Cocktail Development Panel Results

Monday, Ethan Ray, Ginger Flowers, Hollis Barnett joined myself developing some new drinks. 7 were designed in all. Ethan was also kind enough to demonstrate a new molecular technique 'reverse spherification,' which is a lot more stable and practical than it's predecessor (thanks Ethan!)

Top 3, according to the panel:

Absolute Raspberry
Pomegranate Schnapps
muddled watermelon
aloe vera

Maker's Mark
Sweet and Sour Sauce
strawberry puree
muddled basil
spl soda
balsamic vinegar wrapped straw (what a fun garnish!)

Maker's Mark
Peach Corn Syrup
Corn Liquid (from the canning process)
Muddled Thyme

Not so successful:

Maker's Mark
Root Beer
Baileys (next time- Tuaca)
(This one broke)

OK, you've really piqued my curiousity. What is a balsamic vinegar wrapped straw and how do you make it? It sounds really interesting!

OK, you've really piqued my curiosity. What is a balsamic vinegar wrapped straw and how do you make it? It sounds really interesting!

It's easier than it sounds! Balsamic vinegar reduction is placed into a squeeze bottle. It is then streamed over the finished drink, in a fashion resembling a spirograph (remember that drawing toy?) The reduction, when cold as ice, almost turns into a candy, and will adhere to the straw upon touch. The straw is placed in the center of the drink and then stirred around the drink. The reduction coats the straw this way. The more acid you prefer, the more you stir the straw...

How totally cool. Thanks for sharing. You guys clearly got a lot more out of chemistry class than I did!

It's really all relative to the sugar content of the balsamic reduction, and how thick it has become.
Liquid sugars will begin to seize in colder liquid mediums. When you stir, the syrup (sticky as it is) sticks and spirals down the straw.

This was purely an accident on our parts.
Stephen squeezed some balsamic reduction over the glass and I made a comment about it reminding me of chocolate syrup put over a chocolate coffee drink...
The stirring we thought would disperse the balsamic into the rest of the drink.
We determined that for that, we'd need a very old balsamic (the older, the sweeter they get), and not reduce it.


And we ended up with these interesting accidental results.