SEATTLE — You don’t need a doctorate to slip on a white coat and create inventive drinks at Seattle’s Mad Scientist Cocktail and Mocktail Lab.
“It feels like you're hiding up in somebody's attic, concocting,” said Jen Loewen, facilitator of the hands-on workshop on Capitol Hill.
The “lab” is inside an open-air marketplace and treats mixology as part scientific method, part questionable decision-making.
"This is a playground for adults, so I'm not necessarily teaching proper technique or terminology,” Loewen said. "You get to take risks here you would never take at home because you don't want to waste or buy your own expensive unknown ingredients."
Everyone gets a lab coat and name tag upon entry, and no one uses their real names. Loewen encourages them to create funny pseudonyms for the duration of the workshop.
The lab has hundreds of mixology tools (including a smoker with seven kinds of wood chips.)
"You can smoke a liquid, you can smoke a cherry, you can smoke an orange peel,” Loewen said.
There are also dehydrated and fresh fruits and vegetables, and an “infusion station” with teas, herbs and spices used for flavoring spirits or water.
"Normally an infusion takes 2-3 weeks to make. We've figured out how to bring it down to 10 minutes,” Loewen said.
Guests can learn how chemical reactions lead to color changes and use drinkable glitter to give their creations extra flair.
Loewen said zero-proof drinks are as fun to make as cocktails.
"You don't need alcohol to have an amazing drink. Most everything here is non-alcohol centric,” she said.
Even if mixology experiments fail, Loewen said it’s still a win. She believes concocting drinks, in any form, builds connection.
"I definitely think this has the Seattle spirit,” Loewen said. "To cut through the Seattle freeze and get everyone in fun, good conversation right away."
The Mad Scientist Cocktail and Mocktail Lab costs $85 and is by appointment only. Contact Loewen directly for gift certificates or private groups.
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