This summer, guests may encounter a barman that’s less interested in impressing them with some deft-handed flairing and instead spot him indulging in what look like science experiments.
From blending machines that have USB ports for recipes, to drinks that have to be prepared with liquid nitrogen, these days there’s plenty of exciting innovations with which to thrill a thirsty traveller. Mixologists all over the country are exploring ways in which to surprise guests with unusual combinations and out-of-the-ordinary presentation.
Interesting ingredients and unusual combinations
Like any other creation produced to perform multiple actions, getting the right mix of ingredients is a crucial task when preparing a cocktail. Mixologist Shatbhi Basu says that they are ideally designed to be refreshing and packed with the goodness of light, citrusy flavours instead of heavy ones. “Seasonal fruit are a great way to go with drinks like Mango Margaritas, cucumber and chilli Caipiroskas, and apple or watermelon coolers. I would avoid the use of dark liquors and ingredients like Demerara sugar to keep the drinks light and refreshing,” she says.
At Fortune Select Excalibur, Gurgaon the beverage menu features several tall drinks called coolers, which use seasonal produce such as mangoes, cucumber and lychees, seasoned with spices such as green chillies, pepper or sea salt.
“We try to Indianise the drinks to make them taste better,” says Sandipan Bose, F&B manager. The most popular drink, he says, is the martini, which lends itself to a lot of experimentation, especially if one uses vodka as the base. “Vodka is neutral so it absorbs the flavour of whatever ingredient we use to create infusions. It usually takes a week to infuse the vodka with an ingredient, and we use this as a base to make the martinis,” he explains.
While every bartender may use the same basic ingredients – summer fruit, light liquors and citrus flavours, each one raises the bar by adding a special twist to the final concoction.
Nilesh Patel, outlet-in-charge at the bar 72 in Holiday Inn Mumbai says that this summer, alcoholic iced teas are all the rage in scrumptious flavours such as raspberry, wildberry, kiwi, blackcurrant, green apple and passion fruit, so are martinis with fresh seasonal fruit such as lychee and mango. The signature comes from unusual pairings. “The mango-basil caipiroska, watermelon and coriander margarita, musk melon daiquiri are top sellers,” Patel says. At the time of going to press, the bar is promoting a Karavalli festival where they craft cocktails using indigenous infusions of curry leaves, black pepper and tamarind to create margaritas, martinis and layered drinks.
Besides offerings with exciting ingredients, they also have this new method of creating the drinks called ‘throwing’ where one mixes the drink by pouring it from one shaker to another instead of shaking or stirring them. “A little like preparing south Indian coffee,” adds Patel.
It’s not just martinis and coolers that rule the roost though; for ever-eager oenophiles seeking ways to reinvent cocktails using a wine base, there are sparkling wines like the very dry Italian Prosecco, which sees high sales in the summer.
Speaking to Hotelier India on the subject, Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO – Wine Division of Aspri Spirits, one of India’s largest spirits importers, says that traditional wine-based summer drinks like Sangria are now passé. “It is sparkling wines that go the furthest, also tall drinks, Mojitos and frozen daiquiris – all vodka based, do very well. We also see liqueurs like Midori, Amarula and Irish Cream become popular around this time of the year,” he says.
Another appealing twist is the use of Cointreau to create delicious summer cocktails. Traditionally consumed as an after-party liqueur especially in cold temperatures, it’s now quite adventurous to try out cooling summer cocktails with brands like Remy Martin and Grand Marnier. Paired with components like strawberry liqueur and champagne for a Cointreau Bellini or with pineapple and grapefruit juice for a Cointreau Sunkiss, this versatile liqueur is what barmen are increasingly reaching out for.
Essential equipment and innovative techniques
Creating these unusual drinks needs special equipment and there have been interesting innovations in this field. Neeraj Seth, managing director of Celfrost, which makes a range of commercial refrigeration and food service products, shares, “The challenge to churn out good quality with consistency is propelling most bar equipment including blenders and mixers to have electronic controls, USB ports for recipes, portion control valves and so on. A case in point is the Hamilton Beach Blender-cum-Shaver Revolution, which has some of these features. Bartenders these days are experimenting with high end blenders, ice shavers, granita machines and bar guns.”
Only missing a lab coat to complete the picture, it appears that mixologists today have more than the regular tools in their arsenal. “Besides the usual accessories bartenders use to create cocktails, they’re also experimenting with large blenders for slushy drinks and with blowtorches,” shares Shatbhi.
