by Sangita Devaskar

A woman was creating a 4-foot, arched cylinder bubble around her body while sipping champagne. In the opposite corner, a man with a caipirinha didn’t dare to blink his eyes while fixated on a model of how sand dunes are created. Two friends with “The Root of all Evil” (St. George’s Absinthe Verte and Root Beer) laughed uncontrollably as they sat in dome-like structures exemplifying how sound waves bounce back and forth.

Last night we attended the Exploratorium’s first ever (but hopefully not last!) “Science of Cocktails” night – a complete transformation of the science museum’s average attire of overalls and Heelys roller shoes to cocktail dresses and suit jackets. How do cocktail shooters like B-52’s retain the layered nature that they do? The relative density of Kahula, Baileys and Gran Marnier all have a different buoyancy.  Duh.

Science experiments are not just for school children anymore! With cocktail concoctions from San Francisco’s finest mixologists at St. George Spirits, Annabelle’s Bistro, 15 Romolo, Bourbon and Branch, and Alembic, guests enjoyed drinks while listening to lectures that covered everything from infusions to myths about alcohol and blindness.  It was like being back in high school lab again except this time, you didn’t have to hide the booze!

Science experiment exhibition booths were sprawled across the museum (usually full of over zealous 10 year olds),
with the regular Exploratorium staff doing experiments with all things alcohol.  Alcohol breaks down protein (they were using everclear!). Alcohol is an antifreeze and breaks surface tension. The components of gummi bears retain alcohol, but maintain their same bear-like physique (think Jello Shot of the new generation, and yes, you should try this one at home).

A highlight of the evening was when attorney and budding cocktail aficionado/mixologist Ken Walczak beat some of San Francisco’s famed mixologists including Jackie Patterson and Scott Baird in the bitters cocktail mixing contest.  Cocktails were flowing throughout the event…My personal favorite; Sky Jet Wegman’s (from 83 Proof) cocktail “Livewire” – a mixture of Gin, lemon peel, simple syrup, Darjeeling tea, and muddled jalapeno… Bill Nye would be proud.