Good Morning! This week we’re talking gin and… synthetic alcohol? Get ready for a whole week of the polarizing spirit that is gin and then maybe take a week off with some alcohol replacements to let your liver bounce back.

Let’s get right into it!

The First “World Gin Week” Starts On World Gin Day

Did you know that there has been a day known as ‘World Gin Day’ since 2009? I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I had no idea. This day was founded by global gin expert Emma Stokes, aka Gin Monkey, in order to celebrate the distinctive spirit. Since its inception the celebration has brought gin into the spotlight each June for millions of people. Like most spirit-themed holidays, the best way to celebrate is with a gin-based cocktail (or five) and bars often feature such drinks to be festive. But why stop at just one day of gin when there are so many different kinds to try?

This year spirits experts Phillip Duff and Karl Finegan are putting together an entire week’s worth of events and promotions and calling it the first ever “World Gin Week”. Karl Finegan is the owner of New York’s The Ivory Peacock which boasts more than 1,200 different gins at its four bars. The Ivory Peacock will be the main host venue for the week but bars worldwide are planning on celebrating as well.

Not only do the celebrations kick off on World Gin Day but they conclude on World Martini Day, a cocktail that exists because of gin to begin with. There is a closing ceremony in the works that will feature pop-ups from New York area bars and bartenders all slinging their signature martinis. North America’s top ranked bar by 50 Best, Sip + Guzzle, is already confirmed as one of the featured pop-ups.

So if you live in or around NYC be ready from June 13-20 for lots of gin-inspired sips, and if you don’t live in the area but you love gin maybe this is you excuse to take a visit.

Star Trek Technology Might Be Emerging In Real Life

Even though I’m pretty sure we are living in the mirror-universe, we might get at least one perk from the prime-universe: synthehol.

Okay, back to reality for all non-Trekkies reading this. Synthehol is a made up Star Trek replacement for alcohol (synthetic alcohol) that is meant to give the experience of alcohol but without any of the unpleasant side effects. As it turns out, the real world has a vested interest in developing this technology in this moment. As more and more people decide to stay sober or to embrace a less alcoholic lifestyle there is an ever growing desire to replicate the feeling of drinking without actually drinking alcohol.

Up until now there have been few ways to get the real flavor and feeling of alcohol without actually including the ethanol. Many former drinkers are disappointed with alcohol replacements because they fail to deliver key flavor elements with their products. We’ve reported before about companies working to compensate for the absence of ethanol and the developments they’ve made so far. Now there are two recently filed global patents that both seek to deliver on this need in the industry.

Belgium’s Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and the Flemish Institute of Biotechnology (VIB) jointly filed a global patent for a method that they say delivers the warm burn we expect with alcohol but with none of the ill-effects. The method combines piperine (from black pepper) and nicotinic acid (aka B3 of niacin). The result is a spicy bite from the the piperine and a gentle lingering warmth from the nicotinic acid.

The other global patent, filed by Swiss company dsm-firmenich, is designed to trick the palate into perceiving alcohol when there is in fact none present. This is achieved using molecules known as dihydrochalcones which activate the same taste and nerve receptors that alcohol typically does. This trick works on the experience of imbibing the liquid that it's incorporated into but not on that pleasant buzz that comes afterward. The goal of such an invention is to improve the experience elements like mouthfeel, flavor intensity, and the sense of warmth that ethanol gives.

These innovations don’t just stand to improve non-alcoholic spirit replacements, they also can enhance low-alcohol alternatives to high ABV spirits. This could open the door to more sessionable versions of spirits for those that don’t want to cut out booze entirely but simply want to partake more mindfully.

I can’t tell you the struggle I had with trying to embed a link for this week’s video. I had this really cool video of a TMNT negroni that I wanted to share but for some reason the link kept coming up dead. This is still a solid video with some good information about glassware. If you’re a home bartender or an aspiring professional bartender, it is helpful to know why certain glassware works for certain drinks.

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