Frothed Tequila Is Taking Over TikTok — But Does the Science Actually Add Up?

(Photos: timthetankoffical/Instagram, Los Muertos Crew/Pexels)

Amidst an avalanche of indecipherably real and phony TikTok life hacks, influencers have become obsessed with “frothed tequila” over the past week. The idea is simple: stick a milk frother into your tequila, whirl it around and suddenly your alcohol tastes smooth as water.

 

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But does TikTok’s latest fascination actually translate into science? Or is it just another bogus life hack to file alongside CGI beer-pong trick shots and glitter glue hair extensions?

The short answer: it works! Surprisingly, frothed tequila is backed up by centuries of well-established spirits knowledge. Just don’t expect it to make a massive difference.

When you stick a milk frother into your tequila, you rapidly speed up the process of spirit aeration. As an alcohol “breaths” outside of its bottle, it begins to reveal new subdued flavors and a smoother burn.

Paul S. Hughes, author of “The Science and Commerce of Whisky,” explains that around 17% of alcohol molecules inside a bottle settle into an uneven distribution. Even after a good pour, it takes a couple of minutes of direct air contact for those molecules to settle out properly.

This is why you’ll see wine connoisseurs swirl their glasses around like a hurricane. In the world of mezcal, shallow drinking vessels known as jicaras have been used to consume agave spirits since the 16th century. Their short and stout design allows for as much air contact as possible.

In recent years, spirit aeration has turned into a lucrative industry.

Online, you’ll find countless stores selling spirit aerating gadgets that run the gamut from $20 to over $100. Though these products are sleek, well-produced and will probably elicit all sorts of “oohs” and “aahs” from party guests, they essentially perform the same job as a milk frother.

(Photo: Venturi)

If you have a frother or any other kind of stirring jigger around, feel free to try this out for yourself. The effect will plateau around one minute of stirring. According to Paul S. Hughes’ statistics, expect your tequila to be about 17% smoother.

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