There's something soaking in every bar's booze supply these days. Here's a heady mix of the latest cocktails with infused alcohol
Sugar and spice, Flower power, Saffron hues, Berry love, Turmeric time, Apple tales
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Sugar and spice
The Hot Chilli Pepper has sugar, spice, and everything nice. To make it, lemongrass and chilli-infused tequila is mixed with ginger cordial and vanilla sugar. The drink is crowned with sparkling wine.
Muddled lemongrass and serrano peppers are left to infuse with tequila for three to four weeks, until the alcohol absorbs the heat of the peppers. "Indians love spice. This one is served with sparkling wine, which is mild and balances the tequila's strength once it hits your throat," says Valentine Barboza, who has created the cocktail for the Khar resto-bar.
AT: Out of the Blue, Le Sutra Hotel, 14 Union Park, off Carter Road, Khar (W).
CALL: 9324839393
COST: Rs 575
Flower power
Marigold, most often found in garlands, finds itself in an infusion in the Marigold Fizz. "We take classic cocktails and add our own twist to it," says Aastha Gupta, co-owner, It Happened in New York. The Marigold Fizz is thus a variation of a typical gin fizz. It has marigold-infused Gordon's gin, lime, sugar, egg white and a splash of soda. "Marigold, unlike other edible flowers, pairs really well with alcohol," she adds.
AT: It Happened in New York, 84, Chapel Road, Sayed Wadi, Bandra (W).
CALL: 26446161
COST: Rs 650 plus taxes
Saffron hues
There are many ways to go saffron, and this drink is just one of them. Saffron Trading Co. has triple sec infused with 5gm of saffron and kept overnight, till the clear liqueur changes its colour and takes on the flavour from the saffron.
The bartender creates a Hot Chilli Pepper. Pic/Bipin kokate
The liquid is then strained and added to the cocktail, which is mixed with house-made almond syrup and rum.
AT: One Street Over, ground floor, Navarang Building, 35th Road, Khar (W).
Call 26002224
COST: Rs 400 plus taxes
Berry love
The Raspberry Sharbat at The Bombay Canteen is inspired by the Bellini (strawberry puree and sparkling wine).
Yash Bhanage, partner at the resto-bar, says, "Here, we have replaced the strawberry with raspberries. We infuse 750ml Gordon's gin with 400gm raspberries for 24 hours, then separate the alcohol using a thin muslin cloth."
To make the cocktail, lime juice and sugar syrup are added to the gin; this is then topped with sparkling wine.
AT: The Bombay Canteen, Kamala Mills Compound, Lower Parel.
CALL: 49666666
COST: Rs 750
Turmeric time
As far as infused cocktails go, one with raw turmeric most certainly makes you wonder, "What were they thinking?" Thankfully, the Turmeric Glow at Andheri's newly launched Bombay Cocktail Bar manages to get it right.
For this cocktail, gin is infused with turmeric for a week. Ginger juice, made in-house, is added to this, in addition to orange as well as lime juice. The mixologist follows this up with a splash of tonic water, and finishes the drink with some sweet grenadine syrup, to balance out the flavours.
AT: Bombay Cocktail Bar, Deluxe House, Plot B-50, off New Link Road, Andheri (W).
CALL: 33951713
COST: Rs 396
Apple tales
In a bid to do something with a twist, bartenders at Glocal paired the classic apple-cinnamon combination with vodka. "We infuse the vodka with apple slices and cinnamon bark overnight. To make the cocktail, we muddle cinnamon, add sweet and sour mix with vodka, then pour in the infused vodka and top it off with a cinnamon ice cube,", says Dennis Wu, VP (operations), Glocal Junction. "Vodka accepts fruit flavours well. And since cinnamon is widely used, we combined the two," he adds.
AT: Glocal Junction, Morya Bluemoon Building, off New Link Road, Andheri (W).
CALL: 9022631999
COST: Rs 320
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