For bartenders who experiment with ‘molecular mixology,’ the tools they work with are complex and sometimes downright fantastic: they use items like liquid nitrogen, alginates and chlorides to achieve effects like ‘spherification’ and creating foams, gels and little bubble like caviar out of fruit and vegetables. This innovative way of creating interesting drinks by manipulating their ingredients on the molecular level based on their texture and flavours was all the rage internationally not too long ago. In India though, there have been just a few takers for it; such as Abhijit Saha, founding director and Chef of the delightful restaurant Caperberry in Bangalore. While 25% of his menu is studded with molecular gastronomy delights, his bar menu also features molecular mixology concoctions such as Cryo Espuma, mock beer (apple juice with lemon foam), Cryo Mango margarita and Cryo Long Island Ice Tea. These regular features of most bar menus are recreated in such a way that they stay cool longer and the flavours are so fresh as to almost explode in your mouth. “You can have fun with classic cocktails as well, like using peach caviar in a Bellini, or pureeing the mint and extracting its chlorophyll before making a caviar out of it for a mojito,” describes Saha.
Regular summer cocktails on the Caperberry menu are no less interesting – there’s Bull frog, which has beer, blue Curacao, vodka and Tabasco; Cucumber Passion which has artic vodka, passion fruit, cucumber and lemonade; Pinky Crimson, which has Pinky vodka, red vermouth, pomegranate and basil; and smoothies such as Mango Guava Rosemary and Coco Pine Lychee.
Another trend that is a head turner is savoury cocktails. Rahul Gul Nagpal, Bar Manager at the Blue Bar, Taj West End, Bangalore explains that while traditionally, edible garnishes have become staples such as olives, pearl onions, mint sprigs and orange or lemon rinds, mixologists are now experimenting with more herbs and spices, from cardamom to wasabi. “You get into the kitchen as see what items you can play around with to lend drinks better flavours, textures and visual appeal. I have this drink called Pinalicious, which is essentially a pineapple and cardamom concoction,” he says.
The most popular creation at his bar is The Mary Goes Round, which is a Bloody Mary that has spicy tomato juice, olives and sage infused vodka. So whether you like to dabble in experiments or simply stick to the classics, with so many interesting ingredients and techniques available, summer cocktails need no longer be boring or predictable. Here’s raising a toast to that!
A toast to the new age summer cocktail
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This summer, guests may encounter a barman that’s less interested in impressing them with some deft-handed flairing and instead spot him indulging in what look like science experiments.
From blending machines that have USB ports for recipes, to drinks that have to be prepared with liquid nitrogen, these days there’s plenty of exciting innovations with which to thrill a thirsty traveller. Mixologists all over the country are exploring ways in which to surprise guests with unusual combinations and out-of-the-ordinary presentation.
Interesting ingredients and unusual combinations
Like any other creation produced to perform multiple actions, getting the right mix of ingredients is a crucial task when preparing a cocktail. Mixologist Shatbhi Basu says that they are ideally designed to be refreshing and packed with the goodness of light, citrusy flavours instead of heavy ones. “Seasonal fruit are a great way to go with drinks like Mango Margaritas, cucumber and chilli Caipiroskas, and apple or watermelon coolers. I would avoid the use of dark liquors and ingredients like Demerara sugar to keep the drinks light and refreshing,” she says.
At Fortune Select Excalibur, Gurgaon the beverage menu features several tall drinks called coolers, which use seasonal produce such as mangoes, cucumber and lychees, seasoned with spices such as green chillies, pepper or sea salt.
“We try to Indianise the drinks to make them taste better,” says Sandipan Bose, F&B manager. The most popular drink, he says, is the martini, which lends itself to a lot of experimentation, especially if one uses vodka as the base. “Vodka is neutral so it absorbs the flavour of whatever ingredient we use to create infusions. It usually takes a week to infuse the vodka with an ingredient, and we use this as a base to make the martinis,” he explains.
While every bartender may use the same basic ingredients – summer fruit, light liquors and citrus flavours, each one raises the bar by adding a special twist to the final concoction.
Nilesh Patel, outlet-in-charge at the bar 72 in Holiday Inn Mumbai says that this summer, alcoholic iced teas are all the rage in scrumptious flavours such as raspberry, wildberry, kiwi, blackcurrant, green apple and passion fruit, so are martinis with fresh seasonal fruit such as lychee and mango. The signature comes from unusual pairings. “The mango-basil caipiroska, watermelon and coriander margarita, musk melon daiquiri are top sellers,” Patel says. At the time of going to press, the bar is promoting a Karavalli festival where they craft cocktails using indigenous infusions of curry leaves, black pepper and tamarind to create margaritas, martinis and layered drinks.
