Cocktail Nirvana

Stuboto

2012-02-06T21:13:00.001-08:00

As the temperature in the city is starting to rise, its about time for those refreshing summer drinks. And taking advantage of the seasonal availbility of strawberries here I present a simple and delicious improvisation to the caiprinhia/mojito kind of cocktail family. I call it "Stuboto".

What you need is 45 ml Gin/Vodka/Rum (clear poison of your choice), I used Beefeater Gin. 4 Fresh straberries, 1 lime, 60 to 90 ml cranberry juice, 15 ml Chambord (raspberry liquor, u could use syrup if liquor not available), 2 tsp sugar and some ice.

Cut strawberries into halves and muddle them with the juice of half lime and sugar in a shaker tin. Add scoopful of ice, gin, chambord and cranberry juice. Shake it with love and empty the concoction along with ice into an old fashioned glass. choose your garnish the way you like. perfect drink for ladies who prefer the sweet drinks that mask the smell of the spirit well. Pairt it with some bbq and you are good to roll.

A dip into Oktoberfest

2011-10-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Oktoberfest in India may sound a bit absurd but I just happened to visit a recently opened watering hole - "The Biere Club"(TBC) in Bangalore and they were celebrating the official last day of the fest. I was doubly lucky to have not procrastinated my pint of beer, for tomorrow is officially a dry day in the whole country.

TBC is situated on Lavele road in Bangalore, exactly in place of the old Kingfisher Airlines office. I doubt if that`s coincidence :). With the govt of India allowing separate and affordable licenses for brew pubs, I am guessing we will see more and more of these kind of places. There are a few already in other cities and TBC is almost the first in Bangalore. Toit in Indiranagar is also a brew pub, but they have not started making their own beers yet. The biggest dependency for this kind of place is to hunt for a in-house brew master, not so easy in this part of the world.

I entered TBC with my wife and daughter, about the same afternoon showers time for the city. It was 4 pm and the 3 floor beer garden did not have a single table free!!! Shows how much love and respect Bangloreans have for their beer. Neverthless I was directed towards the bar with my two girls..so clearly they do not have a problem with kids in their pub. Infact as we waded through the beery tables, I saw several tables had a kid or two thrown in :). The crowd of the place quite mixed - a few expats, a couple of small families, some teeny woopie youngsters, a group of men, few single girls. Almost like a place for all.

The USP of TBC is obviously that they make all their beers in-house. They have huge coppers overlooking the bar, where the beer is brewed. One whole wall of the ground floor is painted in cartoons in the Mario Miranda style. They have decent and simple lighting and several tables in all fashions - coffee, pub, 10 seater dinning, 4 seater. Some tables were dressed in typical German red and white chequered table cloth. Smoking is not allowed inside.

We looked at the beer menu and it was not disappointing. Finally there is a place in Bangalore that sells Stout. Thank HEAVENS!!! They have ales, lagers, stouts and wheat beers. At 300rs a 500 ml pint of Rs.225 for a 330 ml, I would say they are very decntly priced for what is being offered. Marking the occasion of Oktoberfest they have a few specially brewed beers too. Great thing about the place is they give you tasters from all or any of their categories if you want before choosing which one to order. I ordered ourselves a wheat beer to begin with as I always find them to be greatly refreshing starters. The last great wheat beer I liked for Giest, but that was bottled. When the beer arrived, it was perfect.....taste,temperature, head, the mug everything...I unfortunatly did not have my camera handy to take any pictures.

We got a table soon, and started looking at the food menu. TBC mostly serves mediterannean cuisine, a lot of moroccon actually. We asked for a spicy moroccon chicken appetizer. Priced at Rs 380, it was a very decent portion of grilled boneless chicken served with grilled peppers and zucchinis. Succlent chicken, well grilled veggies. My daughter Zyana, 2o months young, is a french fries loyalist and she had to disrespectfully for the place, order fries and was happy.

I ordered another pint from the Oktoberfest special beer menu - a coffee malt stout. People....after tasting the first sip, I was convinced that Jesus has arrived in Bangalore and we are to be redeemed soon. My wife Smita, almost said this looks like a dash of espresso in a beer can.A greatly brewed stout with the perfect balance between coffee and malt. I am not sure it will be available from tomorrow but this one was a killer.

We wanted to order a Tangine dish but Zyana decided we have had enough fun and that we should probably be heading home.

Staff were decent and friendly. I recommend you book a table in advance Walet factor- 1500 to 2000rs for beer and food for 2.

I came home hungry and made ourselves some Thai Rice stick noodle soup. I do not have patience to write the recipe and process right now but sufficed to say a lot of liquid for a single weekend...

PS: TBC does serve spirits too but would you care for them in such a place?

The rocket science of a Sidecar

2011-09-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

The biggest problem with a booze blog is that to keep it going, u need to keep drinking. Nevermind. For quite a long time I have been drinking straight and had almost given up cocktails. I mustered myself upto make one this friday and it happens to be a Sidecar - it cant get more classic than this. I have written about it befoe but still, a Sidecar is the father of all sweet and sour drinks for here it started all. The whiksey sour, the margarita, the daiquiri are some of its improvisations or shall we call close cousins.

