Cockatails with a desi tadka

There are three things that one must keep in mind while playing around with a cocktail — the weather, seasonal ingredients (what is available in the market at the time) and current F&B trends, if any. Since the days are getting hotter, let’s look at ingredients that are cooling, refreshing and at the same time add a desi twist to our drinks.

Quintessential Indian ingredients work well with cocktails due to their rich flavour and strong taste — not to mention, availability almost throughout the year. Cumin, tamarind, kokum (garcinia indica), mint, lemon and curry leaves work best with white spirit-based cocktails. Dark spirits usually have a very overpowering taste and smell, and therefore can’t incorporate the subtle flavours of ingredients or elevate a drink. So vodka and white rum are your best bet while making a desi cocktail.

Proportions are key to a cocktail. Ensure that you strike a fine balance between the portion of base alcohol and flavoured ingredients — ideally it should be 85:15, with a little here and there depending on your threshold for potency or preference for taste. Adhering to the right proportions will result into a balanced cocktail.

What most people disregard while making a cocktail is attention to the sequence in which the ingredients go into the glass. Always, always stick to the step by step instruction because each one of them is timed to bring out a certain flavour and create a certain reaction.

My personal favourite Indianised cocktail is the Tart Berry Cooler — it includes inducing the taste of strong curry leaves and tangy kokum in a vodka-based concoction along with cranberry juice that tops it with a fruity flavour — the perfect summer drink.

Inputs by Ishaan Bahl, Owner of 145 and Bar Conceptualiser