Here are some recent stories shared to the CocktailGreen Facebook Page, and now grouped together here: The Science Behind Vegan Meringues This story includes some science and testing of aquafaba in place of egg whites. It's specifically using canned aquafaba and looking at merengues rather than cocktails, but there is some good information about adding acids vs alkaline ingredients to attempt to stabilize the foam. He also makes some flavoring suggestions to make the foam less beany-tasting. One of those ingredients is rosewater, which reminds me of some bartenders who would scent eggs with essential oils. I wonder how a... Read more →

Trevor Easter of The Snug in Sacramento shared information about a top-selling drink called That's the Fuckin’ Drink. For it, he makes a cordial out of limited-season blood oranges, a sunflower seed infusion, a vegan foamer, and preserved edible citrus as a garnish. It's a good example of extending seasonality and looking local for ingredients. He originally shared the post to Facebook and gave us permission to post it here. The below text is from Trevor Easter. Photos are by Anna Wick for The Snug. That's the Fuckin’ Drink By Trevor Easter California has had really poor citrus seasons lately... Read more →

Andreas Sanidiotis, Head Bartender at Lost + Found Drinkery in Nicosia, Cyprus wrote in with a couple tips. Methyl Cellulose as a Foamer Instead of Eggwhites/Aquafaba For egg alternatives I used to use aquafaba and albumin but was not very pleased with either of those. Albumin gives off a weird egg smell after a while which can be very off-putting in cocktails. The same goes with aquafaba, it gives off a smell that does not necessarily compliment cocktails the way fresh egg white will do. On that note after some research and experimentation I stumbled upon Metilgel from SOSA, which... Read more →

Julian de Féral is an international drinks consultant, occasional bartender, and writer. He was previously the drinks director for the London-based Gorgeous Group. He created a non-alcoholic milk punch that uses an oleo saccharum from extra lemon zests, plus older lemon juice. The mix punch method (curdling the mixture with milk then straining) helps preserve the lemon flavor, and adds whey from the milk that in turn adds froth to cocktails! Typically the ratio of "punch" to milk in the milk punch is 4:1 and this one has more, it would be interesting to play with the ratios to see... Read more →

To coincide with the "soft opening" of CocktailGreen.org I pulled together some of my favorite tips learned in the first phase of building this website. There are dozens more where these came from! 1. You can infuse spent citrus shells (after squeezing) into alcohol to get a good base start on flavored spirits and syrups such as falernum, citrus vodka, and spiced rum, as they'll do at Good Company in Boston. read more 2. Instead of "burning the ice" from the well at the end of the evening, bars including San Francisco's Trick Dog put it in a stock pot... Read more →

An ingredient used as a foaming agent in both foods and in beauty products like shampoo and toothpaste is soap bark (Quillaja Saponaria). Note that this is different from soapwort (Saponaria Officinalis). This can be used as a foamer in cocktails in place of egg whites. Quillaja Saponaria can be found both in bark form or as a liquid extract. At Austin's The Roosevelt Room & The Eleanor, owner/operator Justin Lavenue uses the liquid extract but dilutes it with other ingredients to make it practical for the bar. (Note that they do not use this foamer exclusively - they use... Read more →

Many bars batch together egg whites, either for convenience (saves time versus cracking open an egg each drink at service time), or to conserve resources. With egg whites batched together, bartenders can pour just the portion that they need for a drink rather than using a whole egg white each time. We asked some bartenders how they batch egg whites at their bars and how much egg white they use per drink. Justin Lavenue, Owner / Operator of The Roosevelt Room & The Eleanor in Austin, Texas, shared his batch formula for egg whites. He says, "For our bottled Egg... Read more →