The basic rule of the sweet and sour cocktails is this - 1 of sour (lime), 2 of sweet (syrup), 3 of strong (alcohol) and 4 of week (ice). The numbers represent the potions. Change the ingredients but retain the characterstic and you will have all the variations/cousins like I mentioned before.

When I reached upto my bar this Friday, this is what I found. Lime juice, Orange liquer, some left over Brandy, and nice Angoustra Bitters lilliput. I like bitters in almost all my drinks, its what I call the salt of cocktails.

Traditionally a sidecar is made of cognac but i shall use its poorer cousin brandy today and the sweet in the drink comes from Cointreau (liquer made from orange peels). Unfortunatly I left my shaker at my friend`s place last time i took my kit there, so I substitute it with a gym sipper and man it works just fine. I use a BIG margarita glass to make this one and pour all ingredients after shaking them with ice.

Will blog soon!!!

2011-01-30T11:03:00.000-08:00

My exceptionally great blogging tempo is thanks to my work life getting much busier (& not FB or Twitter please, I still do love the classic blogging too). So here when I am sitting doodling around at the Heathrow airport, I thought I ll put my time to good use on my deprived blog. There are two main things I need to blog about and soon.
Everyday Drinking - An deviously fantastic book for all drunkards of the world presented to me by someone who I fondly call "Bhabi"
& ofcourse my fabulous spiritual experiences from the land of the Queen.

The earlier deserves a good number of posts seperatly. So I shall indulge in reporting out on the later lest I might loose memory of small little things that made the experiences. For ease`s sake, I ll split that into two posts - one on the drinking culture of the place as observed by me and another on the new things I have tasted and come across. So stay tunnned for my dole out as I am sinking into my word pad ......

The Cocktail Faceoff

2010-11-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

Timeout Magazine Bangalore did a Bangalore bartender faceoff for their cover story this month. They went around bars in town putting them up with each other on who makes a better concoction. Mostly classic cocktails. All the A list cocktail gardens of Bangalore were up in the race. So was Take 5 and yours truly as well.

For our part we were to show how to make a Manhattan and here it is with the classic recipe. And the bonus - we were declared winner!!!!

Tangerini in Chaos Theory

2010-10-15T05:16:00.000-07:00

I was watching this movie called Chaos Theory I and in a scene in there, this chick at the bar wants our leading man to try something different from his vodka tonic; orders this drink called Tangerini!!! Sexy name I say. Next shot I see them holding martini glasses with almost orange juice looking like drink in it.

I did some googling and this is what I came to understand a Tangerini Tini is :
30 ml Vodka,
30ml Cointreau
15ml Amaretto
60 ml orange juice
1 tsp Grenadine

Shake all ingredients well in a cocktail shakers and serve in a martini glass on crushed ice.
Leave an orange peel for garnish.

Sweet stuff, this drink looks like a cross between a Vodka sunrise and a Cosmopolitan to me. And I think the recipe has come out super cool. I am gonnan cook it very soon!!!

Wished we knew our Caiproska

2010-09-07T04:17:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I just want to hunt that one guy who taught Indians that a Capiroska is just a Vodka Mojito. I am confronted with this version of Cairposka ( mint muddled with sugar and lime , crused ice, vodka & soda splash) everywhere. Bars have menus written this wrong way and over the years have taught Indians to order and expect their Caiproska this way.

Caiproska is an improvisation on the Bazilian national cockatil - Caiprinhia and it has no mint in it. Allow me to differentiate these three drinks and for once clear the air around these 3 classic muddled drinks. These are classic recipes and there may be variations available around the world but the DNA wont change so much.

Mojito - Orginated in Cuba

Mint & Lime muddled with white sugar, load with ice, slop in White Rum & top it with a splash of soda. Served in a long glass

Caiprinhia - Orginated in Brazil

Lime muddled with castor sugar, load with crushed ice, add 60 ml Cachaca (Brazilian white rum made from Sugar cane juice - much sweeter than regular white rum). No soda, no mint please. Served in rocks glass or a small glass as there is no soda and mostly alcohol & ice.

Caiproska - Improvisation of Caiprinhia

Same as Caiprinhia except that Vodka replaces Cachaca. No mint, no soda again.

Fusion Confusion

2010-08-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

It was one of the super busy Friday`s at the bar when I got this call from a friend of mine. He wanted to know if its safe to imbibe some Scottish malt after some Champagne. I am no authority at this subject but still, I do not like to let go of exploring the idea once it lands up in my radar.

For the moment, I told my friend it`s never safe to mix drinks unless you have a dehydration plan at hand. (Cocktails are another thing). Secondly it will also depend on how he defines the “some” champagne and the “some” single malt. Thirdly, what quality alcohol are we talking? Turns out he had no plan at hand, by “some” he meant half bottle of Champagne and 3-4 rounds of scotch. The brands of evil at question were “Moet & Chandon” and Glenfiddich 18 year old –undoubtedly great spirits both.

