Strengthens the rule that elapsed time is a control variable and tasting is the endpoint check; it does not supply a universal steeping schedule.
Practitioner discussion of formulation complexity, unequal extraction timing, and endpoint ambiguity.
Mixologist Paul Brown advises keeping an initial infusion simple because ingredients contribute at different rates. He says readiness is judged by tasting, while the difficult boundary is whether an infusion is still developing or has already passed its peak.
printed pp. 170–171 / local PDF sheets 192–193
Featured infusions — Paul Brown Q&A
Checked against the extracted text and sequential rendered review of the supplied local PDF on 2026-08-27.
Verified practitioner evidence from the supplied local PDF.
Evidence
In the Paul Brown profile, the source recommends beginning with a simple infusion and observing how quickly individual ingredients contribute. Brown treats repeated tasting as the governing control because the difficult judgment is whether the infusion is still developing or has already passed its best point.
Location and context
- Printed locator: pp. 170–171
- Local PDF locator: sheets 192–193
- Section: Featured Mixologists — Paul Brown
- Evidence type: Paraphrase
This is not a universal technical law; it is practitioner process guidance about formulation complexity and sensory endpoints.
Annotation
The passage supports CLM-35 and the broader principle that maximum extraction is not maximum quality. It connects simple formulations, ingredient-specific rates, and repeated sensory checks.