Den of iniquity: New bar stimulates the senses

Taking inspiration from the 1960s psychedelic movement, Tom Wolfe's drug-addled novel, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and hallucinogenic drugs, The Bump Caves is a multi-sensory jaunt into what a cocktail can be. 

Max Chater, self-proclaimed 'bump chemist, distiller and rectifier' distills his own spirits using a rotary evaporator, a device used in chemical laboratories. The bumps – a slang term for a snort of a drug – refer to these 'rectified spirits' that explore new flavour combinations that consumers may not have come across. Consumers can add the bumps to cocktails or beer, or take them as a shot.

In Re-enlightenment Rising, we tracked how our global fascination with science has filtered down into disparate sectors. The Bump Caves' experimental, chemical approach to cocktail-making shows how science is making having fun more fun.