On the perils of following rapidly-changing drinks trends

Molecular mixology, future retro, whizz bang cocktails… Before that, obscure ingredientini, homemade mouse-dropping bitters, thousand-island gomme, various spirit ‘resurgences’… We’re all guilty of paying heed to weird and wonderful trends. But do bartenders really need to follow them?

Admittedly, it doesn’t take much to kick-start a trend nowadays. In a tight, peer-led industry, it’s natural to bounce off what others are doing and with the viral spread of information via a huge range of media, it’s easy to pick up on new trends not just in your local area, but right across the globe. What’s more, bartenders are firmly at the heart of this movement, thanks to the internet giving them a platform and the fact that market researchers and brand owners are finally recognising the crucial role bartenders play in developing new trends.

However, there are certain dangers in following the crowd. The first is a lack of identity. As a result of the recession trimming away the flabbier excesses of our industry, many of those bars that have survived feel as if they can only claw their way back up by copying the models which more successful businesses are showcasing. Don’t get me wrong, not all of this plagiarism is bad. Take the more widespread nature of cocktail offerings now: while the drinks aren’t always great, introducing more people to drinking cocktails has changed public opinion in a way that benefits the whole industry.

Plagiarism is a minor concern though – as following some trends can actually be potentially dangerous to your health. Take the example of applying ‘molecular’ techniques to cocktail making. This has yielded results ranging from the frustrating to the funny, all the way to the fantastic. But working with materials that are usually the preserve of studious fellows in white coats in a lab needs to be taken seriously.

Given the lax attitude towards sanitation that I’ve sometimes seen in bars, it’s particularly worrying. In the worst-case scenario, applying some molecular techniques incorrectly could even
kill someone.

So what should we do? We certainly don’t want any sort of monitoring or intervention; nor do we want to stifle innovation. I suppose the bottom line is this: we’re working with, and dispensing, a drug, and should be exceedingly cautious in doing so. If we’re going to throw other dangerous elements into the mix, we need to apply a bit more care. I’ll happily defer to an expert if I’m worried about harming someone. It’s ultimately a matter of going the extra, necessary mile; if we’re trying to display our professionalism by showing that we can push the boundaries like the best chefs (which we can), we need to do the groundwork and understand the limitations of what we’re exploring.

Trends aren’t essential to our survival, but are often a welcome extra, helping to keep our work interesting for ourselves and our guests. There’s no need to adopt them, as the beauty is they’re now driven at a grass roots level rather than pushed by commercial players – viva la revolución!

However, our main objective has always been the enjoyment of our guests. Adopting the newest, hottest technique won’t necessarily aid this, and there’s a worry we’ll end up misjudging the balance between pushing our boundaries and the expectation of our guests, ultimately catering to our wants instead of theirs.

Editorial feature from Imbibe Magazine – January/February 2012

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