Besides offerings with exciting ingredients, they also have this new method of creating the drinks called ‘throwing’ where one mixes the drink by pouring it from one shaker to another instead of shaking or stirring them. “A little like preparing south Indian coffee,” adds Patel.
It’s not just martinis and coolers that rule the roost though; for ever-eager oenophiles seeking ways to reinvent cocktails using a wine base, there are sparkling wines like the very dry Italian Prosecco, which sees high sales in the summer.
Speaking to Hotelier India on the subject, Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO – Wine Division of Aspri Spirits, one of India’s largest spirits importers, says that traditional wine-based summer drinks like Sangria are now passé. “It is sparkling wines that go the furthest, also tall drinks, Mojitos and frozen daiquiris – all vodka based, do very well. We also see liqueurs like Midori, Amarula and Irish Cream become popular around this time of the year,” he says.
Another appealing twist is the use of Cointreau to create delicious summer cocktails. Traditionally consumed as an after-party liqueur especially in cold temperatures, it’s now quite adventurous to try out cooling summer cocktails with brands like Remy Martin and Grand Marnier. Paired with components like strawberry liqueur and champagne for a Cointreau Bellini or with pineapple and grapefruit juice for a Cointreau Sunkiss, this versatile liqueur is what barmen are increasingly reaching out for.
Essential equipment and innovative techniques
Creating these unusual drinks needs special equipment and there have been interesting innovations in this field. Neeraj Seth, managing director of Celfrost, which makes a range of commercial refrigeration and food service products, shares, “The challenge to churn out good quality with consistency is propelling most bar equipment including blenders and mixers to have electronic controls, USB ports for recipes, portion control valves and so on. A case in point is the Hamilton Beach Blender-cum-Shaver Revolution, which has some of these features. Bartenders these days are experimenting with high end blenders, ice shavers, granita machines and bar guns.”
Only missing a lab coat to complete the picture, it appears that mixologists today have more than the regular tools in their arsenal. “Besides the usual accessories bartenders use to create cocktails, they’re also experimenting with large blenders for slushy drinks and with blowtorches,” shares Shatbhi.
For bartenders who experiment with ‘molecular mixology,’ the tools they work with are complex and sometimes downright fantastic: they use items like liquid nitrogen, alginates and chlorides to achieve effects like ‘spherification’ and creating foams, gels and little bubble like caviar out of fruit and vegetables. This innovative way of creating interesting drinks by manipulating their ingredients on the molecular level based on their texture and flavours was all the rage internationally not too long ago. In India though, there have been just a few takers for it; such as Abhijit Saha, founding director and Chef of the delightful restaurant Caperberry in Bangalore. While 25% of his menu is studded with molecular gastronomy delights, his bar menu also features molecular mixology concoctions such as Cryo Espuma, mock beer (apple juice with lemon foam), Cryo Mango margarita and Cryo Long Island Ice Tea. These regular features of most bar menus are recreated in such a way that they stay cool longer and the flavours are so fresh as to almost explode in your mouth. “You can have fun with classic cocktails as well, like using peach caviar in a Bellini, or pureeing the mint and extracting its chlorophyll before making a caviar out of it for a mojito,” describes Saha.
Regular summer cocktails on the Caperberry menu are no less interesting – there’s Bull frog, which has beer, blue Curacao, vodka and Tabasco; Cucumber Passion which has artic vodka, passion fruit, cucumber and lemonade; Pinky Crimson, which has Pinky vodka, red vermouth, pomegranate and basil; and smoothies such as Mango Guava Rosemary and Coco Pine Lychee.
Another trend that is a head turner is savoury cocktails. Rahul Gul Nagpal, Bar Manager at the Blue Bar, Taj West End, Bangalore explains that while traditionally, edible garnishes have become staples such as olives, pearl onions, mint sprigs and orange or lemon rinds, mixologists are now experimenting with more herbs and spices, from cardamom to wasabi. “You get into the kitchen as see what items you can play around with to lend drinks better flavours, textures and visual appeal. I have this drink called Pinalicious, which is essentially a pineapple and cardamom concoction,” he says.
The most popular creation at his bar is The Mary Goes Round, which is a Bloody Mary that has spicy tomato juice, olives and sage infused vodka. So whether you like to dabble in experiments or simply stick to the classics, with so many interesting ingredients and techniques available, summer cocktails need no longer be boring or predictable. Here’s raising a toast to that!
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