Not many people in India would have much experience with drinking Champagne. It`s not so much part of the drinking culture in India as in the west. Also known sweetly as “Bubbly”, I know of it to be devil. At many a parties that I have managed the bars, I have seen what it can do to people. It is easy to drink, hard to say no to, and can leave you with one hell of a hangover. I carry no statistics, but looks like its more favorite with women and also its perpetuates greater hangover to women than men. But again this is a general observation.

Champagne by category falls under sparkling wines and comes exclusively from the Champagne region in France. The fizz in champagne is like that in beer, caused by secondary fermentation induced in the bottle. This carbonation speeds up the body`s process of absorbing alcohol. If you plan to drink licquor I shudder to imagine what it can do to you.

I have not tested empirically in the field, but suffices to know from reading that the lesser the intake of other kinds of sugar while consuming champagne, the lesser is chances of being left with cotton mouth, head or body aches & nausea. This is because Champagne itself has very high levels of sugar.Once the cork is popped open, it’s always a good idea to stick to champagne for the rest of the evening. It should be the beginning and the ending of your drinking session.

Turns out next day, my friend did not graduate to the malt at all. The Champagne was enough on her own. Sugar crash I guess.

BOTTOM LINE: CHAMPAGNE AND LIQUOR THE SAME EVENING – NEVER WORSE.

How manly is your drink ????

2010-08-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Midnight Muse

2010-03-24T07:33:00.001-07:00

There are many times you run out of cold beer in the midst of a good drinking session at home. While this doesn`t happen too often with me, but it did last night. My bum chum pal was meeting me for dinner and drinks yesterday. After swishing through THULP burgers,we started our spiritual journey for the night with him on Rum & Cokes and me on Tuborgs. As ill-planning would have it, I ran out of beers in the middle of the night. But being a believer in the power of positive thinking, I felt its a good opportunity for me to pick up the mixing glass and help myself a chilled cocktail.

And since it was in the middle of the night, I chose this aptly named cocktail - Midnight Muse (MM).

45 ml whiskey of your choice
15 ml Midori
Pour ingredients over ice in mixing glass and stir. Serve it straight up in a pre chilled martini glass.

This is a typical American contemporary martini drink. The base for MM is whiskey and generally Bourbon. In la martini style - whiskey is stirred along with Midori, in a mixing glass half filled with ice and fine strained into a chilled martini glass with lime peel as garnish. Midori is a sweet, honeydew melon-flavored liqueur that is a vivid green color and comes in a distinctively-shaped textured bottle. Midori lends its deep green colour to MM without overpowering the taste of the whiskey.

Being a Martini drink, MM is a tad strong drink. So make sure you get your proportions right. I prefer 45 ml of scotch (instead of Bourbon, just cause I was in a that mood). 15 ml of Midori is good enough. The best ratio is the one which will make you love your drink. Be bold enough and experiment with the ratios although beware that Midori is crushingly sweet. Have enough ice in your mixer and stir the drink long enough (20-30 secs at least) to aerate & dilute the drink to suit your palate. This is an important step. If neglected, you will end up having either a very strong drink due to lack of enough water content or over diluted drink tasting very watery with none of the characteristics of either whiskey or Midori.

I have not seen to many bars stocking Midori in Bangalore. But my guess is Hard Rock and Shiro must be having it. So next time you are in a mood for a martini and you like you dram of whiskey too, ask for a Midnight Muse. Do not discard it as a sweet green drink, for it has a delectable taste.

Schumacher doesn`t mix drink and driving

2010-03-12T01:41:00.000-08:00

Last night I bumped into an aquaintance at the launch party of B52 a new bar in town. Only when he mentioned that he is off to the middle east for a 10day holiday from this morning and that includes the Bahrin Grand Prix, I realised that the F1 racing season has begun.

Schumacher is racing this time and I am sure every racing fan is eager to see what he`s got. Apparently Schumi doesn`t like to mix drinking with driving. You would remember my post on driving under influence, won`t you? Bacardi came up with this sooper cool advertisement against Drink and Driving, bringing together stalwarts of both sports and alcohol. Ace bartender Salvatore Calabrese tried mixing a drink in a Maserati, while Schumi was charming the steering wheel. Can he mix a good one...check it out.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eO886N-jLo

Of Whiskey Cocktails

2010-02-27T22:15:00.000-08:00

Last night was one of the most packed I ever saw at Take 5. And there is no fun to match such occasions for a man behind the bar. More so if he has to churn cocktails and more cocktails. However there was a small detail that was a bit different about last night compared to most packed cocktail nights.

At the backdrop of live texas blues music that "Ministry of Blues" was drumming out, I was super busy manufacturing the regular stuff - pitchers of Margaritas, some Cosmos, a Martini here, a Mai Tai there. What made the night different was two things.

1) Good friend of mine came to the bar with a drink in her hand asking me to desperately fix her wrongly done Manhattan and later for asked for an Old Fashioned as well.

2) A regular patron at the bar wanted to do something unusual and I suggested a Boilermaker.

