Drinking Science
The production of alcohol probably began by accident, but today it is a highly scientific and increasingly well-understood process, whether that’s fermenting beer and wine or distilling spirits. In this section we discuss questions around topics such as the accelerated aging of spirits, when and why certain products spoil, and even whether absinthe can make you go crazy. A lot of our coverage here is experimental, with deep dives into everything from glassware to various types of beverage cooling systems.
Top Drinking Science Posts:
Experiment: Ice vs. Whiskey Stones vs. Tilt Chilling Sphere
Does Absinthe Make You Hallucinate?
What’s the Difference Between a Pot Still and a Column Still?
All About Dusties: 1970s vs. 2018 Bourbon Tasted Side by Side
Does Glass Shape Affect the Way a Whiskey Tastes?
How to Build a Better Bourbon: The Science Behind Buffalo Trace and the Lessons of the Single Oak Project
Cork vs. Screwcap: Here Comes the Science
Why Are Some Spirits Rested in Stainless Steel?
Recently a reader left a comment regarding something I said in my review of Nicolas Feuillatte’s Palmes d’Or Champagne that gave me pause. I said I’d left the bottle in the fridge for some months, and the commenter claimed that the “vibrations of a commercial fridge” would essentially kill the bottle. That was news to…
Here’s a wholly unscientific look at the question I undertook back in 2005 courtesy of a closed track at a Malibu Grand Prix, a friend with an oversized liver, and half a bottle of Absolut. The answer: Inconclusive.
Based on what gets the most hits on Google in conjunction with the words “cure cold”: rum.
Today I did a fun comparison, checking out historical Google search trends for the terms gin, vodka, whiskey, tequila, and rum. While vodka‘s win (based on average search volume since 2004) is no surprise, the fact that tequila was right behind — and has led search volume since late 2007 — was quite a shock.…
Reader Paul Moody writes: Is there any real reason to decant a bourbon? There seems to be a good selection of crystal decanters to be found on the market these days, but are they primarily for style and looks? They are strictly for looks. Decanting wine is done to aerate the wine and minimize the…
There are bad diet ideas, and then there’s this one: A woman lost 99 pounds over the course of eight months by consuming a diet consisting solely of up to 14 cans of Red Bull a day, “often accompanying them with nothing more than a handful of dry Honey Puffs.” From Stuff.co.nz: “I just continued…
Why can some men drink so much and create masterpieces of literature and art in the process, while others are turned into simpletons by half a glass of beer? Prospect Magazine has the answer: Beethoven fell under the influence in the later part of his creative life. Among painters, Van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon…
How do you tell whether an old bottle of Scotch is legit or a phony? Well, you could send it to me and I’ll drink it and let you know… or you could run it through a whisky Geiger counter: Scientists have found that minute levels of radioactive carbon absorbed by the barley as it…
It’s, to say the least, “a very unusual way to imbibe alcohol,” as one man puts it: A sort of steam room that is filled with a gin-and-tonic mist. You don’t drink it. You just breathe it in. And it gets you a little drunk along the way. Per the Times Online: The mist tastes…
In 1991, the Guiness Book of World Records got rid of all its alcohol-oriented drinking records (you can figure out why, I’m sure). So leave it to Sloshspot to revive the category — most of which it culled from a 1979 edition of the book. Fun stuff! So who out there can drink a liter…