Cheers

Cheers April 2014

Cheers is dedicated to delivering hospitality professionals the information, insights and data necessary to drive their beverage business by covering trends and innovations in operations, merchandising, service and training.

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www.cheersonline.com 30 | APRIL 2014 served with a metal julep straw. "ey look great, and add the occasional bite of sweetness to a fairly bright acidic cocktail," Casey says of the pearls. Beyond spheres large and small, molecular mixology garnishes also take the form of vapors. Dry ice can be used to "trap" aromas so they remain on top of the glass for the guest to breathe in while sipping the drink. For his Highlander cocktail ($18) at Barmini, Coronado mixes Scotch and mezcal with simple syrup, and adds to the glass a "cloud" made with carbon dioxide, rosemary sprigs, lemon peel and cocoa nibs. e cloud dissipates after 10 minutes, but the heady aroma remains. To make the gin-based Ford's Model Tea Party ($21), e Aviary mixes dry ice with Earl Grey tea to deliver the tea's distinctive bergamot aroma. Dry ice, along with liquid nitrogen, is also used in e Aviary's hot drink Tea in Trinidad ($19). e dry ice expels the rum aroma to the table of guests as well as cools down the cocktail to a drinkable temperature. Coronado believes foams and airs are a great jumping o point for operators seeking to dabble in molecular mixology. José Andrés has oered his popular Salt Air Margarita ($12 glass/$63 pitcher) for several years at his 125-seat Mexican restaurant Oyamel. e drink is made with Milagro Blanco tequila, Triple Sec and lime juice, then topped with an "air" made from water, lime, salt and sucro—a powdered emulsier. When whipped with an immersion blender, the sucro mixture creates a light-as- air foam that remains stable for several minutes or longer. Lecithin also produces foam; Coronado recommends blending it with either carrot juice, or with wasabi, water, salt and lemon to create modern, eclectic Bloody Mary toppers. He also suggests using a siphon to deliver a smattering of foam to a drink. His Hot and Cold Pisco Sour shakes and strains a traditional Pisco Sour into the glass, which is topped by another Pisco Sour that's been poured into a charged soda siphon, heated to about 90 degrees and dispensed into the drink. Guests sip the warm foam along with the chilled cocktail, much like sipping hot chocolate together with cold whipped cream. e texture and temperature dierences make for a noteworthy experience, Coronado says. GETTING TECHNICAL Precision is key in molecular mixology, so kitchen collaboration is common. Measuring ingredients and following directions exactly are obligatory—the process is more akin to baking than cooking. At I|O Urban Roofscape, a 10,000 sq- ft. bar and event space at the 221-room Godfrey Hotel in Chicago, all of the signature cocktails begin in the kitchen. "We are using refractometers to measure the sugar content, alcoholometers to keep the proof stable, and pH meters to keep the acidity levels constant throughout the year," explains chef Riley Huddleston. I|O expands the chefs' repertoire using Smoke Gets In Your Ice How can operators without access to expensive or hard-to-obtain equipment incorporate some of these molecular mixology trends into their drinks program? One way is creating smoked ice. Ian Tulk, bartender at Restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail, CO, puts ice cubes into the meat smoker, where they melt into water. (A grill topped with a box of wood chips will work too.) The water is poured back into ice cube trays and refrozen, creating a clean flavor with a campfire aroma. Why not just smoke a pan of water? "Ice cubes have more surface area, allowing for greater exposure," Tulk says. He uses the smoked cubes in the Colorado Campfire cocktail ($15), made with grilled local Palisade peaches muddled with brown sugar and a dash of Stirring's Peach liqueur, and house-infused pine nut Breckenridge Bourbon. The drink is built on ice, stirred and strained over four house-smoked ice cubes. As the cubes melt they impart a subtle smokiness to the drink, he says.—KAM The Colorado Campfire cocktail at the Vail, CO-based Restaurant Kelly Liken, uses ice cubes flavored in a meat smoker. 28-31 molecular mixology CH0414.indd 30 4/4/2014 11:22:42 AM

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