Now Whiskey cocktails are not quite regular at any bar in India. You would very rarely find people in India wanting to drink a Manhattan, forget an Old Fashioned which most wouldn`t even know. At best - a Whiskey sour. The fact that these are classic cocktails and probably quaffed in quite abundancy anywhere abroad has got no relevance here. Similarly Boilermaker - a whiskey shot with a beer chase is unheard of in these parts of the world. Shots in India are mostly Tequila or sweet/sour vodka shots with lots of fruit syrups. So I am on a rampage to do my bit of teaching people who come to the bar on "how to drink"!! In this blogpost I will give you the recipes ofBoilermaker, Manhattan & Old Fashioned.

Boilermaker (A whisky shot and a beer chase)
Officialy called a Boilermaker,choose whiskey of you choice - bourbon, blended scotch, single malt, rye or whatever. Shoot it, gulp it. Pick up a pint of your favourite beer and down some of it immedietly. Some popular combinations are

1) Jameson & Guiness
2) Jack Daniels & Budwiser
3) Yamazaki & Asahi
4) Tequila (Although not a whisky) & Coronoa

Manhattan

A classic martini drink, many bars serve it in a rocks glass, which I do not like much. The whiskey in the drink should be a Bourbon. If you change it to any other whisky as tennesse,rye or scotch, the taste will surly vary. Vermouth - the italian fortified wine - should be the sweet one , also called Rosso. The drink must not be shaken. Its a stir drink.

60 ml Bourbon (Jim Beam Black mostly available in India)

2o ml Sweet Vermouth (Rosso)

Pour Ingredients into a shaker with Ice. Stir and fine strain into a Martini glass with a marchino cherry dropped in as garnish. A dash of bitters while stirring into the shaker is optional. The taste is water diluted bourbon with a slight sweet hint.

An improvisation of the drink is Dry Manhattan (Bourbon & Dry Vermouth), Perfect Manhattan (Bourbon, Dry Vermouth & Sweet vermouth).

My friend found the drink very bitter (wonder what happ!!) and asked me to do something to it. I added a dash of triple sec and shook it on ice again and gave it back to her. And she loved it. I guess the pure taste of a Manhattan needs repeated drinking to develop a taste for it.

Old Fashioned

Also supposed to be the world`s first cocktail. Simple to make but easy to goof. Whiskey of your choice can be used. Place a cube of sugar in a rocks glass and muddle it in a dash of bitters. Fill the glass with ice cubes and pour whiskey over. Splash of soda ll do great help. An orange slice with a lime twist and a couple of maraschino cherries is a garnish. I wonder why maraschino cherries are a garnish in most whiskey based drinks. Anyways.....

My goof last nite with this drink - did not use soda, did not use garnish. Criminal,I know.....I blame it on the packed nite.

So next time you ignore all advice about never drinking whiskey cocktails, I suggest you try one of the above. A boiler maker is a good party starter, a Manhattan a nice drink to hold through an evening and an Old Fashioned a perfect nightcap!!

Blue Bar, Delhi

2010-02-11T03:41:00.000-08:00

Its been quite sometime since I have returned from Delhi. I have been wanting to scrape a few lines about what I considered the highlight of this January trip, apart from the incorrigable Delhi fog , - the mecca of cocktails, The Blue Bar at Taj Palace Hotel, Chanakyapuri.

The purpose of visiting the bar was not to have drinks or do a review of the place. Good friend and master mixologist - Nick Hawkins mans this bar and I just wanted to meet him, since I was in this part of the country. And I got a bonus and a shot of jealousy when I checked out his daily space of work. Blue Bar, Delhi is not just another bar in a 5 star hotel. It is a mosh pit of the most plushest things your could lay your eyes on. Everything at this bar is unique and shows the kind of attention to detail that has been given.

Blue bar has a fabulous alfresco section by the pool besides its great art deco interiors. The interiors have been done by Pool Associates, Singapore who have done some of the best bars of the world. The bar top alone is worth USD 30K - imported metal blocks that shine their golden strips under the lights. The super high ceiling and tall wave curtains give an illusion of space. This bar is no joke as all the glassware comes from UK. Each and every peice of glass is imported. Taj group has spent a whoppinig 8 crores on this bar.

Nick has written the cocktail menu. He has clearly demonstrated what a master mixologist can do if you give him the correct space. Nick`s menu has three sections: Signatures, Revivals and Topshelf.

The Signatures is a section which clearly brings out the creativity and experience that bartenders like Nick can boast of. Drinks like Matahari and Belgravia are hallmark to this section. Nick has been given the freedom to experiment and he is not afraid to do that. Bacon infused bourbon and cigar infused vodkas are used in his signatures. The Revivals section truly bring to life an era of cocktails that are long gone or even possibly unknown in India. Corpse Reviver, Blood and Sand, New York Flip - I am doubtful if you will ever find these on any cocktail menus in India. Its as it is difficult to lay hands on the sinful ingredients that some of these need and hence imported. Topshelf cocktails are popular cocktails made with ultra premium spirits - Mojito made with Rum Agricole (Sugarcane based rum) , Margaritas made with Petron Tequila etc.

