Sean Carroll

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Mindscape Podcast. I'm your host, Sean Carroll. Frequent listeners to the Ask Me Anything episodes here at Mindscape will know that I am a fan of a good cocktail. It's not something I bring up very often, but it does happen.

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Mindscape Podcast. I'm your host, Sean Carroll. Frequent listeners to the Ask Me Anything episodes here at Mindscape will know that I am a fan of a good cocktail. It's not something I bring up very often, but it does happen.

In fact, I think I did a holiday message one year about cocktails, and certainly we've had plenty of AMA questions thinking about cocktails one way or another. And there's something fascinating about the idea of a cocktail. I mean, if you like wine, which I also do, what do you do? You look for a good wine and then you open it and you drink it. There's not a lot that you do to the glass of wine.

In fact, I think I did a holiday message one year about cocktails, and certainly we've had plenty of AMA questions thinking about cocktails one way or another. And there's something fascinating about the idea of a cocktail. I mean, if you like wine, which I also do, what do you do? You look for a good wine and then you open it and you drink it. There's not a lot that you do to the glass of wine.

Maybe you decant it or something like that. You make sure to serve it at the right temperature. But mostly it's just about finding the wine unless you're the one who's actually making it. Whereas a cocktail, there's a certain amount of effort and even perhaps ingenuity that goes into it. You can make good cocktails and bad cocktails out of the same ingredients. There's something you need to know.

Maybe you decant it or something like that. You make sure to serve it at the right temperature. But mostly it's just about finding the wine unless you're the one who's actually making it. Whereas a cocktail, there's a certain amount of effort and even perhaps ingenuity that goes into it. You can make good cocktails and bad cocktails out of the same ingredients. There's something you need to know.

In fact, one might even say that it would be good to be educated in the theory of cocktails if there ever were such a thing. So imagine my delight when I came across a book called Cocktail Theory, A Sensory Approach to Transcendent Cocktails by Kevin Peterson, who is today's guest on the Mindscape podcast.

In fact, one might even say that it would be good to be educated in the theory of cocktails if there ever were such a thing. So imagine my delight when I came across a book called Cocktail Theory, A Sensory Approach to Transcendent Cocktails by Kevin Peterson, who is today's guest on the Mindscape podcast.

Now, Kevin, I didn't even know this when I bought the book, but you won't be surprised to learn, has a physics background. He got an undergraduate degree in physics and then got a PhD in mechanical engineering. but now works at a couple of places, Sfumato and Castalia. I'm going to try to explain this correctly if I understand what's going on. Sfumato is a fragrance store. They sell perfumes.

Now, Kevin, I didn't even know this when I bought the book, but you won't be surprised to learn, has a physics background. He got an undergraduate degree in physics and then got a PhD in mechanical engineering. but now works at a couple of places, Sfumato and Castalia. I'm going to try to explain this correctly if I understand what's going on. Sfumato is a fragrance store. They sell perfumes.

They make their own perfumes, and then they sell them. It's in Detroit, Michigan, and Kevin is part of the designing of different fragrances and so forth. But then at a certain time of day, it turns into Castalia, which is a bar, which is a mixology bar, an experimental craft cocktail bar. where they mix together different cocktails.

They make their own perfumes, and then they sell them. It's in Detroit, Michigan, and Kevin is part of the designing of different fragrances and so forth. But then at a certain time of day, it turns into Castalia, which is a bar, which is a mixology bar, an experimental craft cocktail bar. where they mix together different cocktails.

And you'll learn a little bit about, in this podcast, what that means, you know, what really goes into it. So the background in physics and engineering comes out very, very clearly in this discussion. Not only...

And you'll learn a little bit about, in this podcast, what that means, you know, what really goes into it. So the background in physics and engineering comes out very, very clearly in this discussion. Not only...

in thinking about what are the different ingredients that could go in, how do you make the temperature last at the right amount for the right time, what is the effect of aeration, you know, the little bubbles you get in your drink and the shaking and how much should you shake it, but also just the application of the scientific method.

in thinking about what are the different ingredients that could go in, how do you make the temperature last at the right amount for the right time, what is the effect of aeration, you know, the little bubbles you get in your drink and the shaking and how much should you shake it, but also just the application of the scientific method.

You know, very similarly to when we had Kenji Lopez-Alt here to talk about cooking, but from an MIT graduate's engineering science background where you're going to experiment. You're not going to say, oh, I found this wonderful old book that has the best recipe in it.

You know, very similarly to when we had Kenji Lopez-Alt here to talk about cooking, but from an MIT graduate's engineering science background where you're going to experiment. You're not going to say, oh, I found this wonderful old book that has the best recipe in it.

You're going to say, well, here's the idea of the best recipe, but let me test all of the different ways I could change it and see how that goes, see what works and what doesn't work. That's what we're going to get into, the theory of cocktails and also the experiment of cocktails. Now, I know perfectly well that there's going to be a lot of Mindscape listeners who are not cocktail people.

You're going to say, well, here's the idea of the best recipe, but let me test all of the different ways I could change it and see how that goes, see what works and what doesn't work. That's what we're going to get into, the theory of cocktails and also the experiment of cocktails. Now, I know perfectly well that there's going to be a lot of Mindscape listeners who are not cocktail people.