Because America is the only place that allows businesses to not pay their employees a fair wage. That and honestly I feel minimum wage hasn’t been revised since 2012 which is pathetic and probably intentional in some way. Booo America im sure others have lost as much faith as me too
No and is really dangerous to be pouring it into a drink like that to be served. Ingesting it can damage the throat and even the stomach lining, resulting in a very expensive medical bill.
The only danger is the liquid nitrogin touching your skin because its soo cold. He should be wearing special gloves. But pouring it into a drink and serving it isnt. Because of the extreme temperature differences it evaporates so fast that u dont ingest it. It cools the drink and is gone, so its safe to use that way.
Source: im a physicist and we make ice cream using liquid nitrogen when we host events in summer lol
Edit: i was making a general statement about the comment above saying that its "really dangerous". I wasnt saying that there are no risks at all. Yes, it can be dangerous and yes there is a lot of proof for that, but it is not always dangerous. Of course you have to be careful preparing food or drinks with liquid nitrogen, but if its done correctly it is safe.
The only danger is the liquid nitrogin touching your skin because its soo cold. He should be wearing special gloves. But pouring it into a drink and serving it isnt. Because of the extreme temperature differences it evaporates so fast that u dont ingest it. It cools the drink and is gone, so its safe to use that way.
Source: im a physicist and we make ice cream using liquid nitrogen when we host events in summer lol
Note: This is misleading!
The liquid nitrogen will not evaporate quickly from the drink (because of the Leidenfrost Effect).
Also, even if cold (−196°C or colder), liquid nitrogen touching the bartender skin is not an immediate danger (also because of the Leidenfrost effect)
As RenaissanceGiant is pointing out, the liquid nitrogen (LN2) will linger for a long time, floating on top of the beverage: it is thermally isolated from the beverage by a thin layer of nitrogen gas produced because of the Leidenfrost Effect.
Have a look at this video, you can clearly appreciate how long LN2 floats on top of lukewarm water. Very roughly from the video, a volume of a few milliliters (say 1-3mL) easily takes more than 5-10 seconds to completely evaporate.
In a restaurant and bar setting, there is plenty enough time for an unsuspecting bar patron to grab the drink and attempt to ingest the drink, including several milliliters of cold liquid nitrogen still at a temperature of −196°C or −320°F.
There are have been numerous numerous reports of severe injuries (a quick Google Scholar search returns about 20-30 relevant results) including gastric perforation that are caused by these kinds of drinks where liquid nitrogen is used for entertainment purposes. At least 17 peer-reviewed case reports of LN2 exposure and/or consumption have been reported as of 2021 in the scientific literature.
There are many mechanisms of injury in action here:
This phenomenon can be explained by the mechanism of barotrauma. In other words, rapid expansion of the evaporating liquid nitrogen is the most significant cause of injury. Liquid nitrogen has a volume ratio of 1:694 (liquid:gas), which generates a large amount of gas even in small quantities. This volume expansion contributes to the rapid distension of any hollow internal organ and ultimately causes their perforation.
Thermal contact injuries upon ingestion or inhalation. There will be a Leidenfrost effect temporarily protecting a biological tissue, such as the external skin or the internal membrane of the mouth/oesophagus/stomach. But the protective effect is weaker and shorter-lived inside the body in contrast to the beverage. If the LN2 becomes trapped, those tissues cool down much quicker: because they are solid, the atoms cannot move around much and their temperature quickly falls down to a value where they do not have enough heat to evaporate or sublimate. Also, the heat capacity for wet human tissues is lower by a factor of 25% compared to water. It takes less LN2 to cool down the same mass of tissues compared to beverage. (This is because of the extensive network of hydrogen bonding inside water that aqueous solutions have a large heat capacity.)
Other mechanisms for the patient’s rapid onset of neurological compromise include a potent stimulus from gastric distension or simple asphyxia from nitrogen gas replacing inspired oxygen in the bloodstream.
Please note: You are correct to say that, in a laboratory setting, LN2 is often appropriately handled with cryogenic gloves, especially with large quantities of LN2. However, when research tasks require dexterity, it's recommended to proceed without gloves as the Leidenfrost effect protects the naked skin for a few seconds against exposure to small quantities of LN2. Regular plastic lab gloves (latex, vinyl, nitril, etc) need to be avoided with LN2 because they block the protection of the Leidenfrost effect. In a bar/restaurant setting, cryogenic gloves like these or these would not be used by the bartender and bare hands are fine with appropriate precautions.
