Placing a foam or air on top of a cocktail is the equivalent of ‘placing a cherry on the top’. They turn something good into something great (when done correctly).

At first sight, a cocktail with a beautiful foam or air on top can draw attention from guests at the bar, but what’s harder to get right is how that foam or air matches with the rest of the cocktail flavor-wise. How can it enhance or contrast the rest of the drink's ingredients is the true challenge.

A guest's first sip will be the foam or air that lays on top of it, and it will serve as a preface to the flavor journey to come. If that first sip is overpowering in flavor or heavy in texture, it could overwhelm the rest of the cocktail. Set your intention from the beginning and have a plan on how you would like that foam or air to play with the rest of your ingredients. Let’s take a look at a few ways of how to approach that.

• Harmonic Flavors

This is a flavor pairing that combines flavors that naturally work well together. Some examples can be for instance peaches and cream or tomatoes and basil to name a few. They are pairings that naturally work well with one another and are regarded as classic pairings. Easy combinations that are sure to work.

• Contrasting Flavors

This is a flavor pairing that combines flavors from the opposite fields to balance each other out. Think of sweet and sour, like in the case of sour-style cocktails. Bitter and sweet, like in the case of a Negroni. By creating a cocktail that has its liquid leaning in one direction you can counter-balance it with an air or foam that gravitates in the exact opposite direction. The two together can balance each other out and create a cocktail that can play with the sense of your palette.

Your foam or air should be relatively balanced. If it has different ingredients and flavors in it,  make sure to measure them out to ensure that they taste good together before you transform the liquid into an air or foam. You don’t want your foam or air to be unbalanced like a badly made cocktail, because it will be the first thing that your guests taste before the liquid hits their lips.

Check out this twist on a Vodka Sour topped up with a Prosecco Air, showcasing a harmonic flavor pairing.

Name: Broken Land Sour

Cocktail Recipe:

2 oz. Ketel One Peach & Orange Blossom

Cacao Butter Fat Wash

1 oz. Lemon Juice

0.75 oz. Pineapple Weed Gomme Syrup

3 drops of Saline Solution

Prosecco Air*

Ingredients for Prosecco Air:

3.5 oz Prosecco (100 grams)

.25 Rich Syrup (2:1) (10 grams)

1.5 oz Verjus

Splash Soy Lecithin (2 grams)

Using an immersion blender, blend the Prosecco, Verjus, Rich Syrup, and Soy Lecithin until fully combined. Turn on an aerator and place the air stone into the foaming liquid. The pumping air will produce more ‘soapy’ air bubbles which can be scooped and placed on top of the drink.

In this cocktail, you have flavors such as Peach and Orange Blossom from the Ketel One Botanicals fat washed with Cacao Butter for a white chocolate element and shaken with lemon juice. Peach, white chocolate, and lemon are flavors that all pair well together and form the liquid part of this cocktail. Prosecco is a great addition, especially when thinking of a Bellini, but rather than adding the prosecco directly into the liquid, transforming it into air and layering it on top of the drink can make the cocktail much more interesting. This is an example of a harmonic flavor between two separate elements that work well together. Both the liquid and the air are balanced and complement each other whilst providing layers that can be enjoyed.

Check out this twist on a Scotch Sour topped up with Honey, Mango, and Coconut Foam showcasing the contrasting flavor pairing.

Name: Universally Speaking

Cocktail Recipe:

1.5 oz. The Singleton Glendullan 12

.75 oz. Passionfruit Liqueur

.75 oz. Coffee Kombucha

.75 oz. Sauvignon Blanc

.25 oz. Rich Hazelnut Syrup

Top Up Coconut Water & Lacto Fermented Mango-Scented Honey Foam*

*Ingredients for Foam:

50g Lacto Fermented Mango-Scented Honey

3.5 oz. Coconut Water

3g Versawhip or Albumin

2 N20 cartridges

This is an example of how to make a foam using Versawhip or Albumin, stabilizers that can create mousse-like foams for fluffy and creamy textures to top off drinks with.

Whisk together the first four ingredients until fully combined. Pour into a 750ml Siphon and close. Charge with the first N20 cartridge and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Charge again with the last cartridge and shake for another 10 seconds. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before using.

This is an example of a cocktail that has contrasting flavors between the liquid and the foam. The liquid part of the cocktail leans on the sweeter side, but it’s balanced by the salty and savory foam that lies on top of it. The lacto-fermented mango honey foam is higher in acid and salt, which helps to balance the sweetness and tropical flavors of the liquid lying underneath it.

• Airs and foams are just a single element to help elevate a cocktail, never to take away from it.
• They can make cocktails go from one-dimensional to multi-sensorial by providing texture, additional flavor, aromas, and most importantly something new and exciting.
• Airs and foams are highly photogenic and help to elevate the guest experience.
• Cocktails using airs and foams can be priced higher because of their visual impact and wow-factor.
• They can work well as a classic harmonic flavor pairing or as a contrasting flavor pairing with a liquid.
• They remain separate yet in sync with the rest of the drink.