Sonic Spirits: From Bartending to Musical Distillation

Sergio Padilla Molina on flavor obsession, Madonna, and turning a dream into a patented invention

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Sergio Padilla Molina, former head of the bar at Barcelona’s iconic Bocagrande/Bocachica group and now a pioneer in spirits innovation. From crafting cocktails for Madonna to creating a patented ultrasound machine that distills alcohol to the rhythm of music, Sergio’s journey is anything but ordinary.

Olivia: Sergio, how did your journey in bartending begin? What drew you to mixology in the first place?

Sergio: I’ve always been fascinated by how flavors combine — especially when using unusual ingredients. The creativity of it all excited me. I wanted to surprise even the most demanding guests in Europe, especially from the UK, Italy, and France.

Olivia: You spent years at Bocagrande and Bocachica in Barcelona. What was that experience like?

Sergio: That group became my family — truly my home. They gave me full freedom to experiment, to research. One unforgettable night? Serving Madonna. That’s a moment I’ll never forget. And as a manager, I’ll always remember 2015: three members of my team won national awards, and Bocachica was named the best bar in Spain. That was a milestone.

Olivia: You later moved from behind the bar into creating your own spirits. What inspired that shift?

Sergio: The drinks I created were based on the handcrafted infusions and products we’d served at Bocachica for years. After seeing how guests responded to them, I felt confident. I didn’t want to create “something new” — I wanted to bottle what we had already perfected and share it with the world.

Olivia: How did ultrasound technology enter the picture?

Sergio: I got my hands on one of the first ultrasound machines designed for food in Spain. Thanks to encouragement from Diageo and their “create without limits” campaign, I started experimenting. It was a bit of madness, honestly — I was modifying their spirits using this tech. Most experiments failed, but those few successes? They kept me going.

Olivia: What were the biggest challenges working with such an unconventional method?

Sergio: The hardest part was the lack of references. No one had used or documented this process before, so I was inventing from scratch. I also had zero technical background — I even broke the ceramic core of the sonicator once. That really set me back. But I kept pushing.

Olivia: And now you’ve patented a version of the machine that distills to live music. Tell us more!

Sergio: It literally came to me in a dream. I was standing beside a famous musician, and together we were creating something magical for the audience. I woke up, ran to the patent office, and made it real.

I’m not sure how far this adventure will go, but I’m glad I had the dream. And I’m still chasing that moment.

As Sergio continues pushing boundaries between mixology, science, and art, his story reminds us that the best ideas often come from bold experiments — or even from a dream.