Thanx for the clarification and all the information! My comment wasnt supposed to pla down the risk. I was comenting on the "really dangerous" part which is also misleading. Ive editted my comment to make that clear and refer to this one :)
I hope that if people understand well in which situations there are risks and why, they will be more comfortable and more responsible when they use hazardous substances. Be it to prepare a homemade ice cream, to use it in a research lab, or to prepare a fancy cocktail in a bar. Cheers!
I am a chef of over 10 years, I’ve made ice cream with liquid nitrogen myself. There is a difference between mixing ice cream with liquid nitrogen and just pouring straight into a drink like that.
There are many (more than I care to link) articles outlining the dangers if handled improperly.
Just because you are a physicist and understand the composition of it and how to use it properly, doesn’t mean that millions don’t and will look at this and be like “this is cool, anyone can do it”
Lol exactly. It was adjacent to “there are no dangers with swimming, everyone drinks water and they are all fine”
Sure some of those things are cool, but there are a lot of people that see these things and don’t do any research and end up hurting themselves, or worse, others.
I had the unfortunate luck to watch a man damn near lose his hand to liquid nitro. Luckily, his instincts and the distance from was enough to not freeze it solid when it dumped over. Not exactly the best end to a Saturday night service having to explain to your exec chef why the closing bar tender is in a gurney in an ambulance because we had to have a nitro cocktail for the spring menu.
Needless to say, hide nor hair was seen of anything that dips below -20 (pressure distilled water) has been used afterward.
But that wasn't your original argument. You said it's dangerous to be pouring it into a drink and serving it, not that others would get the idea and start trying it themselves. I would assume (big assumption though) that someone serving these drinks would have the proper training required to handle the liquid nitrogen and make sure the drinks are safe to ingest. To NOT have that would probably open up the establishments to lawsuits.
My argument was plainly that serving it as depicted here is very dangerous, not just because of the average joe wanting to try it with how easy it looks but that if not done right, can cause a lot of damage, if not death.
Being in the industry I’ve seen so many “trained”
Individuals use many techniques, including liquid nitrogen improperly.
You can find plenty of evidence of what you would assume to be trained individuals doing stupid stuff behind a bar, hurting their guests.
There are many people that see these videos and will try this themselves with zero training whatsoever.
Yup, I won't even let our bar use gluten containing ingredients (aside from beer, I mean more stuff that it might not be obviously gluten containing or easy to cross contaminate surfaces with, like a garnish) because I don't have trust that it will be handled with the care necessary to not accidentally fuck up a coeliac persons week (or mine, as a coeliac person myself) so the idea of something that potentially dangerous is just a hard nope.
I understand, but I don't think the "other people will attempt this too" is a very valid argument. That can be said of almost everything on social media - from people parkouring on High-rises, to food challenges, to street fights, to the entire show of Jackass (back in the day). That's not to say it isn't a very real danger, it is (evidenced by the people who ingested tide pods a few years back).
But in regards to how the person in the video was preparing the drinks, was anything done incorrectly or dangerously as filmed? And what should a normal person know about before drinking something like that to reduce the dangers (I'd assume waiting a while for all of the liquid nitrogen to evaporate)? The waiting and just avoiding it in general are the only things I've found during a quick search that can really help.
the chef. physicist great if I want to know what the middle of our galaxy smells like (raspberry apparently) but for food that I eat. chef every time....unless it's experimental food. then not a chef but a good chemist
Darkmeown is incorrect when they state that "[...] it evaporates so fast that u dont ingest it. It cools the drink and is gone, so its safe to use that way."
RenaissanceGiant is correct when they state: "I would absolutely monitor it in a drink to ensure it had fully evaporated before serving." and "[...] the nitrogen would remain intact for a surprising amount of time as the evaporation insulates the liquid nitrogen from the surrounding water."
I will go with the physicist on this one. If anyone is stupid enough to drink liquid liquid nitrogen because a guy on reddit said it's safe then that's on them.
Darkmeown is incorrect when they state that "[...] it evaporates so fast that u dont ingest it. It cools the drink and is gone, so its safe to use that way."
RenaissanceGiant is correct when they state: "I would absolutely monitor it in a drink to ensure it had fully evaporated before serving." and "[...] the nitrogen would remain intact for a surprising amount of time as the evaporation insulates the liquid nitrogen from the surrounding water."