Guzzle - dark rum (not Old Monk - Bacardi Black), bitters, pineapple juice and lemon charged with Ginger beer is what Nick made for me while talking about the place.Blue bar uses only premiun brands, be it straight drinks or cocktails. The pouring vodka is Absolut, pouring rum is Havana Club, pouring gin is Tanquery.

This apart the collection of single malts, liquers and premium spirits is just unbelievable. I have been previliged to see and taste a designer vodka on the shelves of Blue Bar. "ROBERTO CAVALI" vodlka - can you imagine. Has a very short after taste, doesnot burn at all and is sooper smooth. "Silk on the bum" - Nicks words.

Music at Blue Bar comes straight from the record case of Blue Frog. You can imagine the quality and kind yourself.

I did not have time to look at the food menu and apologise not being able to comment on that. That is not my forte anyway. One round of cocktails for two would burn 12-1500 bucks. So next time you are in Delhi and you feel like a real cocktail.....do make your way to The Blue Bar!!!

Driving Under Influence

2010-01-21T01:48:00.000-08:00

How many of us have been holed at least once for drink and driving? And how many of us have been holed in for having just one beer or 30ml of our favorite whiskey before getting behind the steering wheel?

I have personally been caught ONCE in my active drinking life thus far and unfortunately for only one pint of my favorite lager. I ended up paying 2000 Rs after a bit of nagging and looking like an ass at a traffic police mosh pit at 1 in the morning. And I was duly pissed off when I got home and switched on my idiot box to see a liquor company advertising responsible drinking.

But how much is responsible drinking? What is the permissible limit to drink and drive? And what are our rights when we are faced with a cop in the middle of the road asking us to test on his breath analyzer? I am not trying to advocate drink and driving today, but there seems to be quite some ignorance and illiteracy about “driving under influence” DUI laws in India. This note will try to give basic info on this subject with my jaundiced opinion as well.

So, do you know why I paid 2000 quid for just a pint of beer before driving? My research shows that anywhere in the world except India I would be within permissible limits of driving under influence because the limit under the Indian law is, unfortunately, the lowest in the world.

The Indian Law: Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 Sec 185:

Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs.
Whoever, while driving, or attempting to drive, a motor vehicle,-

has, in his blood, alcohol exceeding 30 mg. per 100 ml. of blood detected in a test by a breathanalyser, or
is under this influence of a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of exercising proper control over the vehicle,

shall be punishable for the first offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months, or with fine which may extend to 2000 Rs, or with both; and for a second or subsequent offence, if committed within 3 years of the commission of the previous similar offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine which may extend to 3000 Rs, or with both.

(You only get a receipt of being caught and will not be allowed to drive the vehicle. You would be required to face the traffic court as early as 730 or 8 the next morning and pay fine as the judge may deem appropriate. )

The level of alcohol in blood is referred to as Blood Alcohol Content/Concentration or Breath Alcohol Content (BAC). It is measured either as a percentage by mass, by mass per volume, or a combination. BAC is a combination of 4 important aspects

Quantity of beverage consumed
Percentage of Alcohol in the beverage consumed
Your weight
Hours of consuming the beverage.

So, if you consumed a 330 ml can of beer with 5% Alcohol in about an hour and your weight is 90 kgs, your BAC would be about 0.0308%. A BAC of 0.03% can mean 0.3 gram of alcohol per 1000 gram of an individual's blood, or it can mean 0.3 gram of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. Per Indian law, you are screwed if you are caught driving at this stage.

World over the average limit is 0.08% which means you can have 2 more beers for sure. There is no logical rationale for Indian law to take such a hard stance when in many other cities of the developed world it is considered safe to drive with levels as high as 80 mg. There is a dire need to revisit the permissible limit for driving under influence in India. But there is absolutely no hope for such trivial amendments when much larger social and relevant laws like child labor, divorce etc are still lingering in their pre historic days.

One more aspect that can screw your happy ride is that breath analyzer tests are not perfect. The analysers are highly prone to errors, malfunctioning due to maintenance issues and you could end up shown as drunk just because the normal mouth alcohol content screwed up the analyzer or its settings are effed. All analysers make certain assumptions about the people being tested which may or may not be true. Besides, breath analyzer tests are based only on your alcohol content without any respect to whether or not you are feeling the effects of drinking. Rumour has it that sometimes to make an extra buck the straw in which you are asked to breathe through to the analyzer is pre-dipped in alcohol and then you are unnecessarily harassed.

Your Rights :

World over the cops are supposed to mention to you in advance that breathing into the analyzer in optional and you may choose to go to the station and give an actual blood test. I do not know if it’s practiced diligently. In India, there is no such provision. You are almost at the mercy of the cop. If you refuse to breathe into the analyzer, he has rights to arrest you quoting reasons to believe that you may have been driving under influence without any regard whatsoever to the fact that your driving skills are impaired or not..

So guys, the govt has decided that thou shall not drink responsibly and drive like they do not allow alcohol to be served beyond 1130 in Bangalore and like they decided that you shall not shake a leg at your favorite disco for having good time and fun is crime.

