0 Molecular mixology strikes Jakarta

The B-52 I was served was a far cry from the “drink” I was expecting. At Colonial, the classic cocktail was made up of caviar, cubes and foam. But as bar manager Arif Khusyi put it: “Molecular mixology is the way of the future.” Clearly, I was experiencing the start of a cocktail renaissance. Molecular mixology is a recent concept to be offered in Jakarta by the fine dining restaurant and bar Colonial, which opened late last year. “I want to make drinks in a different way, to separate ingredients, so that you can see all the alcohols on their own,” Arif said. 

“The ingredients are still the same as classic cocktails but I give you a new experience.” Molecular mixology, similar to molecular gastronomy, is the term applied to the process of creating cocktails using scientific equipment and techniques, which enables the creation of greater intensities and varieties of flavor and form. While they have the same alcohol content as a traditional cocktail, they can be presented as gels, foams, powders, mists or atomized sprays. 

As well as using chemistry, molecular mixology employs physics to determine the best shape of a glass, mixing technique and even the ideal shape and size of ice cubes for each cocktail. With no background in science, Arif taught himself how to make molecular cocktails from recipes on the Internet four months ago, and now he experiments at least twice a week to design new flavor and texture combinations, he said. While I watched Arif and mixologist Budi Wahyudi make my B-52, I realized the 1930s colonial-themed bar looked equally like a science laboratory. 

There were flasks and beakers, test tubes and Pyrex burettes being used as they carefully measured out chemicals from jars. The first step was to turn the Grand Marnier into what Arif call “caviar” or “molecular balls”, by mixing the alcohol with chemical powders algin and calcic and putting it into a burette. The alcohol soon started slowly dripping into a beaker, forming as little yellow jelly balls. Arif explained that it was a complicated scientific process involving ions, displacement reactions and polymers, resulting in a reaction that forms a thick, edible gel encasing the alcohol inside. 

The process, one well over my head, is what mixologists and gastronomists have coined “spherification”. The next ingredients in the B-52, Baileys and Kahlua, had been pre-made. The Baileys had been turned into foam by adding cream and carbon dioxide to the alcohol, and the Kahlua had been made into bite-sized cubes. Although also made by the spherification method, because of their larger size the Kahlua cubes couldn’t be made using the burette but by hand with ice-cube trays. Looking more like a desert, the B-52 was served. I was not disappointed. 

It was quite literally a taste explosion as the Grand Marnier caviar burst in the mouth, complementing the smooth feel of the Baileys foam and the almost chewy texture of the Kahlua cubes. In one mouthful, each of the three alcohols could be tasted separately, but created an aftertaste with a combination of all three — creating the best B-52 I have yet to try. Next on the menu was the Snowball. Served in a balloon glass, it had its ingredients separated into layers — Advocaat with lemonade, banana and baileys compressed with carbon dioxide to make it into cream, and peppermint liqueur caviar, made by the spherification method. 

Looking similar to a creaming soda, the peppermint liqueur was carefully placed on top of the cream “so with a straw you can drink right through it, if you don’t like peppermint”, or mixed in if you do. Mixed in, the taste was sensational — it strongly tasted like peppermint after the first sip, after which the other flavors burst seamlessly through. Lastly was Arif’s personal favorite, “Cosmo Liquid”, which had the same ingredients as a classic cosmopolitan. He mixed citron vodka with chemical xantana, which acts as a thickener making the final product feel like something between a liquid and a gel. 

Suspended in the drink were large passionfruit and yogurt caviar balls — a personal touch by Arif, which added a fresh twist to the classic cocktail. I was blown away by the taste, presentation and proficiency with which all three cocktails were made, all far more sophisticated than the primitive vodka and lemonades to which I am accustomed. Next time I will be sure to try “Haemoglobin Molecules” made from rum, CDC White, and spherification of Jack Daniel served in a tube, or the “Mint Embryo” with rum, lime juice and mint leaf in a liquid ball served in a duck spoon. 

Colonial currently has eight molecular cocktails on the menu, costing Rp 135,000 (US$14) each and taking up to 20 minutes to make — but the taste sensation and novelty factor is well worth the wait. Colonial is located on the upper ground floor of Lippo Mall in Kemang.

source : the jakarta post