The Mechanical Mixologist is a Victorian inspired cocktail machine that can prepare a Negroni in under 45 seconds.
Mechanical Mixologist
Bombay Sapphire and the Inception Group approached us to create a centrepiece for the new Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration in Covent Garden. We stretched that brief and designed an installation that would fit right into the Jules Verne novel that the saloon is modelled after. Not only does it look the part, it combines hardware and software into a highly functional and intelligent machine.
Drawing on period Victorian inventions and modern micro-distillery technology, we built an extraordinary, Steam Age cocktail machine. The Mechanical Mixologist invites patrons to take an authentic step into the world of Phileas Fogg as it prepares the finest Negronis in real time.
Project details
Client:
Inception Group
Location:
London
Categories:
Concept, Design, Fabrication, Installation
Timeline:
2018 — 2019
To capture Victorian sensibility, we examined period inventions from the likes of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and William Thomson. We also studied kinetics machines, and visited microdistilleries to get a feel for their scale and materiality. Precision was integral to the project, and we considered how brass, iron and glass could best fuse with optics and chemistry apparatus.
The chosen design features an alchemical wheel as the focal element, evocative of the travel that is so prevalent throughout Around the World in Eighty Days. Roundbottom flasks rotate about a central axle, and as the wheel stops, cogs raise a mechanical arm that dispenses an exact measurement of liquid at each juncture.
To bring the design to life, we collaborated with creative construction specialist Nicholas Alexander. Custom parts were hand-crafted or cut on a CNC machine, then synthesised with industrial-grade components to create a robust, precision instrument.
