Kevin Peterson

Let me just dial in the perfect whiskey plus the perfect vermouth plus the perfect bitters and the right ratios and just get one drink really correct. but then you have to do that times all 18,000 classics.

Let me just dial in the perfect whiskey plus the perfect vermouth plus the perfect bitters and the right ratios and just get one drink really correct. but then you have to do that times all 18,000 classics.

Might be fun. Never, but maybe there's some generalized things we can say where, okay, maybe a martini and a Manhattan have some similarity because they're both a spirit of vermouth, a dash of bitters, depending on how you make your martinis, of course, you know, sweet and sour drinks, uh, a margarita and a gimlet and a daiquiri.

Might be fun. Never, but maybe there's some generalized things we can say where, okay, maybe a martini and a Manhattan have some similarity because they're both a spirit of vermouth, a dash of bitters, depending on how you make your martinis, of course, you know, sweet and sour drinks, uh, a margarita and a gimlet and a daiquiri.

They have a spirit element, they have a sweetener element, they have a citrus element. And when you start to look at it in that more general sense, there are some trends that come out and almost some ideas like golden ratios of taste inputs, how do you compose a scent? So that's kind of what I mean by the physicist approach to the cocktail.

They have a spirit element, they have a sweetener element, they have a citrus element. And when you start to look at it in that more general sense, there are some trends that come out and almost some ideas like golden ratios of taste inputs, how do you compose a scent? So that's kind of what I mean by the physicist approach to the cocktail.

Yeah. And I think, you know, when you're working in this world and you're trying to create new drinks or you're trying to memorize a bunch of drinks, when you're doing it onesie twosie, it's a very daunting undertaking. Once you start to see those trends, now you can say, oh, well, I know that, um, a pisco sour and a whiskey sour have the same ratios. I don't have to memorize both drinks.

Yeah. And I think, you know, when you're working in this world and you're trying to create new drinks or you're trying to memorize a bunch of drinks, when you're doing it onesie twosie, it's a very daunting undertaking. Once you start to see those trends, now you can say, oh, well, I know that, um, a pisco sour and a whiskey sour have the same ratios. I don't have to memorize both drinks.

I just have to memorize one set of ratios and now I can make any of these drinks, you know, immediately.

I just have to memorize one set of ratios and now I can make any of these drinks, you know, immediately.

Not my original phrasing that came from a bar called Death & Co. in New York. But, you know, this idea that the different recipes are, you know, essentially sets of ratios and you can sort of sub different ingredients in. That idea has been around for a long time. But the phrasing, Mr. Potato Head... As soon as I heard it, I was like, why? We don't need it to look for any other names.

Not my original phrasing that came from a bar called Death & Co. in New York. But, you know, this idea that the different recipes are, you know, essentially sets of ratios and you can sort of sub different ingredients in. That idea has been around for a long time. But the phrasing, Mr. Potato Head... As soon as I heard it, I was like, why? We don't need it to look for any other names.

It's so intuitive. It's so catchy. But yeah, the idea being you've got a Mr. Potato Head doll. You can put in the googly eyes. You can put in the sunglasses eyes. You can put in the angry eyes, the happy eyes. As long as there's eyes where the eyes are supposed to be, and a nose and a mouth where they're supposed to be, it looks like... I mean, weirdly, a humanoid potato.

It's so intuitive. It's so catchy. But yeah, the idea being you've got a Mr. Potato Head doll. You can put in the googly eyes. You can put in the sunglasses eyes. You can put in the angry eyes, the happy eyes. As long as there's eyes where the eyes are supposed to be, and a nose and a mouth where they're supposed to be, it looks like... I mean, weirdly, a humanoid potato.

And the idea is if you have a sweet and sour cocktail, as long as you've got a sweet component where the sweet should be, sour where the sour should be, spirit where the spirit should be, that could be lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit. That could be honey, maple syrup, sugar, agave syrup. And it unlocks this... creativity because now you can be more creative in how you combine things.

And the idea is if you have a sweet and sour cocktail, as long as you've got a sweet component where the sweet should be, sour where the sour should be, spirit where the spirit should be, that could be lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit. That could be honey, maple syrup, sugar, agave syrup. And it unlocks this... creativity because now you can be more creative in how you combine things.

Oh, I, you know, even if you're at home and you're like, well, I want to make this drink that calls for lime, but I only have orange. That's fine. You know, Mr. Potato Head out the lime, Mr. Potato Head in the orange. You got a delicious drink right there.

Oh, I, you know, even if you're at home and you're like, well, I want to make this drink that calls for lime, but I only have orange. That's fine. You know, Mr. Potato Head out the lime, Mr. Potato Head in the orange. You got a delicious drink right there.

Yeah, yeah. You know, one of the ways I think of it is getting a drink right, getting it balanced is getting the tastes correct. So your tongue only perceives bitter, sour, salty, sweet, umami, and every cocktail can be defined as some ratio of those. So an old fashioned is a ratio of bitter to sweet, a sidecar is some ratio of sour to sweet. And that's how you make sure the drink is balanced.

Yeah, yeah. You know, one of the ways I think of it is getting a drink right, getting it balanced is getting the tastes correct. So your tongue only perceives bitter, sour, salty, sweet, umami, and every cocktail can be defined as some ratio of those. So an old fashioned is a ratio of bitter to sweet, a sidecar is some ratio of sour to sweet. And that's how you make sure the drink is balanced.