It depends on what you do. Drinks that contain a high volumetric percentage of alcohol can be chilled to a very unhealthy temperature. Certainly lower than is safe to consume. Unlike ice-cream that solidifies and becomes to hard to for consumption much sooner.
It’s not the liquid nitrogen that’s the issue. Dry ice is the problem. One small ingested pellet can kill you. It’s happened and that’s why no one should use it except for show. It’s irresponsible to serve dry ice in a drink since that day the lady got a peeler stuck in her throat and died.
You should look up the physics teacher who had an honorable mention for a Darwin Award when he tried to demonstrate the safety of swallowing liquid nitrogen. Really funny stuff 😂.
I was about to comment that as well (it's almost the same price as gasoline in my lab), but then remembered it's still a bar and still will mark it up a hell of a lot.
I'm sorry you didn't dig the drink! Maybe that drink just sucks, maybe it was poorly executed by the person who made it and was undiluted or ingredients were left out.
Those acknowledgements on deck, an old fashioned is basically a straight up glass of whisky diluted with a little sugar and bitters (unless you are in Wisconsin in which case thoughts and prayers be with you).
Whisky is the whole star of the show in that one and if a guest came to complain about there being too much whisky in their old fashioned it would be quite the bridge to navigate.
Asking for an Old Fashioned that doesn’t taste like whiskey is like ordering a pizza that doesn’t have cheese. It’s possible but it defeats the purpose of ordering that drink. There are plenty if whiskey drinks that don’t highlight the whiskey as the main flavor i.e. Whiskey Sour, Mint Julep, John Collins, or Irish Coffee, etc…
You’re right, but it’s more like asking for a pizza that doesn’t taste like flat dough, baked hot and fast: whiskey is the absolute foundation without which you have something different. Maybe good, but not a pizza/old fashioned.
Well said. Former Wisconsin bartender here, every Old Fashioned that was ordered was always followed by me asking “do you want a Wisconsin Old Fashioned or a normal old fashioned?”
An Old Fashioned is not a glass of whiskey. That's the entire purpose of the Old Fashioned, is that it is a perfect balance of ingredients that creates harmony. It is not simply "a dash of bitter and a dash of syrup." That's just whiskey with you putting a hint of something that no one can taste.
Whiskey is the star of the show, but it's perfection is the balance. That's the point of mixology. That's the point of bartender school. If I want a whiskey, why would I add anything to it? I'd get a high quality whiskey or bourbon and drink it NEAT, nothing added to it.
Do you also laugh at someone who cuts their alcohol with some ice or water? That's what experts do when tasting bourbon, are they also "diluting it"? No they know how to extract the flavors as a sommelier to understand the subtle flavors in the drink.
Get this some bartenders will use 0.25oz syrup, some 0.5 oz syrup, some will use teaspoons or one cube, some will use 120proof or 115 proof. So there are some different tasting buds involved.
But you know, try it for a while, you'll find through experience, 120proof is silly for mixed drinks. no sweetness is gonna be a drag. If you only taste bourbon or whiskey, what does it mean? It means the alcohol is overpowering your drink.
Oh you put a dash of bitter in it? Who can taste it? No one. You might as well be one of those people who think the orange peel is for flavor rather than garnish. It's a total lie. People have simply messed with the original recipes to ruin the balance.
If I want bourbon or whiskey, I can tell the bartender "hey there expert drink mixer, can you just get me a glass of bourbon neat, i.e., thanks for being a waiter rather than a bartender"
We're so used to believing this lie. Grandma says "a dash of paprika for flavor in this dish"... except no one can taste any smoke flavor from the paprika. It's a ritual, a tradition, an act of pretend--it's not actually flavoring anything.
Sometimes folks will say "yes if you put a lot of sugar into a drink, you are turning it into a drink for fatties or women" or something of that nature... Alcohol turns to glucose in your blood and is already high calorie. You need the kick of the bourbon or whiskey, you don't want it to be just bourbon/whiskey with a dash of nothing.
TL;DR: Balance for the harmony of the flavors. You didn't scam the customer with mostly sugar... And you didn't overwhelm the customer with 3oz 120 proof whiskey with a quarter-of-a-dash of bitter and a hint of lemon and a microspoon of sugar...
I bought a smoked old fashioned, I specifically asked for the smoked version.
They did the smoke, and then I tasted it and it was way too much whiskey.