Till such time as the perception of responsible drinking changes in our social ethos, here are a few tips that I gathered over my discussions with various groups, on how to counter cops in namma Bengaluru while driving under no influence:

The IT professional try: Always wear your company id card on you with your laptop next to you posing you are a late night worker from one of the IT companies. Chances are you won’t be stopped.
Get aggressive: What the F? When I am going back home from a hard day’s work, you stop me and ask these silly questions???
Army trump card: Kya Sir, Aaj kal army walon ko bhi rokne lag gaye kya?
Avoid them: Avoid any streets or roads where there is a traffic police station as all barricading and testing is done right outside the station for its convenient for the cops to compound vehicles if required.

Some better tips:

Designate a person in the group as the driver for later and he shall not drink
Do not drink and drive :) hahahaha. I am practicing this on Wednesday, Friday & Satday.
Use party driver services. Spot Drivers - +(91)-(80)-66498863. They send drivers to wherever you are to drive you in your own vehicle after you night at the bar. Charges Rs250 for 4 hrs plus rick fare for the driver to get back. You have to book these guys in advance though.
Use Easy Cabs or Meru Taxi services

ALRYT!!! SO DRINK RESPONSIBLY!!!!

Flambe at Ambrosia

2009-12-25T05:11:00.000-08:00

Food is not my cup of tea. Nevertheless, this one time I had to make an exception as the food involved alcohol. Ambrosia, on 100 ft road, Kormangala is an international cuisine restaurant and is celebrating a 2-week flambé festival. If you have not heard the Ambrosia’s jingle on the radio yet, Flambé, is a French style of cooking where along with great culinary skills, there is certain importance given to the visual delights of cooking as well. Food is half-cooked in the kitchen and the final touches are given tableside on movable cooking stations. Generous amounts of alcohol, mostly wine or brandy are dashed out to set your food on fire along with delectable sauces, selected cheeses and an assortment of spices.

Winter chill in the air, a festive mood around, the flames from Chef Vinod’s working station near the neighboring table and I knew I had a perfect evening in the making. A menu created especially for Ambrosia’s Flambe festival with an impressive lineup of options made the choice difficult. Zeroing in on Beef Burgundy for the main course I left the choice of starters to the chef, to serve their best. And as we devoured the Bruchetta, Chicken Wings, Mutton Sheekh & Prawns Gamboroni, I couldn’t stop wondering how the kitchen at this restaurant was bringing forth different cuisines to such perfection. Known for its international cuisine the menu is the dream of any food lover with delicacies from France, Jamiaca, Spain and more countries across the globe. There is a lot of Indian in there as well. The small little country flags on the menu help you know where the food is from. The starters made me determined to go back for more over the next few weeks.

And finally came the part I was waiting for most, I could feel the juices flowing as the trolley was pushed next to my table. I watched Chef Vinod adding in the flavors and flambéing my beef with red wine. Only liquors and liqueurs with a high alcohol content can be used to flame foods, and those with a higher proof will ignite more readily. Beer, champagne, and most table wines will not work. Spirits with 40% alcohol are considered the best choices for flambé. If the spirit is pre heated a little before adding to the food, it works really well. Ambrosia uses brandy and dark rum for some dishes apart from using red or white wines in some dishes.

I knew why preparing food was an art when I saw my beef on fire. I think apart from the flavor flambe technique adds to your meal, the process also works on building your appetite, atleast it worked wonders on mine. Served with Herb rice the meat was tender, the flavor right and the aroma inviting. White wine is suggested with white meat and red wine with Red meat. Big Banyan has done well with pairing their wines for the flambé festival. A glass of wine is complimentary with the flambé menu.

As I did justice to the entire helping on my plate I planned to skip the dessert until my partner read to me about the Drunken Banana – a Jamaican desert. Cinnamon flavored strips of banana tossed with butter and brown sugar, flambed with dark rum. Caribbean to the core. Back was the trolley at our table, this time to churn up a rich in calories, but irresistible serving of this very unique dessert which makes you want to forget the damage it may cause to your waistline. Vowing a stricter workout session at the gym the next day, I pushed guilt aside to commit the sin.

Food for two during the festival or otherwise is priced very reasonably and is not likely to set you back by more 1000 to 1200 including a glass of wine.

Close Encounters with Mixology of another kind

2009-12-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

I’d like to write about all the great gigs I have been doing this holiday season. The sheer number of events and distractions are the cause for me being away from the machine all these days. But to be honest, I am thinking of posting something different this time.

Cocktail Nirvana, as I like to believe, is less about alcohol and getting drunk and more about a certain passion. Its passion, that drives most of us to take alternate paths at various times of our life. Allow me to talk to you today about someone else’s passion; a passion for mixology of a different and rather popular sort.

The best company a good drink could always use is a nice chat. But then music is a good competitor to a nice chat too. I generally prefer tippling to Jazz and occasionally like to swear by Pink Floyd when I hold my drink. But Martin influenced me to listen to house & progressive trance with his sheer passion for that genre of music. Martin & Aniket, good friends of mine, are a DJ Duo, pursuing their thirst for playing good electronic dance music. And I write about them today only because I like their passion for what they want to do with music.

