Liquid nitrogen cocktail

History

The culinary use of liquid nitrogen is mentioned in an 1890 recipe book titled Fancy Ices by Agnes Marshall,

Safety concerns

Because of its low temperature, liquid nitrogen can be extremely damaging to body tissue, causing frostbite and cryogenic burning on contact. Furthermore, as it evaporates, liquid nitrogen releases a large volume of gas, which means it can burst the stomach if swallowed in a sufficiently large amount.

Lancaster incident

The potential danger of liquid nitrogen cocktails was highlighted by an incident that occurred in the United Kingdom in October 2012. On September 17, 2015, Oscar's Wine Bar and Bistro in Lancaster was fined £100,000 as a result of the incident, as no proper risk assessment had been performed and bar staff had not received adequate warnings of the importance of not drinking the cocktail until all the nitrogen had boiled off.

The incident prompted representatives of the British Compressed Gases Association and the Food Standards Agency to warn the public of the dangers of consuming the liquid. An investigation was also launched, headed by Lancashire Police, who said that the establishment concerned had removed liquid nitrogen cocktails from its menu. On 12 October, The Guardian reported that David Morris, the MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, had written to the Food Standards Agency and the Secretary of State for Health, calling for the sale of drinks containing liquid nitrogen to be banned.

The New South Wales Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, which oversees licensed premises in the Australian state of New South Wales issued an immediate moratorium on the use of liquid nitrogen while an investigation was carried out into its use.

References

References

1. Wallop, Harry. (9 October 2012). "The dark side of liquid nitrogen cocktails". The Daily Telegraph.
2. Carter, Helen. (12 October 2012). "MP to call on parliament to ban liquid nitrogen cocktails". The Guardian.
3. (9 October 2012). "Who What Why: How dangerous is liquid nitrogen?". BBC.
4. Nordqvist, Christian. (10 October 2012). "Are Liquid Nitrogen Cocktails Dangerous?". MediLexicon International Ltd.
5. Silverman, Rosa. (9 October 2012). "Liquid nitrogen 'cauldron cocktail': drinks industry blamed for girl's injury". The Daily Telegraph.
6. (18 September 2015). "Liquid nitrogen cocktail: Wine bar fined £100k after teenager loses stomach". The Telegraph.
7. (8 October 2012). "Joint investigation after teenager taken ill". Lancashire Constabulary.
8. Prince, Rosa. (15 October 2012). "Government urged to ban use of liquid nitrogen after teenager Gaby Scanlon loses stomach". The Daily Telegraph.
9. Olding, Rachel. (13 October 2012). "Bars banned from using liquid nitrogen in drinks". Fairfax Media.