Old-fashioneds have the same amount of bourbon smoked or nonsmoker. If you order your drinks correctly, maybe the bartender would know what to make you.
Next time ask for a fruited of or more simple or brownsugar depending on the bar.
Bartender at a place I used to work told the story of a cocky patron who pompously ordered "the most expensive stuff you've got." He blanched when he got the bill and learned he'd ordered a $400 shot of Papi van Winkle.
Dude complained to a manager and got his drink comped. Still, funny story. Some booze is expensive, man.
You're going to pay 100 dollars for that shot of Hennessy that is only 40 dollars for an entire fifth and all because he doused the counter with 2 dollars worth of ignited Everclear.
You could pay less less, but then you might have a bartender who will miss the counter.
jokes on Americans. It probably doesn't cost more than 30, 35. The rest of the world actually has reasonable prices unlike the bloodsucking leech system that is the good ole USA
It’s a very small place with multiple bartenders and I don’t think they let it get to capacity either. If you make it inside you’ll be treated like a vip
Yeah this type of bar you're not worried about a menu or prices because the bartenders will generally create a cocktail to your preferences and you're rich enough to not even look at the bill. That Yamazaki 18 is a thousand dollar bottle of Japanese single malt too. Fun fact, the Yamazaki distillery is owned by Suntory who also own Jim Beam. Ok not a super fun fact but still.
My wife bought me a bottle of Yamazaki 18 for Christmas like 13 years ago that cost $250. Amazing how much pricier Japanese whiskey has gotten over the years.
What WOULD you pay for a cocktail? Around me, you pretty much aren't getting any mixed drink for less than $15CAD (about $12USD) and anywhere fancy is going to be at least $20. This seems way more reasonable than what I was expecting
Exactly. Knew this would be top comment. It’s like going to a concert and bitching they’re taking too long to get to your favorite guitar solo. Just enjoy the show, if you’re going to this bar you know what you’re signing up for and are looking forward to it.
Yeah. Speaking as a poor person myself, poor people adore being snobby towards the stuff rich people enjoy. Stuff they never would've known existed if it wasn't for the internet, let alone afford.
I’d like a whiskey on the rocks without the dancing. Otherwise, if you have an ice fetish, just pour a whiskey neat. Then bring me a glass of ice and I’ll take care of getting them together.
I'd just drink me a 6 pack from Walmart and then go get ready to go to this bar and all I gotta do is order me a pitcher of beer and a couple of shots and just wait .........
I been to this bar, it actually was surprisingly fast for the showmanship he does for each cocktail. Well the drink itself is not spectacular, it tastes just as expected, but it costs you like 35USD per drink.
Tell you what. I'll fill that same glass to the rim with boubon, no ice to take up precious space, in a twentieth of the time, for a tenth the cost. Come to my bar.
I went to a bar that had something similar to this in Japan. The show basically happened a couple of times a night and the drinks made during it got given to a random customer for free. The rest of the night they just made normal drinks
I’d be standing there and ask for a tap beer, hoping to see some kenjutsu moves to pull that lever and wipe off the foam. And probably waste my life savings.
Probably just however long it takes to make your drink. In my experience, bars like this never have a line. Not many people in line for $100 cocktails.
Me at the end of the bar: “hey could I just get a rum and coke?…..nope don’t need the flaming dragon and the custom ice, just a shot of rum and lukewarm soda right out of the gun will be fine”
I would love to watch a version of this with the same music where he’s just smashing the liquor bottle into the glass, throwing ice into the other waiter’s face, and just generally being a total cluster fuck
There’s a bar in Chinatown in Manhattan called Apotheke where there are 3 bartenders just making drinks like crazy, they are all doing the bonkers cocktails that the place is famous for, and they don’t even talk to customers, there’s ANOTHER person who just moves around behind the bar taking orders from people. Total wait time 30 minutes from arrival to drink in hand, usually worth it just for the experience
I DONt KNOW! this bar has SPECIAL EFFECTSthat make it SO MUCH faster froM QUICK MOTIONS! That have zero EFFECt! Or at least that's how it felt watching this. Ffs pour the drink or at least flip a bottle
I worked in more of a whisky/ beer joint and my first thought was of the whole bar bitching at me and tell me to hurry up. They would not be dazzle dazzled LOL
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u/GGG-Money Nov 09 '23
Imagine the wait time for a drink at this bar