Shaken, not stirred
Can't we just enjoy cocktails at Christmas without worrying about the science behind them? Not if the molecular mixologists get their way. Hayley Birch ventures to the bar
Though you will rarely see a vodka martini mentioned in a peer-reviewed paper, the scientific principles that go into creating the favourite tipple of Ian Fleming’s James Bond are more sophisticated than some of his imaginary gadgets. And now, riding on the coattails of culinary institutes involved in ’molecular gastronomy’, experimentalists in the cocktail business are employing scientific principles to take the drinks industry into entirely new realms.