7179BC - Mixology

14th century…

alchemists made elixirs for medicinal purpose

end of 17th century

people began to travel and interact more and mixed drinks made their way into bars as a social experience

cocktail

word origin unknown but in 1806 the term was used in an american newspaper - a stimulating liquor composed of any kind of sugar, water, bitters

19th century

american professionals succeeded in perfecting cocktail recipes. Jerry thomas - father of modern cocktail who wrote the first cocktail book “how to mix drinks” in 1862

End of 19th century

cocktail bars began appearing outside US. 1889 words fair in paris concided w opening of first american bars in capital

1919,

18th amendment prohibited manufacture and trade of alc beverages in US. legal bars and cabarets closed doors and were replaced by speakeasies, clandestine bars (tipplers had contraband alcohol and jazz, al capone led underground industry on illegal manufacturing and distribution of alc bev)

what happened during prohibition

• americans emigrated to paris for greater freedom and alc, bringing jazz and cocktails.

• cuba also was a landing place for expatriate barment and thirsty american tourists for rum based cocktails. mojhito was born in country’s cocktail bars - la bodeguita del medio

• bas closed and were replaced by entertaining establishments, dancing made patrons thirsty so long drinsk>short drinks

1933

prohibition repealed in 1933

1930s

electric blender and use of fruit juices and fresh fruit w/ alc inspired don the beachcomber and trader vic who made tiki bars (polynesian culture, tropical themes). cocktail culture into dormanyc but continued in high-end bars located in upscale hotels and bars

1980s

new wave of bartenders developed technique consisting of acrobatiic movements w/ bottles, glasses, icecubes, tools - flair bartending

1988

cocktail movie w tom cruise

3 bars

american, speakeasy, tiki. timeless and house cocktails imagined

2010

non alcoholic drinks and spirits

alembic

simple appartus for distillation used for thousands of years. egyptians were first. alembic = al anbiq. alcohol = al kuhl.

14th centuries (alembic)

monasteries used stills to produce aqua vita/eau de vie/water of life as special healing concotions w/ ambitions of achieving immortality

17th century (stills)

industrial stills used to prod alcohol on larger scale

as alcohol became more available…

consumption increased and it became a health issue as people drank excessively and of poor quality or harmful spirits

19th and 20th

large commercial distilleries appeared to dominate the spirits market. but nowaddays in contrast to mass production (overly homogenized, generic taste), small craft distillers thrive w local ingredients and trad tehcniques (msall batch prod to diff)

fermentation

start of alcohol production. alochol made from wide variety of ingredients e.g. sugar-based (fruit, sugarcane, beetroot/fermentable sugars), starch-based (cereals, rice, potatoes, must undergo saccharification to transform starch into fermentable sugars)

some raw ingredients naturally contain enough yeast to start ferm. then after a few days, env conditions for yeast convert ferm sugar into alcohol + co2 = fermented liquid = wash w/ 6-10% ABV (alc by vol)

mashing process

ingredients pressed, milled and mixed w water to create mash. then yeast (ferm)

do fermentable sugars need to be mashed?

no, can be pressed and milled. no need to mix w/ water. then yeast (ferm)

distillation

wash poured into alembic. separates alc from wash w/ alembic to distillate. increases abv from 8-96%, purifies wash, extracts aromas in wash

2 main stills: pot still, column still

pot still

• alembic that operates on double distillation/batch-operated system principle

• master distiller fills from bottom of still (cucurbit) w/ wash. this sits on heater (wood trad, gas now). wash begins to boil and alc vapours released and accumulate in head of pot still

• travel into swan neck to condenser

• vapors reach serpentine coil in condenser filled w/ cold running water where vapors condense into liquid called distillate

• quality depends on master distillers knowledge and skills to prod pure and enjoyable spirit

optimal bpt for ethanol

78.3C

spirit safe

glass container tha allows master distiller to examine distillate purity coming out of pot still. separates distillate into head heart and tail.

head = worst part w/ acetone and methanol. harmful so systematically eliminated

heart = ethanol and desirable aromas. best part, transparent

tail = heavy alcohols, influence spirit taste. some kept some not.

distillate 25ABV about, heart and tail redistilled for higher ABC so pot still 2+ dist.

pot still adv and disadv

adv:

• enhances organoleptic properties of distillate so rich aromatic profile and refined subtle taste

disadv:

• requires more labor as produced per batch and must be emptied, cleaned, and refilled between each

column still

• patent/coffey still (after aeneas coffey inventor). more advanced.

• operates continuously and transformed industry

• 2-7 columns

• series of single pot stills layered one above the other. long vertical tube filled w/ bubble plates.

