Kevin Peterson

But then where more of the storytelling, more of the intrigue comes in is on the aroma side where to the tongue, honey is just a sweetness, but to the nose, there could be floral elements. There could be some caramelized elements. There could be you know, whatever the bees were eating. Now you're telling the story of those bees through the cocktail.

But then where more of the storytelling, more of the intrigue comes in is on the aroma side where to the tongue, honey is just a sweetness, but to the nose, there could be floral elements. There could be some caramelized elements. There could be you know, whatever the bees were eating. Now you're telling the story of those bees through the cocktail.

Yeah. Yeah. There, there's an idea in, in the aroma world that ingredients pair well together when they share some common aroma molecules. And I've actually read a couple books that are, you know, more or less just lists of sort of unexpected combinations of foods that share aroma compounds. So I had a drink on the menu a couple of years ago that was blueberry and horseradish.

Yeah. Yeah. There, there's an idea in, in the aroma world that ingredients pair well together when they share some common aroma molecules. And I've actually read a couple books that are, you know, more or less just lists of sort of unexpected combinations of foods that share aroma compounds. So I had a drink on the menu a couple of years ago that was blueberry and horseradish.

Which does not sound good, right? And it's like, it's more, it's the more, how should I say? The more terrible it sounds, the more fun it is to actually serve to someone. And they're like, what the heck? This is actually good. You know, the more you can sort of twist that expectation from, well, this sounds completely awful. I guess I have to order it just to prove you guys are morons.

Which does not sound good, right? And it's like, it's more, it's the more, how should I say? The more terrible it sounds, the more fun it is to actually serve to someone. And they're like, what the heck? This is actually good. You know, the more you can sort of twist that expectation from, well, this sounds completely awful. I guess I have to order it just to prove you guys are morons.

And then they take a sip and they're like, wait a second. Oh my gosh, it's actually okay.

And then they take a sip and they're like, wait a second. Oh my gosh, it's actually okay.

And then it had a blueberry, amaro, and we made a tincture out of horseradish. So we just took the horseradish root, chopped up, soaked that in alcohol for about two weeks, straightened out the chunks, and we just had a little dropper bottle where you could dose in some horseradish to taste.

And then it had a blueberry, amaro, and we made a tincture out of horseradish. So we just took the horseradish root, chopped up, soaked that in alcohol for about two weeks, straightened out the chunks, and we just had a little dropper bottle where you could dose in some horseradish to taste.

A few hundred. And, you know, and that's... What's shocking is the difference between a good drink and a great drink is often three drops of this, four drops of that, quarter ounce, like you were saying with the sidecar. Maybe the difference between a great sidecar and a good sidecar is an eighth of an ounce of lemon. Right. And some drinks are quite robust. You can just kind of pour, whatever.

A few hundred. And, you know, and that's... What's shocking is the difference between a good drink and a great drink is often three drops of this, four drops of that, quarter ounce, like you were saying with the sidecar. Maybe the difference between a great sidecar and a good sidecar is an eighth of an ounce of lemon. Right. And some drinks are quite robust. You can just kind of pour, whatever.

A Negroni is going to be good almost no matter what you do. An old-fashioned really is balanced on a knife edge in terms of the ratio of bitters to sweet to spirit, which is part of the reason I almost never order Old Fashions when I go out anymore. I'll get a Negroni unless I really trust the person behind the bar.

A Negroni is going to be good almost no matter what you do. An old-fashioned really is balanced on a knife edge in terms of the ratio of bitters to sweet to spirit, which is part of the reason I almost never order Old Fashions when I go out anymore. I'll get a Negroni unless I really trust the person behind the bar.

It's not a theory I've seen in the literature. The literature being a few hundred cocktail books that I own. But it's something that I explored in my book. And in terms of temperature, in terms of dilution, some drinks really have to be cold to be good. Some drinks really die quickly once that ice starts to melt.

It's not a theory I've seen in the literature. The literature being a few hundred cocktail books that I own. But it's something that I explored in my book. And in terms of temperature, in terms of dilution, some drinks really have to be cold to be good. Some drinks really die quickly once that ice starts to melt.

You know, gin and tonics, Collins style drinks, like once that ice starts to go, it really falls off a cliff. Some drinks can melt a little bit more and they kind of stay reasonable further into that sort of melty zone.

You know, gin and tonics, Collins style drinks, like once that ice starts to go, it really falls off a cliff. Some drinks can melt a little bit more and they kind of stay reasonable further into that sort of melty zone.

Well, yeah, sometimes you got to show people how it's wrong to let them appreciate how it's right. And one way that I would describe that is that your taste buds are temperature dependent. And when something's warmer, you're sending a different ratio of signals in. So even if you ostensibly made the right drink,

Well, yeah, sometimes you got to show people how it's wrong to let them appreciate how it's right. And one way that I would describe that is that your taste buds are temperature dependent. And when something's warmer, you're sending a different ratio of signals in. So even if you ostensibly made the right drink,