With all this talk of molecular gastronomy, of Ferran Adrià and his potato skin consommé and Heston Blumenthal’s egg and bacon ice-cream, it was only a matter of time before the cocktail world caught up. The undisputed Gandalf of barside wizardry is Thierry Hernandez, who has been expanding the minds of his regulars at the Plaza Athénée in Paris with martini ice lollies and bubblegum piña coladas for years. But now you can try equally outré drinks closer to home at Shochu Lounge in London, where cocktail frontiersman Tony Conigliari has been playing with his own chemistry set.

Take his Prairie Oyster, for example, that classic hangover cure of bloody Mary plus egg yolk. At Shochu, it comes served in an oyster shell (there’s nothing these guys like more than a visual pun). The yolk turns out to be dyed clarified tomato juice dipped in gelatine to keep its shape. This is topped with vodka, vinegar, lemon, shallots, salt and pepper, and finished with a Worcestershire sauce foam. “The idea is you slip it into your mouth and immediately get the vodka, celery salt and Worcestershire sauce flavours, and then the clean flavour of tomato as it bursts in your mouth,” says Conigliari.

Elsewhere on the list you’ll find an Apple White Lady, a traditional mix of gin, lemon, triple sec and egg white, but topped with a slice of granny smith sprayed with essence of violet – “I like the crunchiness of the apple adding a sense not normally associated with cocktail drinking.” Also what reads as an entirely regular gin martini, which arrives with a small atomiser. “I make my own bitters out of grapefruit and camomile to mirror the botanicals in the Tanqueray No. Ten gin I use, but the twist is to serve it on the side, so customers can choose how much they want to spray on.”

I have to say, it works very well, and makes for a very refreshing drink.

A salve for the post-nicotine-ban generation comes in the shape of the Smoked Old-Fashioned, made with whisky, sugar syrup and tobacco, leather and smoke essence. It’s like sucking your granddad’s old sofa – but in a good way.

“I’m not sure molecular gastronomy is a term I’d use,” says Conigliari. “Playing with the science is a small part of it. What we’re doing is reworking old ideas, pushing boundaries, playing with the garnishes. A lot of the drinks are fairly straight down the line.

“Take the Super Soda, for example. Really it’s a classic Tom Collins,” he says, putting in front of me a tall glass of viscous liquid with green bubbles suspended in it. Alongside it is a paper perfume swatch. What he has done, he explains, is re-created the notes of the perfume – Soda by Comme des Garçons – by cooking lemon grass, lime and geranium essence in a vacuum with Tanqueray, lemon juice, sugar and gelling agents, and then stirred in frozen grapes and small pearls that he has made by syringing liquid cinnamon and nutmeg into a calcium base. At least I think that’s what he said. The result is like no Tom Collins I’ve tasted. You smell the perfume swatch and take a sip. It’s fresh, citrusy, with a burst of spice, but just… unnatural, like a drink my son would make with his Dr Dreadful Freaky Food Lab.

Equally childish but more successfully so is the Clover Club, a foam of raspberry-infused gin, lemon juice and home-made grenadine, served with candyfloss made from spun clove sweets. “We’ve just cracked how to make a Campari one of these,” says Conigliari excitedly. “Cocktail-making isn’t just about taste. It’s about appearance, aroma and, yes, playfulness and having fun.”

Shochu Lounge, 37 Charlotte Street, London W1 (020-7580 6464)

Explore Food & Drink

• Gordon Ramsay

• Heston Blumenthal

• Recipes

• Wine

• Real Food

• Anjum Anand

• Eating Out

• Video Recipes

Times Recommends

• How to season a wok
• Chicago Rib Shack hits back at its critics
• Gordon Ramsay: Indian barbecue