Float

What is a float?

A float is a liquid poured so carefully onto a finished drink that it stays on top instead of sinking in. The result is a drink with two floors: the base below, the float above. The effect works twice over, because the top layer greets your nose first, and with every sip it blends in a little more. A drink with a float changes from the first mouthful to the very last drop.

The physics behind it: density decides

Why does some liquid float and other liquid not? It is not magic, it is density:

• Sugar makes heavy: liqueurs and syrups with lots of sugar are denser than the drink beneath them and would sink instantly
• Alcohol makes light: high-proof spirits are lighter than sugar-heavy mixed drinks, which is why they stay on top
• Technique does the rest: even a suitable liquid sinks when it is poured too quickly and too hastily

A typical example is dark high-proof rum on a tiki drink: beneath it sits a dense, fruity mix, and the light rum stays on top, fragrant, blending in a little more with every sip.

The technique: slowness is everything

A float succeeds through patience, not force:

• Pour over the back of a bar spoon: the spoon catches the stream and spreads it gently
• Or let it run down the glass wall or over an ice cube: whatever flows slowly does not disturb the layer below
• Finish the drink first: layering and stirring do not get along, mix first, float later
• Less is enough: a float is an accent, not a second drink

Classics with a float

• New York Sour: a whiskey sour with a layer of red wine on top, a classic from the New York of the late 19th century
• Zombie: the tiki classic from 1930s Hollywood, created at Donn Beach's bar, crowned with a layer of high-proof rum
• Irish coffee: coffee, whiskey and sugar, and on top the famous floating cream, born in Ireland in the 1940s
• Pousse-café: the extreme form of the technique, an entire drink built from liqueur layers sorted by density, an art from 19th century France

Distinction: float, rinse and twist

Three surface techniques that are easily confused:

• Float: the liquid stays on top as a visible layer and only blends in while you drink
• Rinse: the liquid is swirled through the glass, leaving only a whisper-thin film of aroma, nothing visible remains
• Twist: the citrus peel releases its oils onto the surface and then stays on the glass as a garnish

Remember: the rinse clings to the wall, the float swims on top, the twist scents the surface.

At our lounge

If a layer on one of our drinks seems to float without mixing right away, you are probably looking at a float. Feel free to ask our team, a well-placed float is a small magic trick in which physics plays the assistant.