Kansas City News Blog

Now, science was never my strong point back in school. However, science in the context of drinking, I can do.

“MISTology: The Science Behind the Cocktail” was hosted by the Young Friends of Union Station. This quasi-lecture-slash-happy hour was to raise awareness Science City, though I presumed I wouldn’t see a “The Science of Curing a Hangover” next to that giant glass ball that makes your hair stand up.

Anyway, I got to the shindig around 7 p.m. and was told that I just missed the 45-minute lecture. Apparently, arriving at places on time isn’t my strong point, either. Who actually starts stuff on time? Uh, apparently scientists – i.e., people who value precision. I knew I should have set my internal watch to an atomic clock.

I paid the $10 entry fee and went into the party, which was held in the lobby of the City Stage. There was an appetizer buffet, a bar with only one type of alcohol (Canadian Mist) and a couple of tables that served samples that demonstrated certain scientific principles. I redeemed one of my drink tickets for a whiskey and Coke. Next to the table that served hot and cold cider (heat and cold enhances flavors), I found the two guys who gave the lecture and asked them to give me the CliffsNotes version of it. We went into the theater, since it was a little quieter in there. On the stage was a table that was decorated with a fruit bowl, martini glasses with flashing ice cubes and a test tubes filled with colored water.

Dr. Takashi Nakamura covered the science side of beverages. Tim Laird, a “Chief Cocktail Officer”/PR guy was a combination of historian and Martha Stewart, since he also dispensed party tips (always offer non-alcoholic beverages at parties; always serve enough food and not just bags of Doritos). He sported a blue Hawaiian shirt with a martini glass and hibiscus print, and he kept referring to Nakamura as “The Doctor.” Both work for Brown-Forman, the spirits conglomerate that sponsored the event.

After a brief run-through (“Great cocktails should entice and excite all five senses”), Laird brought up the “resort scam.” That’s when bartenders pour in the mixers first and then float the alcohol on top instead of the other way around. (Alcohol has a lower density than mixers, so it rises to the top). So, when you take a sip and taste all the alcohol first, you think that you’re getting your money’s worth instead of a shitty drink. A corollary of that is when the bartender pours a bit of alcohol down the straw for the same effect.

I asked them about the resurgence of the “craft of the cocktail.” I think I even made the air-quote motion with my hands, too. Apparently, before Prohibition, American bartenders – who usually worked at old clubs -- were at the forefront of handcrafting drinks. In other countries, people drank their spirit straight, while over here, we were sipping Manhattans and Gin Fizzes. Then, Prohibition struck and many of these bartenders fled to Europe. “The palate of the public is always looking for something new,” Laird proclaimed.

Right on. More important, what do they recommend for a hangover cure? They gave the standard disclaimer to drink responsibly and eat properly. “But if it happens, water and sleeping late,” added The Doctor. Good to know. I’ll try to remember that the next time I’m being scammed at a resort. -- Jen Chen