Dave Arnold, in his book "Liquid Intelligence", devotes 6 pages to the subject of muddling leafy ingredients. Basically, when the leaf cellular structure is broken, it activates Polyphenol oxidases (PPO's), enzymes which immediately cause fruits and vegetables to turn brown/oxidize and mint, basil et al to turn black and "taste like a swamp". Alcohol (40% or higher) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C, as in citrus juice) retard the PPOs, but aren't able to effectively do so with regular muddling of leaves just floating in the booze/citrus juice. He notes that flash freezing mint/basil leaves with liquid nitrogen and then muddling the frozen leaves with alcohol inactivates the PPO's so that they don't have time to have activate. For those of us who don't have liquid nitrogen at hand, he notes blender pureeing the (non-frozen) herbs with alcohol allows the alcohol to act faster de-activating the PPO's then does simple muddling non-frozen leaves with alcohol and does a good job of avoiding the vegetal "swampy" taste. From there, transfer to a shaking tin, add the remainder of ingredients and shake as usual, and be sure to strain when pouring into glass to remove the fine leaf particles.
I've always been in the camp of just shaking it w/o muddling first. Interesting to see that you evidently can taste a difference. Personally I've never had an issue with mint coming through in the end flavor and if I wanted a stronger mint flavor, I would simply add more mint. I'm not necessarily sure that this will convert me, but it does have me interested in giving it a shot. The biggest problem is that I am lazy, and when I am at home I want to dirty as few dishes as possible to make my drinks lol.
This is really great info! I guess it really comes down to preference. I typically stay away from cocktails with mint as that usually ends up being the dominate flavor. Now I can ask for no muddle just shake and hopeful balance the flavor profile to my liking 👍🏼🥂
Can you test if saline solution makes a difference in a cocktail ? Maybe make 3 drinks - 1. No Saline Solution 2. A drop of saline solution 3. A couple of drops of saline solution
I took cuttings a couple of weeks ago and am going to grow some with my indoor meyer and I'm goin to put a pot in my basement access window well with some plastic sheeting out there for when the temp really drops. It already has polycarbonate above so I figure the ground temp with the covered well, plus the sheeting, I might have stumbled on a way to wintering mint for drinks. I'm in the center of the US.
Even more important than the muddling, is the amount of mint and the types of leaf selections that went onto the tins. You didn't even touch on that or demonstrate that there was consistency. I assume there was an attempt to be consistent, but who knows. I'm really surprised because I thought that was going to be the first comment. People have really been on you guys about the process in these types of videos before. Cheers!
So please please do an episode with mixologist dice...you can find them on Amazon and you roll dice with different ingredients on them to make a drink!!
Experiment suggestion: Are bitters bottles actually worse at dashing out bitters? Specifically looking at the difference between a full, half full, and almost empty bottle. Setup: Get a large and a small bottle of Angos, as well as a cheap jewelry scale off Amazon/etc. For each size, do three "runs" of the experiment: One freshly opened, one half full, and one almost empty. To make sure it isn't weirdness due to the initial "tip" dash, I would say do 4 or so dashes for each run and then compare them. Just make sure you do the same number for each one. I've done this crudely once before, and I found that it maxes out around the halfway point, but I'd be curious to see it in a more scientific way! If you really wanna go crazy, you could skip the different bottle sizes and look at different brands, types, etc. I'm pretty sure orange bitters have smaller dashes, though not certain.
I loved this! I've always been completely on your side with this one. I will say, however, that this tells me that I would tell the "public" to not muddle and just shake. So many people think muddle means "pulverize", and while the enthusiast will undoubtedly learn the difference, I think a cocktail recipe for the everyday person would do better by telling them to just shake. Also, I'd like to mention note that the music at the start was a bit distracting (not the "Prep" music, but the actual start). It made it hard to hear what Leandro was saying.
This video was great, I'm going to start pointing people to it whenever they question why I always use mint syrups inside my shakers instead of fresh leaves. Leaves are just so inconsistent I vastly prefer to be able to accurately measure the amount of mint flavor I'm adding.
If I may have an idea for this channel is how much ice should we put in the tin ? 2 big ices cubes and shake a lot or a full glace and a normal shake is ok ? what about dilution, freezing, taste ...
