![]() ![]() It really has a lot of problem-solving in the moment, and it’s very performative, as well. Every single day that I go into work is different. “I get to help people feel comfortable and provide them with hospitality while helping them get along with a drink in their hand. The beverage industry is the “most fun job,” Koblan says. You can share a really nice meal and a good drink with someone, and it can really break down a barrier. “I spent all my summers abroad (on archaeology digs and research in Portugal, Spain and South Africa) working and being on teams with people who didn’t always speak the same language and certainly didn’t grow up the same as me culturally. She majored in anthropology and minored in psychology. “I did a senior thesis on the world of craft beer, and that was my first introduction to the industry,” Koblan says. Her mother’s love of entertaining guests and her Italian heritage predisposed Koblan to a love of hospitality, and her Wake Forest experiences helped lead her eventually to mixology. There is a lot of chemistry involved in the drink-making world as well.” So I’ve always enjoyed finding ways to make things change colors or more efficient ways to do things or processing ingredients. We did a lot of cool experiments on the weekends for fun. “I grew up having a lot of weird conversations at the dinner table about how light refracts. Ask the bartender, ‘Is this sweet? Is this sour? I’m looking for something that’s more acidic, or maybe I want something more refreshing. “Knowing every flavor profile and how those are going to mix with other flavors, it’s just impossible. ![]() It can also give them tools to adjust a cocktail at a bar or restaurant without sending it back, Kinder says.įirst, before ordering, don’t be shy to ask questions about the alcohol brands and the ingredients on the menu. This “phenomenal science” of humans’ “magical unicorn” physiology and chemistry can help people create cocktails to match their palate at home. Getting a good restaurant or bar cocktail “I have served people my no-proof wasabi martini, and literally after two, they’re like, ‘What is this? It’s really got me buzzed.’ I’m like, ‘Baby, there ain’t no alcohol there.’ If we remove ethanol, there are other trigeminal effects that you can play with - the cooling sensation of menthol, or the heat of jalapeno, or the pungency of ginger, or even garlic - and create chemical sensation without alcohol. “The sting that you feel when you either take a shot or have a good whiskey in your mouth, that’s a trigeminal effect. The Chicago skyline frames one of Kidner’s cocktails. She’s been a beverage industry force, producing events and developing brands, marketing, training and front-of-house excellence for breweries and distilleries. Koblan is the head bartender at Blossom Bar in Brookline, Massachusetts, and lives in Boston with her husband, Bart Johnston (’12), whom she met when his twin was in the marching band drum corps with her at Wake Forest. She created cocktails and taught mixology for Rhine Hall Distillery and KOVAL Distillery before establishing HOLLOW LEG, featured in 2016 by WGN-TV as a “ hidden gem of Chicago.” ![]() That earned her a spot at Slow Food International’s biannual Terra Madre conference, considered the Olympics of food, in Turin, Italy. In her first foray from her career in Chicago’s sustainable food scene, she won a 2014 national cocktail competition through Slow Food USA. Kidner is founder and owner of HOLLOW LEG, offering individual and corporate clients such as Google and Deloitte in-person or virtual mixology classes with what she calls “Julia Child-like conviction.” She focuses on using locally sourced seasonal ingredients and having clients try hands-on mixing as she explains the chemistry and physiology of taste. ![]()
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