbet.” Bartenders with ready access to liquid nitrogen also find it convenient for chilling glassware. Special care must be taken when working with liquid nitrogen, as improper use can lead to tissue damage from freezing, asphyxiation from vaporized nitrogen, and even explosions resulting from pressure buildup in unsuitable storage vessels.
Spherification
Various chemicals and techniques are used to create liquid-filled spheres ranging in size from caviar to egg yolks, which are then served as an edible cocktail or used as a component in a liquid cocktail. As the spheres rupture and release their liquid contents in the mouth, they create “bursts” of flavor that, in a liquid cocktail, enhance, alter, or contrast with the primary flavors. Especially popular as a garnish for champagne, spherification has been one of the most widespread techniques of molecular mixology, to such an extent that the company Rémy Cointreau created a special kit with all the ingredients and equipment for making “Cointreau pearls.”
Sous Vide
In molecular mixology this technique is primarily used for infusions and takes advantage of one of the primary techniques and equipment sets of molecular gastronomy. Spirits or other liquids are sealed in a plastic pouch or other airtight container together with a flavoring agent such as tea, fresh or dried herbs or spices, fruits, or vegetables. The container is then placed in a temperature-controlled water bath, heated for a period of time, and then chilled and strained. Sous vide techniques allow for precisely controlled infusions and extraction of flavors that would be impossible or impracticable using traditional means. The chamber vacuum machine, a common piece of equipment employed in sous vide techniques, can also be used to quickly infuse porous fruits and vegetables with spirits or other liquids. Although vacuum packaging for culinary use may be highly scrutinized and tightly regulated in some jurisdictions, a jar or bottle serves as well as a vacuum bag for most applications of this technique that have relevance to molecular mixology.
Vacuum Distillation
A piece of laboratory equipment called a rotary evaporator is used to perform distillations at low temperatures by reducing gas pressure. This technology makes it possible to concentrate flavors, extract essential oils, and produce uniquely flavored liquids with high precision and without altering or damaging fresh flavors with heat. Vacuum distillation has been used to concentrate fruit juices, extract aromas from unlikely substances such as leather or soil, remove oak byproducts from barrel-aged spirits, create chile-flavored spirits without spicy capsaicin and tea-flavored spirits without astringent tannins, produce water-based distillations called hydrosols using delicate flowers or herbs, and in the creation of many other products used by molecular mixologists. Although the alcohol-based products are some of the more dramatic and popular vacuum distillates for demonstration purposes, they are illegal to serve in most countries around the world. It is also illegal in many jurisdictions to possess distilling equipment and/or perform distillations of any kind on-premises without a permit. As a result, drinks containing vacuum-distilled components are rarely encountered in a commercial setting.
Boudreau, Jamie. The Canon Cocktail Book. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016.
Conigliaro, Tony. The Cocktail Lab. London: Ten Speed, 2013
Liu, Kevin. Craft Cocktails at Home. Kevin Liu, 2013.
By: Samuel Lloyd Kinsey