Mix & measure
The traditionalists may scoff at it, but molecular mixology is no longer a gimmick, but a menu staple at most bars in India. It is here to stay.
Bartenders can be endlessly creative and experimental when using molecular mixology. But, it is only after the basics are clear, that creativity plays its part.
I am truly fascinated with it and especially by what they do with a martini, using molecular mixology. I once observed a bartender. He blend olive juice, vermouth and gin with xanthan gum and calcium chloride and dropped it into a sodium alginate and water solution to form stable olive-shaped blobs. It was served as a lone olive in an empty glass and it reverted to a liquid state when popped into the mouth. I was mesmerised. I have also witnessed Kolkata’s famous mixologist Irfan Ahmed, create magic before my eyes. In Mumbai, the bartender at Gadda Da Vidda, Novotel Juhu, impressed me.
Arijit Bose, Getafix, explains, “Molecular Mixology is when new techniques inspired by modern cuisine are used to create unique taste experiences in cocktails. Cocktails created using molecular mixology, are all about a sensory experience – they include multiple textures ranging from solid spheres, foams and air. These techniques help infuse spirits and cocktails with flavours and aromas — a concept previously unheard of.”
“It includes processes like spot carbonation for aerating drinks using CO2; liquid nitrogen to convert drinks into a snowy consistency like a sorbet; spherification involves naturally extracted substances like calcium lactate to produce cocktail caviars and raviolis which burst with flavours in the mouth or even using a smoking machine to add new flavours and taste components into the drink,” elaborates Bose.
Thus, honey, ginger, amplified juices like pineapple gomme syrup and floral flavours like chamomile tea and elder-flower liqueur, are today being used to counter these processes and make the cocktails more flavourful.
It is a myth that all the equipment needed for molecular mixology is expensive. A bartender friend once told me that the equipment ranges from simple blowtorches to vacuum chambers, sous vide machines, cotton candy makers, liquid nitrogen, rotary evaporators and dehydrators. Many of these are quite affordable and long-term investments.
So, with more freethinking bartenders taking the techniques of avant-garde cooking to their bars, one can look forward to cocktails with suspended elements, cocktail gums, paper cocktails, solid cocktails, cocktail marshmallows.
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