Purple Haze

By David Nelson / Photo by Paul Body

While a sip of this magic potion might not facilitate time-travel, consuming several hundred CCs of it can certainly help pass the time.

Science meets mouth thanks to the Flux Capacitor, a next-gen beverage with floral notes and tart-sweet flavors from the hands and mind of Cory Alberto, cocktail inventor (and bartender) at the new Table No. 10 bar/ restaurant near Petco Park.

Alberto’s concoction brings to mind the Back to the Future films’ mad scientist character, “Doc” Emmett Brown, who invented the original Flux Capacitor for the DeLorean Michael J. Fox’s character drove back to 1955. Alberto says he wanted “something different” when he crafted the cocktail menu for his venue’s July opening.

“But not so different it would scare people away,” he says. “I wanted the drink to be clever, but not too far out. I wanted a fresh, bright cocktail list with something at the forefront that brought everything together and made our menu unique.” Alberto and general manager Cooper McLaughlin - two of Table No. 10’s four on-the-job partners - tout the bubbly cocktail’s high-tech allure.

“Unique” is an elusive characteristic, but the Flux Capacitor, an explosively theatrical pour, “Allows us to put on the show we want to have,” says Cooper, whose techy background includes working as a chemist for a pharmaceutical company.

“By education, I appreciate the fun and the science behind the drink,” he says. “We have beakers we do cocktails in; and for the Capacitor, we use an Erlenmeyer Flask [a triangular-shaped beaker whose stopper includes a hole in which to insert a glass rod].

The drink serves two. To build one, Alberto arranges bottles of lavender bitters, rose water, lavender water, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, crème de violette, honey, lemon juice and Bombay gin. Ultimately, the liquids mingle with dry ice in the Erlenmeyer Flask. And when Alberto withdraws the glass rod, the CO2 from the dry ice erupts.

“It’s great, visually, but even more important is the aroma it creates, because the CO2 flies everywhere,” says Alberto. “You can feel it, touch it, smell it. It touches all the senses and creates emotion.”

“Generally, happiness,” says Cooper, who hopes the future will bring lots of success for his fledgling East Village experiment.

Table No. 10
369 10th Ave., East Village
619.550.1262, tablenumber10.com