• wash enters form top of column and cascades down each buble plate to cucurbit.

• wash heated at bottom, producing alc vapours that rise thru each level and interact w each bubble plate and descendning vapours.

• vapours purified at each bubble plate so more plates = purer final distillate

• alc vapors pass thru swan neck tubing into serpentine coil in condenser filled w/ cold running water

• vpaours cool and condense into distillate liq

adv and disadv of colum still

• a: ability to prod large qts of alc continuously and can yield distillate of up to 96% abv, so purer alc depending on no. bubble plates

• d: aromas and flavours less intense

maturation

process of ageing an alcoholic beverage in a container to develop more complex aromas

cellar master

in charge, determines when alc bev has reached maturity and is ready for dilution or bottling

factorsi implementing final taste

• environment - air can get thru pores so air and atmospheric factors shape aroma (coastal whiskies from islay absorb sea spray so salty, iodized)

• CASK:

  • size of cask - smaller = faster spirit ages and more intense wood aromas, larger = slower maturation and lighter wood aromas

  • type of cask - gives diff notes material - can be oak or ceramic (porous/semi porous), or steel or glass (airtight, nonporous)

• finishing - brands experiment w/ second maturation/finishing (on label) to diversify w aromatic palate.

angel share

in porous containers, small portions of liquid naturally evaporate overtime. the amount that evaportaes depends on climates and env. if its cool and humid: alc and water evap slow = 2-5% as py, when hot and dry = 10% annually

casks

• mostly oak to enhance flavor and color

• made by cooper. during cooperage, cooper flames inside to make water tight and develop aromas (bousinage). depending on flaming, container releases diff flavors. heavier charring - vanillin - vanilla notes.

• main types used:

  • american oak - notes of vanilla caramel and subtle coconut

  • european oak - wide aromatic range w both rich and delicate flavs (floral)

  • japanese oak/mizunara - complex aromas e.g. sandalwood, exotic spices, coconut

sizes of cask

standardized around the world:

• american standard barrel - 200lt

• barrique - 225lt

• tonneau - 900lt

• foudre de chene - 2000-3000lt

finishing

transferring alr aged alc into casks that held other products e.g. madeira port, sauterne wines or other spirits (bourbons).

called flavour casks and add extra aromas, creating richer, distinctive flavor profile. endles spossibilities

tequila and mezcal

mexicos two most iconic spirits made of diff types of agave plants, each one deeply rooted in country’s heritage

share common origin but different terroir and service method

tequila: region, serving, plant, cooking

• made in jalisco w/ limited production allowed in 4 other states

• for celebration and cocktails (margarita). served w/ lime and salt in us but in mexico appreciated slowly

• blue weber agave (at least 51%), premium 100%

• pina’s wasted in traditional brick ovens or modern industrial autoclaves

mezcal: region, serving, plant, cooking,

• made in oaxaca and eight other states

• tied to tradition and enjoyed neat w/ orange slices and gusano salt (mix of ground agave worm and salt.)

• broad range of agave, many wild, most common Espadin

• artisanal approach, slow roasted in underground pits lined w/ lava rocks, filled w wood and agave leaves (palenque) so smoky and earthy char

harvesting of agave

skilled and labour intensive as hand-harvested by jimadores (farmers) once matured. carefully removes sharp leaves w/ a coa to reach the pina (similar to pineapple), weighing up to 90kg. then cooked.

after cooking

pina's pressed to extract juices, sometimes w/ tahonas (stone mills) or mechanical crushers. extracted juice transferred to fermentation tanks where yeast added.

why is fermentation quick w/ teq and mez

mexicos warm climate and natural sugar content of agave. wash w/ alc of 8% abc made.

dist, and bottling and aging of teq and mez

either in pot or column stills depending on style and tradition of producer. pot stills more common w mezcal for complex rustic flavor. then bottling or aged in oaks for depth and char

teq and mez classification

based on ageing

• blanco - bottle filled immediately after dist or aged 2 mths

• reposado oak cask 2mths to 1 yr

• anejo oak cask at least 1 yr

• extra anejo oak cask at least 3 yr

vodka

• produced anywhere in world

• originated in russia/poland

• “vodka” = '“voda” R or “woda” P meaning water

• spread to rest of eastern eu and scandinavia (vodka belt)

• trad grain or potatoes but now from wide variety w/ fermentable ingredients

• distillate must reach 96% abv to be called vodka

factors to make vodka

• terroir - where its grown and ingredients. (grain and potatoes have starch so must be broken into simple sugars via -