I knew I should have taken more science classes in school. I didn't know it was because they would help me understand what my bartender is doing.
Molecular mixology, a sibling of another movement, molecular gastronomy, has arrived in Milwaukee. Dick's Pizza & Pleasure reports it is doing "foams" in its lounge, which is open Thursday through Saturday, and now Potawatomi Bingo Casino is rolling out a menu of molecular drinks extensive enough to excite a mad scientist.
This hot trend involves creating new alcoholic drinks by manipulating their ingredients on a molecular level. That can turn liquids into solids, and can make a drink garnish, such as a slice of pineapple or cucumber, into a cocktail in itself. And you thought beakers and Bunsen burners were dull.
Beginning tonight, Potawatomi is featuring Molecular Mondays from 6 to 11 p.m. at its Bar 360. Dream Dance Steak is also getting in on the deal, exclusively offering one of the drinks, a concoction of Saracco Moscato d'Asti with pearls of the French raspberry liqueur Chambord, called a Flirty Lady.
The pearls, which are fun on the tongue and give interesting texture to a cocktail, are the result of alcoholic alchemy. Don't ask me to explain how it is done.
Potawatomi is offering cucumber and Pineapple Upside Down Cake martinis that include garnishes as alcoholic as the drink, and the pomegranate martini contains pearls made from the pomegranate flavor of 5-Hour Energy drink. You'll want to paint the house after having a few of those.
Many of the cocktails please the eyes as much as the mouth. Three of them contain pearls made from Blue Curacao.
Foams are liqueur-infused whipped cream. The oatmeal cookie shot is made with Goldschlager, butterscotch schnapps and Baileys-infused foam.
The Chocolate Heaven martini has Baileys, Frangelico, Godiva liqueur, butterscotch schnapps and vanilla vodka, topped with Godiva liqueur-infused foam. The Chocolate Covered Bacon uses Bakon vodka.
Prices range from $8.25 to $12.
Progress through science!
Damien has been around so long, he was at Summerfest the night George Carlin was arrested for speaking the seven dirty words you can't say on TV. He was also at the Uptown Theatre the night Bruce Springsteen's first Milwaukee concert was interrupted for three hours by a bomb scare. Damien was reviewing the concert for the Milwaukee Journal. He wrote for the Journal and Journal Sentinel for 37 years, the last 29 as theater critic.
During those years, Damien served two terms on the board of the American Theatre Critics Association, a term on the board of the association's foundation, and he studied the Latinization of American culture in a University of Southern California fellowship program. Damien also hosted his own arts radio program, "Milwaukee Presents with Damien Jaques," on WHAD for eight years.
Travel, books and, not surprisingly, theater top the list of Damien's interests. A news junkie, he is particularly plugged into politics and international affairs, but he also closely follows the Brewers, Packers and Marquette baskeball. Damien lives downtown, within easy walking distance of most of the theaters he attends.
