Category: science
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How to Stretch a Lime – My Story in the SF Chronicle
I wrote about oleo citrate and super juice for the San Francisco Chronicle. These are techniques for increasing the yield from citrus fruits by eight times or so, using a touch of citric and malic acid powder in a specific way to bump up the flavor and texture of citrus to extend it over a…
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The Best Drinks Books of 2024
These are some of my favorite cocktails and spirits books I read in 2024. Several of them I blurbed for their authors. There are few more books that were published this year that I haven't read yet, so maybe they'll get on next year's list. My 2023 Best Of List is here, by the way. In…
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The Mystery Pillar and Ice Spikes
This is a video about "ice spikes" that form in the freezer, and as explained it does so due to the expansion of water when it freezes. He is talking about ice forming in a standard ice cube tray but those of us who make clear ice cubes in trays know this phenomenon as the…
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An Alcademics Study of Liquor Bottle Weights
Since 2009 I have been weighing liquor bottles before recycling them. I was up to 1226 bottles weighed and decided it was about time for me to analyze the data. At the bottom of the post I'll include a link to my spreadsheets. Note that I dated when I weighed the bottles because bottles…
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All the Cocktail and Drink Books from 2020 for Reading or Gifting
It's time for the annual Alcademics drink book round-up! Below are all the books that have come to my attention in 2020. I don't follow wine/beer closely so there are only a few in that section. The links below are to Amazon and to Bookshop.org. If you buy stuff after clicking on a link, I…
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Designing A Club Soda From Scratch
I was recently in touch with Top Note Tonic founders founders Mary Pellettieri and Noah Swanson about their new Club Soda that was created specifically for making highballs with whiskey. They went into the process with specific goals in mind to pair it with whiskey, researched styles of water and other brands' mineral content, then…
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Getting Nerdy About Soju Production: Sticky Rice, Nuruk Fermentation, Multi ABVs, Korean Production
I received an email from a newish soju brand Tokki Soju with a really interesting story. Given the technical skill of one of the founders, I thought I could get some additional information, and that's just what happened. First, the background: The brand was launched in 2016 by Founder Brandon “Bran” Hill and CEO Douglas…
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Ramping up Aromatics in Cognac: How Camus Does it
When I was in China helping judge the Camus cognac Shanghai Shake, I had the opportunity to interview president Cyril Camus. Recently the language on Camus' core line changed to invoke "intensely aromatic" language on the branding. Cyril says that this has rolled out in the US and some other markets, with more to come.…
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Sour Mashing as Industrial Waste Recycling
I never realized that the sour mash process is partly industrial waste recycling.
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Deeply Nerdy Stuff About Jack Daniel’s Production – Charcoal, Souring, Fermentation
I learned a lot about Jack Daniel’s from a microbiologist: enzymes, charcoal, pH, fermentation times, rye stickiness!