Louisville, Ky. (August 3, 2009) – Ever wonder how you can keep carbonation in champagne? Why bartenders always pour the alcohol in first and then the mixer? If garnish really influences the taste of your cocktail?
Mistology: The Science Behind the Cocktail, an after-hours event hosted at various Art and Science museums nationwide, will explore the entertaining and educational side of cocktail creation. The events, brought to you by Canadian Mist Whisky, will feature an interactive presentation from Canadian Mist’s Chief Entertaining Officer (CEO) Tim Laird and Spirits Scientist Steve Hughes.
Tim is the master at mixing cocktails while Steve, a member of Mist’s Research and Development team, spends his day dissecting cocktails in a lab. Together they will answer any and all of your bartending and science related questions. Not only the how, but also the why.
The master mixologists at Canadian Mist will instruct guests on the art of concocting the cocktails that defined an era. After the presentation, attendees can apply what they learned with hands-on demos. If guests prefer to kick back and let others do the work, there will be a bar staff on-site and plenty of appetizers to enjoy. The event is open to anyone 21 years of age and older with admission varying from city to city. All proceeds will benefit the host museum.
WHO:
Tim Laird – Chief Entertaining Officer (CEO) for Brown-Forman Corp., a global marketer and producer of wine and spirits, including Canadian Mist. Tim is known for making entertaining easy and has appeared on hundreds of television and radio interviews across the U.S.
Steve Hughes – Spirits Scientist for Brown-Forman Corp. Steve has been behind the development of several of Brown-Forman’s award winning whiskies, including Canadian Mist, a Gold-Medal winning whisky made in Collingwood, Ontario.
Some of the topics discussed include:
• Starting with the basics – the role of taste buds and sense of smell
• Flavor Wheel – Exploring the various flavor notes in liquor - fruit, wood, spices, sweet aromatics – and the scientific reasoning behind why these flavor notes exist.
• Ice – How to cool your drink down without watering it down. Ice shavings versus ice cubes (surface area)
• Movement – "Shaken vs. Stirred"
• Carbonation – Talk about how to keep carbonation in your cocktail / bottle of champagne. Discuss how carbonation carries flavor.
• Mixing – Why it is important to pour the alcohol in first and then the mixer (specific gravity).
• Garnish – How do garnishes affect the cocktail (pH Levels)
• Glassware – Does the shape really matter?
TOUR DATES:
August 6, 2009 / Denver, CO / Sugar Cube Building in conjunction with Historic Denver
October 7, 2009 / Milwaukee, WI / Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design
December 10, 2009 / Memphis, TN / Brooks Museum of Art
January 7, 2010 / Knoxville, TN / Knoxville Museum of Art
February 11, 2010 / Charlotte, NC / Mint Museum of Art
March 11, 2010 / St. Petersburg, FL / Museum of Fine Arts
More dates are anticipated to be added in the near future. For more information and to keep up with the current tour schedule, visit www.sciencebehindthecocktail.com.