5 interesting bar innovations to consider

At the Caterer Food & Business Conference Fling Bar Services operations manager Brandon Grusd said that bar science has evolved to include a few new mechanisms that seem complex. “They come across as lavish items, but are mechanisms you can use to enhance the entire bar experience,” Grus said.

Dehydrator
Grusd says the Dehydrator has huge sustainability benefits because “you can keep your citrus fruits fresh for longer, which in turn makes your drinks beautiful and its really easy to use, while also being inexpensive.”

Centrifuge
“It may seem like something you don’t need in a bar environment but it can be one of the best cost saving tools in the bar,” Grusd said. He went on to explain with the help of an example. “A date syrup is made by blending dates and syrup which leaves you with a very thick mixture that you can’t separate the syrup from the date. A spinning centrifuge allows you to separate solid from liquid and gives you that yield that you really look for at the end of the day,” he said.

Sonic Prep Machine
“The Sonic Prep machine sends sonic waves to homogenise (to mix or infuse) liquids,” said Grusd informing that “you can supposedly age a whiskey in what would normally take 12 years, in a lot less time – within a year or a few months”. He added: “It might seem odd that you send sound waves through whiskey to age it, but it’s a fun and practical product. Maybe you cannot promote you have alcohol at your venue but you can promote the fact that you have a sonic prep machine infused drinks.

Sous Vide
“It is probably one of the most crucial pieces of equipment behind the bar because it delivers what we need in the bar industry the most – consistency,” Grusd says indicating that the Sous Vide machine can be expensive but comes in really handy to ensure the consistency in quality.

Vaccum Rotary Evaporator
“This is a beautiful machine that allows you to create incredible drinks and flavours,” Grusd said. He also explained how the complex-looking apparatus works. “In creating a vacuum you lower the boiling point temperature so you can infuse mint in to alcohol and your resulting drink has a fresh mint flavour as compared to a warm flavour if you cooked it.”