In a world as innovative as the bar industry with new cocktails and techniques…
…twists and rediscovered classics constantly appearing, it is surprising how rarely a new product launch can truly be called innovative.
Maxxium, however, managed to get a room full of jaded drinks writers scribbling in their notebooks on Monday with a truly unique product launch – Bols Foam.
Bols Foam is exactly what it says on the tin – Bols liquor which comes with a special nozzle (we called it a squirter but I am sure it has a more grown up name) that creates flavoured foams without any need for nitrous oxide, hours of arm straining shaking or any of the other tricks of the trade. It is of course not that simple and in fact it has taken Maxxium a long time of working with a chemist to perfect the patented formula of sugars and fat that is put into the liquid to create this simple effect.
Molecular Mixology has long been a contentious subject in bars across the country and Bols Foam is sure to cause just as many conflicting opinions. However as the presenting group of bar luminaries consisting of Rob Rademaker from Bols Amsterdam, Wayne Collins from Mixxit and Ago Perrone from the Connaught Room pointed out, of everything that molecular mixology has given us over the past few years, foam is by far the most accessible and widely used.
The foams come currently in 6 of the Bols flavours (although expect more to follow if the launch goes well) – Amaretto, Banana, Peppermint, Bols Blue, Crème de Cassis and Cacao White. The bottles are 200ml’s in size but this produces 2 litres of foam and with a price point very similar to regular Bols the GP to be made from this is pretty impressive. The shelf life is the same as Bols, around a year, with no loss of foaminess and is best not refrigerated. You probably want to know how they taste (and indeed smell), well in actuality the process has not altered the taste profile of the original Bols product at all so if you like Bols you’ll really like these.
As I touched on earlier this new product is bound to raise the hackles of certain members of our lovely bar community (Page Of Shame?). The mainstreaming of anything which is, or was, considered bartending craft so mere mortals can reproduce complex-looking drinks is always greeted with a tut or two and some under- the-breath- mutterings.
For what it’s worth BarLifeUK believes that anything which gets more people thinking about and drinking cocktails and spirits has to be a good thing. We are all in the business of not just increasing the quality of drinks but also increasing the volumes sold. Yes Bols Foam means people will be able to make foam topped drinks without understanding the chemical process behind the structure itself but hell isn’t drinking supposed to be fun?
Straight after the launch we popped into Callooh Callay and gave a bottle to the boys behind the bar to have a play with and if the smiles on their faces as they messed about with it is anything to go by we will be seeing it on a lot of back bars across the country very soon.
For more details contact your local Maxxium rep.