Professionally known as II Guys, they are an interesting blend of Delhi & Mumbai. They started talking together a year back only to discover that they have a lot of beats/second (bpm) in common when it had anything to do with music. When they got together, they spoke a lot about music, listened to a lot more and they decided they had to be making a lot more people jump to it. They happened to meet Ashim, resident DJ at fBar, New Delhi, through a friend and got him excited about doing something very different from the regular hip-hop & commercial music. What followed did a lot of good for them, few clubs in Delhi & a lot of good reviews, which sent their morale high up in the air.

Another reason I got rolling about them today is that I have been teaming up with them for lot of parties that I have been doing of late. Bangalore is an absolute Cosmo city and needs international music to go with its cosmopolitans. II Guys have been pumping the private party scenes in Bangalore, complimenting greatly the flashy drinks from the bars managed by Cocktail Nirvana. 2 CDJ CD players, 1 DJM mixer & some good speakers splashed in good measure, is all that II Guys need to start dropping the latest tracks from all around the globe and make people go bonkers over music they don’t get to hear everyday at a good party with the most delicious cocktails flowing till the wee hours !!

The II Guys are here to do something crazily electrifying, and I’m glad they are a part of the gigs I do. Aniket & Martin, with their CDs of course, are people I would definitely recommend, at any place where people know what exactly they want, be it top notch cocktails or unforgettable musical experience.

I will be back soon writing more about alcohol in general and about Mekhong, Bacardi O & Bacardi Gold in particular. But I intend to use this blogspace occasionally also as a platform to introduce to you, people with fabulous talent who are pursuing their passion with great zest and lot of lime!!!

Bacardi "O" Media release

2009-12-10T01:07:00.000-08:00

Here is the media release of Bacardi`s latest orange flavoured rum into Indian market. Its called Bacardi "O".

"BACARDI ‘O’ joins the growing family of fabulous flavored Bacardi rums in India - allowing for a wider range of mix ability across its portfolio

Bangalore, Dec 09: Bacardi, the world’s most popular premium white rum, is proud to introduce to India, for the first time Bacardi ‘O’, the first orange flavored Rum ever to be seen in the market. The flavor has been introduced in the Karnataka region and is priced at Rs. 620 per 750 ml bottle. The power packed launch saw Bangalore’s young sensation, Rachel Byros, vouching for this crisp, intense, juicy bite.

At the launch, Mr. Krishnan spoke about the special focus that the Bacardi brands are giving to the markets in the South, and about Bacardi O being only launched in Karnataka for now, given the strong preference for flavored white spirits that the state has come to demonstrate in recent times. Mr. Krishnan also shared plans of the imminent launch of their premium golden rum, Bacardi Gold, that would be launched in India close on the heels of Bacardi O.

With Bacardi O, the Bacardi flavor portfolio now boasts of four exciting alternatives for consumers, with the Limon, Apple and Razz variant already present in the market. With citrus-based flavors already having been a proven success among consumers in India, especially down South, Bacardi O is bound to be a runaway hit with the consumers in Karnataka. Bacardi O’s refreshing taste, derived from the choicest of oranges and tangerines, is the perfect base for any cocktail and is expected to be a popular order at bars. The BACARDI ‘O’ bottle design is equally tempting, with a distinctive orange-coloured “O” on the label and a bright orange cap signaling the tart, tantalizing taste within.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Arvind Krishnan, Controller – Marketing, Bacardi Martini India Limited, said,

The Flavors category has been the fast moving one within the white spirits segment and the introduction of Bacardi ‘O’ perfectly fits into our growing portfolio of premium, international offerings to the experimental consumers of today. Its enormous popularity across international markets showcases its strength of quality, making it one of the most appealing flavor introductions so far.”

Bacardi O rum goes well with a surprisingly large variety of mixers and has several preferred ways of consumption, leading among which is over crushed ice with an orange peel garnish, or mixed with tonic and Sprite."

Winter Cocktails

2009-12-08T05:48:00.000-08:00

I do not know how magical it used to get in winters in here in Bangalore.I hear in December, the city would almost always be buried under a fat coat of fog, but of late, seeing just a wee bit of it nowadays has become a dream. Nevertheless, its still better than some other cities in India.

The bright sun shine this morning made me feel like singing Annie`s song and I took my motorcycle for quick ride on the beautiful sarjapur road. And its while riding I was thinking , if drinking enthusiasts around know of good cocktails to sip on cosy cold winter evenings. Here are a few recommendations from cocktail nirvana :

1) Hot Toddy: Its a classic and almost all of us might know of this. Choose your base - whiskey or brandy. I prefer Brandy. 150 ml Hot water, dash of lime, a tea spoon of honey and a nice large measure of brandy, all stirred together and served in an old fashioned glass. Adding cinnamon and cloves is also a good way of spicing up the drink. You will love the warm drip in your chest with every sip. Serves as a good alternative to medicine if you are having a running nose or a soar throat.

2) Hot Buttered Rum: For all your folks who are not very conscious of your calorie intake, this one is for you. Choose a good dark rum. Melt a teaspoon of butter along with a teaspoon of brown sugar in about 150 ml of hot water. To this potion add dark rum as much as your guts prefer.

