Ryan San Diego 

Bartenders are versed in a certain set of flavours. They know the botanicals of gin, how citrus plays with sodas and the different compounds that emerge as rum ages. They know that coconut and lime, cucumber and mint, and smoke and pineapple are natural bedfellows. But strawberry and mushroom, or muhammara and tequila? That takes a rich understanding of ingredients and aromatics to pull off.

Ryan San Diego knows flavour. As bar manager at Shelter, one of Calgary’s standout cocktail bars, he has built out a concept dedicated to what he calls “active aromatic compounds.” Drinks don’t hinge on a base spirit; they start with two seemingly unusual flavours that are compatible on a molecular level.

It all started with a carrot drink, which bartender Paulina Arteaga had been working on for months to no avail. Then she looked into the aromatic compounds of carrot — they matched those of crème de violette.

San Diego realized Arteaga was onto something — why build drinks solely based on flavour? — and prompted his entire team to take a similar approach. Out of their cocktail lab came a full menu of drinks named after aromatic couplings. Each pairing is based on scientific evidence identifying similar molecules (like aldehydes, terpenoids and pyrazines) — Tomato and Vanilla, a bright vodka-tomato highball with Earl Grey kombucha; and Clove and Chile, a clarified tequila punch) — combined with sensory experience and knowledge.

And that carrot drink dilemma of Arteaga’s? She paired the smoky, earthy, nutty notes of lacto-fermented carrot juice with mezcal, hazelnut and amaro. Crème de violette lends sweetness and pulls out the carrot’s aromatic florality. And the drink is thrown, rather than shaken, to preserve the delicacy of the aromas.

What was initially intended to be a short-lived experiment has become the bar’s core concept. That earned our Innovation Award.

–Elizabeth Chorney-Booth

People love it when food meets science. Bar Manager at Shelter Ryan San Diego