Mixologists and Their Toys – How Was It?
Posted on July 9, 2009
Filed Under Sonja Kassebaum | Leave a Comment
Sonja Kassebaum is a Chicago-based boutique distiller (North Shore Distillery) and cocktail blogger (Thinking of Drinking), as well as the president of Chicago LUPEC.
I wrote a preview of this session a few weeks ago, and headed into it with some level of anticipation. I was hoping to see some really innovative things, and thought I would report back on what I heard and saw. In short, I didn’t see anything that blew me away, but I did see a few things that we’ll all be seeing more often in the coming months.
Don Lee’s Cocktail Stencils
I arrived a little late, and unfortunately missed the first part of Don’s discussion, but I got to see the pictures and samples. He was discussing stencils – specifically, using them to create a design or impression on the top of a drink quickly with bitters or spices. He uses a variety of tools, especially Muji atomizers, when applying bitters to the drink through a stencil. It’s a really bad picture (yes, it’s really bad), but you can get an idea of what might be accomplished in this shot.
Cocktail Pearls/Spherification
Given that Cointreau was sponsoring the session, it makes sense that they’d highlight their spherification kit & process. I had read a lot about it, but never seen it in person. I wasn’t sure I’d be impressed, but I was. The process has been around for awhile, but they have made it simple enough to incorporate into a cocktail bar setting. Fernando Castillon walked us through the process, and we got to taste some pearls.
I wish they’d had a projector to show those of us in the back of room what was happening – it was a bit hard to follow, but we got the general idea. Interestingly, he said the pearls will only last about 5 minutes, so they should be made to order, which their kit enables. Apparently, they solidify further as time passes, and their flavor dissipates in that process, so they don’t store well when made in this fashion.
Xavier Herit talked about other kinds of pearls, such as strawberry pearls, that can also be made through spherification and added to cocktails. I couldn’t see what he was doing either, but it sounded really interesting. Hopefully I’ll make it over to the Cointreau tasting room so I can see them up close.
Playing with Carbonation
Evan Wallace started by talking about his Perlage system, which is designed to keep bubbles in sparkling wine. The key is the maintenance of equilibrium in the amount of carbon dioxide, and the Perlage system can protect a bottle of champagne for a few weeks. Essentially, the process is to purge the oxygen in the bottle, and then add pressurized air to bring the bottle to its normal pressure (60-65 psi is typical).
Evan also talked about applying the same technique to carbonating cocktails. His company has also created 
the Perlini, which is not yet on the market, but is coming soon (probably November 2009). After pouring the drink into the ice-filled shaker, and then seal and pressurize the shaker. You pump in the CO2 and shake, and the bubbles will last as long as the bubbles in a glass of champagne.
A few questions and points that I found particularly interesting on the Perlini process:
- Shaking increases the rate of CO2 absorption by a factor of about 10,000, because increases exposure to air – so you have to pump in a lot of it to achieve carbonation. At home this will come from cartridges – in a bar, from a small tank.
- You could use a soda siphon instead, but the process of dispersing it back out from the siphon usually dissipates much of the CO2 – leaving a less carbonated drink.
- Unlike soda, this process adds bubbles, but not dilution, and carbonates the entire drink.
He mentioned that the Perlini is being field-tested in Seattle, so you might see one before November if you’re in the area. He wasn’t sure on the pricing yet – that will have a big impact on how common it will become. With the rise of carbonated spirits at the liquor store, I imagine there will be significant interest in the Perlini.