I heard you can cut out the stem of the mint and it should not become as bitter from lots of muddling. Also i have tried a fantastic version of a mojito where they blend the mint, don't know how they do it but it does not become bitter.
I like the content of this video, but the music overlay was so out of place that I thought my phone was glitching and playing an audio source from somewhere else. 😊
Why not let Marius give this (these sort of tests) a shot? Let a non-drinkers palette see what they can decipher! I feel like I'd have similar tastes to Marius, plus its nice to see him instead your mug the entire time. Lol
Really like the vid, but the stock music is not really my thing man. Also there seems to be a ringing in the audio from around 1 minute. That said; again awesome video and explanation.
Dang! I got really nervous watching this. Does Marius want to see Leandro bleed? Why else would he place him, blindfolded, in front of a cutting board with a sharp knife?!
Interesting music choice for the shaking section…
Marius's Playlist! Lol
Was the mint sleeping with a different gin perhaps, before the Beefeater? 😂
I the end we won't be cheating on the classic muddle method :)
Dave Arnold, in his book "Liquid Intelligence", devotes 6 pages to the subject of muddling leafy ingredients.
Basically, when the leaf cellular structure is broken, it activates Polyphenol oxidases (PPO's), enzymes which immediately cause fruits and vegetables to turn brown/oxidize and mint, basil et al to turn black and "taste like a swamp".
Alcohol (40% or higher) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C, as in citrus juice) retard the PPOs, but aren't able to effectively do so with regular muddling of leaves just floating in the booze/citrus juice.
He notes that flash freezing mint/basil leaves with liquid nitrogen and then muddling the frozen leaves with alcohol inactivates the PPO's so that they don't have time to have activate. For those of us who don't have liquid nitrogen at hand, he notes blender pureeing the (non-frozen) herbs with alcohol allows the alcohol to act faster de-activating the PPO's then does simple muddling non-frozen leaves with alcohol and does a good job of avoiding the vegetal "swampy" taste.
From there, transfer to a shaking tin, add the remainder of ingredients and shake as usual, and be sure to strain when pouring into glass to remove the fine leaf particles.
I've always been in the camp of just shaking it w/o muddling first. Interesting to see that you evidently can taste a difference. Personally I've never had an issue with mint coming through in the end flavor and if I wanted a stronger mint flavor, I would simply add more mint. I'm not necessarily sure that this will convert me, but it does have me interested in giving it a shot. The biggest problem is that I am lazy, and when I am at home I want to dirty as few dishes as possible to make my drinks lol.
Totally agree! I found muddling expresses too much mint flavour, shaking a couple leaf’s is just right! 👍
This is really great info! I guess it really comes down to preference. I typically stay away from cocktails with mint as that usually ends up being the dominate flavor. Now I can ask for no muddle just shake and hopeful balance the flavor profile to my liking 👍🏼🥂
Keep up the experiments!!! We all love it and we need it:).
Edit: I loved Marius' rascaliness haha:P
Best test in this series yet! Simple and clean experiment with no obvious confounding variable.
Can you test if saline solution makes a difference in a cocktail ? Maybe make 3 drinks - 1. No Saline Solution 2. A drop of saline solution 3. A couple of drops of saline solution
This is a great comparison, mint is one of those herbs that can go wrong fast.
I took cuttings a couple of weeks ago and am going to grow some with my indoor meyer and I'm goin to put a pot in my basement access window well with some plastic sheeting out there for when the temp really drops. It already has polycarbonate above so I figure the ground temp with the covered well, plus the sheeting, I might have stumbled on a way to wintering mint for drinks. I'm in the center of the US.
Even more important than the muddling, is the amount of mint and the types of leaf selections that went onto the tins. You didn't even touch on that or demonstrate that there was consistency. I assume there was an attempt to be consistent, but who knows. I'm really surprised because I thought that was going to be the first comment. People have really been on you guys about the process in these types of videos before. Cheers!
Holy s**t…. Too funny… glad you guys are doing this… Thanks for all you do!
"Tricky....tricky...." Marius wins this episode.
Great experiment! For the next, could Marius also do the test so we get a second opinion from a non-professional bartender?
