Science

Is kokumi the new umami?

Professor Charles Spence takes us to Japan and the latest flavour-enhancing ingredient. Kokumi in your cocktails anyone?

—
27 November, 2023

Science

Professor Charles Spence on how ambient temperature influence customers' drinks choice?

Professor Charles Spence investigates whether or not the physical temperature of a space has an influence on guests’ drinks choices.

—
10 November, 2022

Science

Professor Charles Spence on the case for and against AI drinks making

Prof Charles Spence says that if consistency of serve is the aim, robot cocktail makers could be the future. But isn't there an argument for tasting the hand of the maker?

—
10 May, 2023

Science

Professor Charles Spence on harnessing fragrance in drinks

Prof Charles Spence, head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, discusses the importance of fragrance.

—
16 January, 2023

Science

Professor Charles Spence: why cocktails need headspace

Leaving headspace above wine allows the volatile aromas to circulate, giving the drinker orthonasal pleasure. Professor Charles Spence explains how this works and why there’s a case to be made for a similar approach in cocktails.

—
04 July, 2022

Science

Professor Charles Spence on the role of smell in taste

As well as aiding our sense of taste, smells can be incredibly evocative. Professor Charles Spence explains how we are led by our noses.

—
31 May, 2022

Science

Professor Charles Spence on the role of touch in taste

Professor Charles Spence analyses how the sense of touch can be enhanced in the drinking experience.

—
31 May, 2022

Science

Professor Charles Spence on the role of sound in taste

Continuing our series of articles on the psychology of taste, Oxford University professor and gastrophysicist Charles Spence asks everyone to listen up.

—
20 May, 2022

Science

Professor Charles Spence on the role of sight in taste

In the first of a series of articles on the psychology of taste, Oxford University professor and gastrophysicist Charles Spence investigates sight.

—
18 May, 2022

Science

Charles Spence on why the tongue map is spurious science

Professor Charles Spence peers into matters of taste and explains why the tongue map is wrong

—
04 April, 2022

Science

Cocktails, spirits and ADHD

Hannah Lanfear, founder of The Mixing Class, believes a significant share of the bar industry workforce is neurodivergent and that, with understanding and awareness, that's a good thing.

—
04 April, 2022

Science

Is there a cost to Instagramming in bars?

In the Instagram era how do you keep your guests engaged with each other and the experience rather than with their virtual sphere? Charles Spence has a few suggestions for prising mobile phones from customers' hands.

—
01 March, 2022

Science

Can music affect the way people taste drinks?

Dave Broom discusses the relationship between music and drinking, taking inspiration form the cultures of Cuba and Japan.

—
01 March, 2022

Science

What is complexity in drinks? It's complex...

Charles Spence takes on the subject of what ‘complexity’ might really mean when it comes to alcoholic drinks – it’s not as simple to define as you might think.

—
10 February, 2022

Science

Do women and men experience taste differently?

Professor Charles Spence investigates whether there are biological gender differences that shape the way we taste.

—
02 February, 2022

Science

The blind truth: should cocktail comps be judged blind?

Professor Charles Spence says blind tests make for the purest judgements. So why not in cocktails?

—
24 January, 2022

Science

Dunkin' cronuts! How food's mash-up trend works in cocktails

If there are hybrids in food, what about classic cocktails? Prof Charles Spence gets behind the chemistry of mash ups.

—
24 January, 2022

Science

Something in the air: the science of atmosphere

A bar’s atmosphere is sometimes indefinable, yet there’s science behind the harnessing of the senses. Professor Charles Spence investigates.

—
20 January, 2022

Science

A guide to the rotary evaporator

In the first of a new series, physics professor and cocktail writer Shane Eaton explains the science behind modern mixology methods. Where better to start than the rotary evaporator?

—
11 November, 2021

Science

Freshness in drinks - what does it actually mean?

Freshness is on-trend, but what exactly does the word mean? Professor Charles Spence navigates the subject in search of a brave new world.

—
11 November, 2021

Science

The psychology of menu typefaces

There is growing awareness of how the shape and style of typefaces and logos can influence consumers’ perceptions of tastes and aromas. Prof. Charles Spence dives into the mysterious world of synaesthesia

—
04 November, 2021

Science

How to use a centrifuge

Up next in Professor Shane Eaton's white-coat lab tour is the centrifuge – an expensive piece of kit, but one that produces compelling results, he says.

—
16 September, 2021

Science

The science of flavour pairing

Prof Charles Spence delves into the mysterious world of food and drink matching.

—
16 September, 2021

Science

Supertasters - do they actually exist?

Professor Charles Spence tackles the uncomfortable question of how well tastemakers actually taste.

—
10 June, 2021

Science

How magic and drinks have always shared a stage

The art of illusion has long been associated with the bar world. Charles Spence goes behind the scenes.

—
10 January, 2020

Science

A guide to the sous vide

Professor Shane Eaton’s lab tour takes us to the sous vide. There are few tools better for fast infusion, he says.

—
09 March, 2021

Science

Why people choose the drinks they do

As some bars challenge traditional methods of helping people to choose their drinks, Prof Charles Spence looks at how aesthetic preferences may be linked.

—
01 November, 2019

Science

The effect of Covid-19 on taste is the issue under our noses

If smell can be impaired by age and illness, so can guests' appreciation of our drinks. Professor Charles Spence sniffs out the truth

—
18 December, 2020

Science

Does vulnerability change our drinking choices?

Professor Charles Spence questions whether the instability of the world around us has an effect on the psychology of taste

—
25 February, 2021

Science

Humans crave novelty but shouldn't deliciousness be our guiding principle?

The pursuit of unusual flavours has led chefs and mixologists alike down some interesting roads – but Prof Charles Spence wonders if that’s the right path for cocktails.

—
20 April, 2020