The chemistry of cocktails
Molecular mixology brings science to the bar and Toronto is on the cutting edge of this trend
There’s always been a science to making a good cocktail. But today’s sophisticated tipples will leave the most discerning fan scouring their brain for longforgotten high school chemistry formulas.
Whether you call it cocktail chemistry, molecular mixology or modernist mixes, the act of altering drinks using scientific methods has become a global trend, thanks to the growing customer demand for the “next big thing,” says Toronto-based Dana McCauley, chef and food trend and innovation expert.
For avid social media users, photos of cool, artistic foods are social currency online, McCauley says. Bars and lounges that want to keep drinkers coming back need to keep pace.
The best bartenders use oddities, such as the Sichuan Button, a flower that, when chewed, numbs the mouth and changes the taste of the cocktail, or squid ink to alter the colour. Others tackle the shape, opting for dry ice to solidify alcohol, creating artistic executions.
“There’s a showmanship element” says McCauley. For both bartenders and drinkers, “it’s not just about having a drink. It’s taking it to a (next) level.”
Spring officially begins Sunday. But it’s not all about the tulips. It’s also about the wine. When the sun is shining and the mercury is rising, cravings for crisp whites, restrained rosés and racy reds kick in.
Aside from those chilly evenings by the barbecue spent perfecting your grill-marks, few occasions from now till Labour Day call for the bold, inky reds and heavily wooded whites that coat the palate rather than refresh it.
Trouble is this: it’s hard to find lighterbodied wines on shelves these days. Global warming and consumer demand for fleshier styles have been squeezing out leaner offerings for decades now. So what do you do?
The best strategy to squirrel out the light stuff at your local LCBO is to head straight to the cool-climate wine aisles. New Zealand, Germany, Ontario, Northern Italy and Northern France are all good bets. These regions naturally see less heat and sunshine, so they produce fruit with relatively less grape sugar. With less sugar to turn into alcohol during fermentation, lower-alcohol wines result. And alcohol corresponds closely with a wine’s body.
Bottles with less than about 12.5-percent alcohol tend to be light tasting while those over about 13.5 per cent are fullbodied. Zinfandels and Amarones, which can rise to a stratospheric 16-per-cent alcohol, can taste more spoonable than drinkable. Not ideal on a balmy afternoon.
But you and I always have access to light-bodied wines when we drink local.
“With good viticultural practices in Ontario, we are able to achieve flavour ripeness without higher sugar, something that’s harder to achieve in warmer New World regions,” says Norman Hardie, owner and winemaker at Norman Hardie Winery.
The trick is to select Ontario wines made from riesling, chardonnay, cabernet franc, pinot noir or Gamay. These naturally light-bodied varieties happen to also be the ones Ontario is best suited to produce.
And I’m convinced Ontario wines have been improving over the past decade and that prices have become more competitive.
Not all local wineries are making great juice of course, but the better producers are spinning out some terrific value wines with little vintage variation. And that’s exciting.
Norman Hardie, Closson Chase, Hidden Bench, 13th Street Winery and Southbrook are some of the names to trust at the higher price points while Pelee Island Winery and Jackson-Triggs are reliable names for those in the $10to-$15 bracket.
Stratus Charles Baker has just released the stunning 2012 Picone Vineyard Riesling that hits Vintages shelves Saturday and is well worth snapping up.
Do so fast though — it won’t last. And neither will the other four lighter-bodied wine’s I’m recommending. They range from $15 to $35 to take you from midweek quaff to that fancy dinner party pour.
Here’s to wine. And to tulips.