You are asking the real questions here! Thank you for the info, I love your content
The random Mr Hankey "Howdy Ho" at the end 😄
6:54 Cartman
: You're the worst character ever, Towelie.
Towelie: I know.
So please please do an episode with mixologist dice...you can find them on Amazon and you roll dice with different ingredients on them to make a drink!!
Experiment suggestion: Are bitters bottles actually worse at dashing out bitters? Specifically looking at the difference between a full, half full, and almost empty bottle.
Setup: Get a large and a small bottle of Angos, as well as a cheap jewelry scale off Amazon/etc. For each size, do three "runs" of the experiment: One freshly opened, one half full, and one almost empty. To make sure it isn't weirdness due to the initial "tip" dash, I would say do 4 or so dashes for each run and then compare them. Just make sure you do the same number for each one.
I've done this crudely once before, and I found that it maxes out around the halfway point, but I'd be curious to see it in a more scientific way! If you really wanna go crazy, you could skip the different bottle sizes and look at different brands, types, etc. I'm pretty sure orange bitters have smaller dashes, though not certain.
When the music came in I loled. When will you include music library pop on the main channel??
Great video. Do you tend to use spearmint? That’s my favourite and also the favorite of the rhinoceros
Love it as usual!
Also like the Mr Hanky sign off!
Solid test video.
I like these. This and the lemon/lime test. Do more of these
I loved this! I've always been completely on your side with this one. I will say, however, that this tells me that I would tell the "public" to not muddle and just shake. So many people think muddle means "pulverize", and while the enthusiast will undoubtedly learn the difference, I think a cocktail recipe for the everyday person would do better by telling them to just shake.
Also, I'd like to mention note that the music at the start was a bit distracting (not the "Prep" music, but the actual start). It made it hard to hear what Leandro was saying.
The pinky polish is looking nice
This video was great, I'm going to start pointing people to it whenever they question why I always use mint syrups inside my shakers instead of fresh leaves. Leaves are just so inconsistent I vastly prefer to be able to accurately measure the amount of mint flavor I'm adding.
Good one 👍
“Tammy poo.” Priceless……
If I may have an idea for this channel is how much ice should we put in the tin ? 2 big ices cubes and shake a lot or a full glace and a normal shake is ok ? what about dilution, freezing, taste ...
I heard you can cut out the stem of the mint and it should not become as bitter from lots of muddling.
Also i have tried a fantastic version of a mojito where they blend the mint, don't know how they do it but it does not become bitter.
the flat leaf uses a blender to muddle parsley and doesn't over do it.
Nice music choice! We like us some Synthwave/Retrowave. The Midnight is a big favorite. I’m curious about the artist.
I like the content of this video, but the music overlay was so out of place that I thought my phone was glitching and playing an audio source from somewhere else. 😊
This is why I thought I hated Mojitos lol
Why not let Marius give this (these sort of tests) a shot? Let a non-drinkers palette see what they can decipher! I feel like I'd have similar tastes to Marius, plus its nice to see him instead your mug the entire time. Lol
no. you can’t. you also can’t have too much mint. a true cocktail is closer to a wet alcoholic salad than a beverage.
Science!
Malarkey is underused, more people should use malarkey every day
Really like the vid, but the stock music is not really my thing man. Also there seems to be a ringing in the audio from around 1 minute.
That said; again awesome video and explanation.
Yay!! experiments!
Oh I so need you to visit a few mojito bars in PR and have this debate!
Holy gold pinky
So many mixing tins!
Stop being that much a genius
The music really puts me off
Dang! I got really nervous watching this. Does Marius want to see Leandro bleed? Why else would he place him, blindfolded, in front of a cutting board with a sharp knife?!
😂 🤷♂️
Holy smokes, did you hang up your apron at Cole's?
yes, last year during the pandemic
But I think if you would have test the undermuddle first would be OK..
Now repeat a couple of times so we know it's not a fluke.
Wait. You can put plants in booze?
not living ones
Great video except for that god-awful music in the middle.
Gentlemen, if you want us to hear what you are saying KILL THE MUSIC! Please, i know hearing impaired people cannot understand you.