Science of Cocktails - Celebrate the Science of Mixology (Media Preview)


2018 Media Preview Photos by Christopher Guy, Instagram - @picturelisten
Science of Cocktails 2017 Photos from the Science World Website.
Showcase Restaurant Image from their website.

Before I start I want to say - if you like cocktails and have never been to the Science of Cocktails main event, you need to go.  It's wonderful. I've attended three years in a row and have always been amazed by the creativity of the drinks and the food.  One surprise last year - a margarita served 3 ways: traditional, in jelly beans and turned into a steam that you inhaled.


On February 8, 2018, Science World will be filled with over 25 stations offering unique science-inspired cocktails created by award winning bartenders (mixologists).  Others will offer unique hors d’oeuvres prepared by locally renowned chefs, amazing science demonstrations and intriguing hand-on activities.


Attendees can also give themselves a pat on the back for doing something for the community. Science of Cocktails is a fundraiser created when the facility lost their government funding for their underfunded schools program. By attending this event, you'll be helping to send thousands of kids from underserved schools so Science World on class field trips. Each class bursary includes bus transportation, admission and a take home activity. Last year over 8,000 students participated and they hope to increase that number this year. And don't forget, general ticket holders receive a $50 tax receipt and VIP ticket holders receive a $150 receipt.


If you can afford to - I highly suggest getting a VIP ticket. Why?
  • You arrive to complimentary valet parking
  • You enter an hour earlier than the general ticket holder which means no long lineups at the stations.
  • You will receive a special themed take-away gift.
Tickets for Science of Cocktails 2018 are available HERE!

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NOW TO THE MEDIA PREVIEW

At the media preview we were treated to a mini-version of the main event.  Held in Marriott Hotel Pinnacle's beautiful Showcase Restaurant & Bar in Coal Harbour, you could feel the excitement on entering. The energy was high and there was a definite buzz going on.  Photos were being snapped, interviews conducted, questions asked, drinks sipped and canapes consumed. Everyone was smiling.

I started at one end and worked my way round in a circle, stopping at each station - 4 cocktail, 3 food, 1 challenge, 1 demonstration and 1 hands on activity (oops, forgot to explore this one).  What I loved was that the professional in charge of each station was ready and willing to either talk about their creation in depth or explain what their challenge/demo/handson was about.  I was seriously impressed with everyone, but want to make a few awards here.

My favourite cocktail by taste (really close as they were all amazing) - Southern Ginger Belle.                         Loved the hints of citrus and ginger.
My favourite food - ‘Char Sui’ pork rillettes, recipe below. I stood talking to the chef at this table                     for quite awhile and snuck back for seconds. Fabulous!
My favourite story - At the Yuzu Sake-Tini cocktail station. Hearing the concept and all the science                 behind the creation of this drink had my rapt attention for a full 10 minutes. Bravo.

COCKTAILS

1. Guatemala Colada
| Liquor: Ron Zacapa

Bartender: Grant Sceney
Presented by Diageo
Concept: Soluble Ingredients Oils & Alcohol (Using fats /oils to make a cocktail)
50 ml Ron Zacapa rum with coconut oil
22 ml Maillard Pineapple Cordial
22 ml citric acid and lactic acid solution
Stirred, served neat

2.Yuzu Sake-Tini | Brand: Prime Vodka 
Bartender: Diana Claxton (Showcase Restaurant & Bar) with JS Dupuis (Tableau)
Presented by Showcase Restaurant & Bar
Concept: Molecular Caviar Pearls
Edible caviar flavor using Calcium Bath & Molecular Mixology
1oz Prime vodka
1oz Sake
1/2oz simple syrup
1g citric acid
Yuzu + sodium alginate pearls (in calcium bath)

3. Southern Ginger Belle | Brand: Southern Comfort 
Bartender: Brice Peressini (The Victor, Parq Vancouver) & Andrea Civettini (Clough Club) 
Presented by Charton Hobbs: Top Shelf Bar Club
Concept - Shake it til you make it! Shaker Challenge See below!
60ml Southern Comfort
30ml Lemon juice
5ml ginger juice
5ml simple syrup
1 spoon Orange Marmalade

4. Cocktail: Old Fashioned | Brand: Remy Martin
Concept: Laminar Jet Streamed Cocktail
Bartender: Gez McAlpine (Bruichladdich) & Cam Brown (Clough Club)
Presented by Makerlabs
Cocktail will be served using a Laminar Jet at the main event Feb. 8th
2oz Remy Martin
1 Sugar cube
2 Dash bitters
Water
Raisin garnish

FOOD

1. ‘Char Sui’ pork rillettes, yuzu pearls, miso sesame emulsion, rice cracker, togarashi, perilla leaf.
Chef: Jesse Hochhausen. Recipe below!


Presented by Showcase Restaurant & Bar
Char Sui BBQ flavoured pork rillettes, yuzu juice thickened with agar agar to appear like pearls or row. Miso and sesame emulsion, fried rice cracker, togarashi spice blend and wild sesame leaf (also known as perilla leaf) which is quick frozen and mulled with liquid nitrogen.

2. Pink Flower Roll

Chef: Takayuki Sato
Presented by Hapa Izakaya
Sushi rice, asparagus, Albacore Tuna, fried egg, topped with beet juice dye, white radish & shiso leaves

3. Chilled Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail

Chef: Kyle Baker
Presented by The Keg
Chilled jumbo shrimp served with a martini cocktail sauce

CHALLENGE

Drink station #3 offered the Shake It Til You Break It! Cocktail Shaker Challenge. "See if you have the strength and speed to be a professional bartender using sensor technology to track how fast you can accelerate a classic cocktail shaker."


You were given a cocktail shaker with a sensor attached that transmitted your numbers to an iPad.  The muscled guy before me received a score of 120 and I was determined to figure out a way to beat him. I held the shaker in front of me, holding it with both hands to split the work instead of in one had as he had.  I didn't quite beat him, but got close. My score was 115.  After you were given a shaker filled with the ingredients for the cocktail at that station and created your own with a few simples shakes. 

SCIENCE

Ping Pong Cannon - "Witness the awesome power of air pressure as an ordinary ping pong ball is accelerated to over 700km/h – fast enough to puncture straight through the side of an aluminum beer can."


About every 5-10 minutes there would be a loud bang that rang through the restaurant. It was from the ping pong canon.  You had super long clear tube with a compressor at one end and a see-through vessel at the other. At the compressor end they'd drop in a ping pong ball. In the clear container they'd put an empty pop can.  BANG - the relatively fragile ping pong ball would should down the tube and blow the soda can apart. 

They were using air to push the ball down the tube, but not in the way I assumed. I thought the compressor was building up air behind the ball and then pushing it forward. Nope, they sucked all the air out of the tube, then opened the seal on the end the ball was in. The air rushing in from the outside drove it down the tube at 700 KM/H. WOW

HANDS ON

Tinkering ‘Tinker-Bling’ (bow tie, necklace) - "Craft yourself a light up LED necklace or bow tie by creating your own custom circuit."


I apologize in that I didn't stop by and create my own Tinker-Bling, but as you can see from the images, most of the attendees dove right in and what they created was a lot of fun. 

RECIPE - 

‘Char Sui’ pork rillettes with yuzu pearls, miso sesame emulsion, rice cracker, togarashi, perilla leaf by Chef Jesse Hochhausen


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