Mixology Monday: Come To Your Sense

Another Mixology Monday, another reason to drink on a monday.  The one monday of the month that no one can hate is hosted by 12 Bottle Bar.  The concept of this month is a rather obscure and challenging one...

We all know that cocktails are supposed to taste good, and for this event, we’re going to take that as a given.  What we’re looking for, instead, are drinks that truly excite one or more of the other senses: touch, smell, sight, or even hearing.[...] For inspiration, we suggest the grand garnishes of Kaiser Penguin, the flaming fantasia of the Pegu Blog’s Halikai Hot Tub, the sonic symphony of Aviary’s Old Fashioned in the Rocks, the vivacious visuals of Scott Beattie, ingenious ice, semi-solid shots, jiggling jellies, or even – if you’re willing to go there – Pop Rock rims.  The goal, we hope, is for everyone to embrace the fun, the challenge, and the potential absurdity of the event.  It’s time to think outside the glass.

I took that as a way to show off some of my most creative -yet unpractical- ideas.  My inspiration for this MxMo post comes from Canadian born barkeep, Jamie Bourdreau.  When I first started my mixology odyssey little over a year ago Jamie Bourdreau's segment on Small Screen Network called Raising the Bar was tipping point that go me skimming the surface of molecular mixology.  While I've yet to dabble with liquid nitrogen, spherification and other advanced techniques,  Foams, dusts and toasting ingredients are some of the methods I've recently been endeavoring in.

For this month's cocktail I've taken a modern classic, Paul Harington's Jasime and gave it an ever more modern take.

Jasmine
- 1.5 oz Gin
- 0.25 oz Campari
- 0.25 oz Cointreau
- Lemon Honey Foam *
- Dehydrated Campari & Cointreau**

- Rim cocktail glass with dehydrated Campari & Cointreau
- Place cocktail glass in freezer to chill
- To a mixing glass add Gin, Campari and Cointreau
- Add ice and stir
- Strain into prepare cocktail glass
- Top with lemon honey foam

* Lemon Honey foam consists of
- 4 Egg Whites
- 3 oz Lemon Juice (Strain through fine mesh strainer after juicing)
- 5 oz Honey Cinnamon Syrup (2 parts honey 1 part water 5-8 cinnamon sticks)
- 0.25 oz Acid Phosphate
- 2 oz water

- Add all ingredients to isi whipper.
- Double Charge, shaking between charges
- Chill in fridge over night

Note: The foam will last for about 10-15 minutes.  It will slowly dissipate into the drink.  From a flavor stand point this is not a bad thing, but it sure looks ugly if you haven't finished the drink after 20 minutes.

** To dehydrate a liqueur all you need to do is pour your desired liqueur on a plate and let it sit for 5-14 days (depending on current climate).  Some liqueurs will not work because they are sweetened with artificial sweetener.  An easy way to determined that will and what will not work is by looking at the neck of the bottle.  If there is a build up sugar like substance on the neck it's good to go!  Campari, cointreau, chartreuse and strega will all work.

The theme of this drink is textures.  The sweet grit of the liqueurs, the sour airiness of the foam and the silky strength of the cocktail all complement each other in the same way as everyone favorite salt, tequila and lime combo.

I hope to have stimulated 4 of 5 senses with this cocktail.  The initial display seduces the eye, the smell of the foam lures the nose, the fell of the sugar stimulates to the touch of the limps while the taste is tempting to the tongue.

...and if you drink enough of them your favorite album will sound waaaay better.  5 out of 5 right?

Maybe not.  None the less I had tons of fun participating in this months mixology monday.  I  took alot of guilty pleasure in experimenting with the salt, tequila, lime process with this cocktail.  Swapping the salt for dehydrated sugar, tequila for the cocktail (Including foam) and lime for lemon.  Thanks to 12 Bottle Bar for hosting as well as choosing a very interesting topic.  I can't wait to read all the other participants posts.