"mixology" news and stories

Molecular mixology evolved from concepts of molecular gastronomy, the application of science to the analyzing of flavors. The term was invented in 1969 by the Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti in a presentation titled "The Physicist in the Kitchen." Hervé This (pronounced "tees"), French scientist and author of Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor, popularized the phrase. In 2005 the Dutch liquor company Bols sponsored a symposium that brought Monsieur This and eight bartenders together, sparking the chemical cocktail interest.

At first making drinks with scientific tools seems a bit space age, with vacuum chambers, nitrous oxide, dry ice, and sodium alginate. When you mention molecular mixing, most people immediately think of bar chefs changing the physical properties of a drink by creating foams, airs, gels, powders, mists, and gelatinized balls called "caviar." A molecular understanding of a drink's components is not new, though.

More on molecular mixology after the jump.

Have a few summer cucumbers lingering in the fridge? Put them to good use by juicing them for refreshing cocktails or family-friendly mocktails.

Certain things are just too hard to watch -- whether it's a friend's super-serious expression as she winds up to bowl or your boyfriend in the throes of "Guitar Hero".

That's how we felt upon discovering this video, a greatest-hits compilation of cocktail-shaking by New York City's top mixologists. The 10 minute long odyssey features 30-second clips of 33 mostly-male NYC barkeeps. It starts with the Cars provocative "Shake it Up" and trails off eerily into bar noise, the cacophony of shakers and fierce, game-face expressions.

Boring? Nope. Oddly mesmerizing, in the same way that you can't look away from "The Bachelor" but might put your hands over your eyes.

These are true practitioners of the art, however, so let us know if this gets you inspired to go practice your shakin' style, whether it's the one-hander (some bartenders put the other hand behind their backs, sommelier-style) or the hard shake practiced by Tailor's Eben Freeman. And here's a pretty raspberry-and-gin laced Belmont Stakes elixir from Gourmet (the race is on Saturday) in case you wish to practice your skills before the weekend hits.

[Star Chefs] via [Grub Street]

• The plusses and minuses of eating local in Seattle.
• Hard-cooked eggs are good for more than just coloring.
• What's the difference between stock and broth?
• Renowned mixologist Daniel Shoemaker did the hippy hippy shake for Seattle last week.
• That handy sustainable-fish sushi guide is now available at the Seattle Aquarium.
• The FDA has ordered an expanded recall of Uncle Chen and Lian How products.
• Downtown Seattle's ART Lounge features the famous sliders the now-defunct Cascadia used to serve.
• Recipes for a Tex-Mex dinner: Smoky Beef Tacos, Avocado-Red Onion Relish, Corn and Tomato Salsa, Cilantro-Lime Crema, Cumin Rice and Beans, and Spicy Pineapple Salad.
• A super-handy map for Yakima, Washington's wine region.
• Recipes: Gluten-Free Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies, Reduced-Fat Cheddar Cheese Biscuts, Pork Tenderloin - Three Ways,Three Dinner Salads and Veal Marsala and Sicilian Penne Pasta
• A New Seastar has opened next to the Pan Pacific Hotel and boasts foods like "vibrant ceviches" and servers who go the extra mile, while Malabar South Indian Flavours breaks tradition with beef, chicken, lamb and fish dosas and other tasty dishes.

True story: In college, I invented a drink called "The Specialty Drink." The recipe: Shot of rum, shot of vodka, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, splash of orange juice all poured in a pint glass, then fill up whatever space was left with beer. As you might have guessed, I sent many an unsuspecting friend towards the nearest trash can.

Recently however, more discriminating mixologists than myself have been concocting a number of exciting new cocktails utilizing beer as a proper ingredient. Credit increased awareness in the depth of flavors and varieties of beer both domestically and abroad for helping to advance the trend.

This past Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an interesting article discussing recent developments in beer-infused mixed drinks in the Bay Area and beyond, including a couple recipes for readers at home. Try your hand at a "Strange Brew" or "The Great Pumpkin" and let me know how it turns out.

Or maybe you can create the next great beer-accentuated cocktail yourself. Though if your idea of creating a mixed drink is simply tossing everything behind the bar into a pint glass, maybe you best leave true mixology up to the professionals. (A lesson I learned the hard way.) Strangely though, sometimes the pros are a bit unseemly themselves. "Two of our previous bartenders...created [the Strange Brew] in hopes of blowing out one of the kegs for a beer change," a bar manager is quoted as saying in the article. "It was so popular that night that we put it on the menu."

Eh, whatever works.

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