3) Irish Coffee: Quite common as a post dinner drink, this one is likely to fancy you if you are a coffee lover as well. A shot of good whikey (although Irish whiskey would be nicer), in about 100 to 150 ml of black coffee topped with freshly whipped cream served in a sugar rimmed Irish Coffee glass makes this a fabulous choice for winter.

The above three are the most commonly preferred ones. There are many fancy drinks all over the world that people take on in winters. In Istanbul, Turkey, they have a drink called Boza. Never having travelled there or having any friend from there, I obviously stumbled upon this one on the Internet. Its a fermented drink made from a species of wheat. Supposed to be very tart in taste and thick in consistency, it was served in the ottoman empire to the armies in winters because of its warming qualities.

I am eager to hear from people if they know of any fancy winter cocktails. Of course, outside Old monk and hot water!!!!

Bols

2009-11-10T23:16:00.000-08:00

Brandy as a liquor has not gained much popularity in the Indian liquor market, partly because of non-availability of enough options in the market. Looking at this opportunity, Lucas Bols – the Dutch liquor giant, launched its brandy into the Indian market earlier this year. Recognizing that South India is a huge market, Bols chose Bangalore to be the first city to taste this spirit. Here is my review.

Brandy has been around for quite a long time, but we push our arms around it only when we are nursing a bad cold or a sore throat. It is yet to be perceived in the larger spectrum of drinking community across India as a regular drink and not just for its medicinal value. Amongst other reasons like no great branding as such for this 12th century spirit, we can hardly ignore the scarcity of good brandy in the market as a logical reason. We only have entry level Brandy`s around Rs.300 or premium range Cognacs at Rs.1500 to 1800 price points.

Enter Bols Brandy. Priced at Rs 525 for a 750 ml bottle, it’s quite a relief for people in Karnataka looking for some change from Mansion House. This is a good mid market price range between base brandy’s and premium Cognacs. Do not confuse your wits between Brandy and Cognac. Both are essentially the same, made with grapes, but Cognac comes only from the Cognac region in France, but brandy can come from any winemaking region of the world.

The base for brandy traditionally is wine or you could very well say fermented grapes. Bols ferments genuine grapes into wine and then distills it in pot stills to produce its brandy. The golden brown glow of the drink is very close to caramel colour. It is much smoother in taste as well. This is because of the three-year aging that Bols does to its distilled spirit in matured oak casks. The fruity aroma and sweeter tones to the spirit come from the other fruits that go in at the fermenting stage. Piet van Leijenhorst, the master distiller from the House of Bols, Amsterdam is said to have made the recipe and personally supervises the production of the brandy.

Bols Brandy contains 42% alcohol by volume. Though fashionable as an after dinner drink, it also makes a great aperitif. Lot of people in India prefer their Brandy with something tangy like a Limca. Bols with tonic water is a great combination too. My personal suggestion is to try 60 ml of Bols with equal parts of Tonic water and Ginger ale with lot of ice and a few mint springs. If you are a classic cocktails sucker, try the Sidecars with Bols Brandy. Shake 45 ml of Bols, 15 ml limejuice and 15 ml sugar syrup on ice and serve straight up in a Martini glass. Great for a hot afternoon.

This brandy has not done major promotional work as yet. Mostly soft launches and soft promotions. They are at the stage of promoting the spirit itself right now by educating customers at various drinking establishments about a good genuine brandy. Eventually they intend to do image building though signature cocktails and other ways.

This brandy into India is courtesy a Joint Venture between Lucas Bols and Kyndal India Pvt ltd, a spirits importer and distributer Company based in Delhi. This venture bottles bulk brandy imported from the Amsterdam at their Konigal Distillery in Karnataka. In this sense it is almost an imported product available at domestic prices. Yet another bottling unit will start churning out more brandy from Tamil Nadu soon. In addition to distribution and marketing of these brands is also done by this joint venture. Lucas Bols will lend its expertise of blending, distilling and their 400 years of heritage in the brandy business and Kyndal will head the marketing exercise to ensure Bols Brandy is a success in India.

Back to the Dashboard!!

2009-11-04T02:47:00.000-08:00

Bad Blogger, that`s what I have been. Two months and no posts. But hasn`t this happened to most bloggers before??? No, not about any writer`s block, but just too busy to open your dashboard and spill some sensible black and white beans. Neverthless, most of my regular readers would understand why I have been out of sorts with alcohol for this while. I have been regularly writing at mybangalore.com although missing one week`s story would hardly be called irregular. He He!!

Anyways, now that I am back I hope to write more often.Although, there is loads that I have missed telling the world about:

1) Some good liquers friends brought from Goa (Chochlate, cherry brandy, coffee)

2) Addition of Russian Standard Vodka to my cabinet

3) Visit to my favourite drinking couple in Hyd and their fabulous collection of alcohol and barware

4) Bars I visited recently in northern India

5) My first cocktail book - ultra latest edition of DiffordsGuide #8 imported straight from United Kigdom, thanks to a dear patron at Take 5.

Well those are some stories I am too lazy to write about now. But a fabulous alcohol filled month is ahead of me. For starters I am reviewing Bols Brandy for myBangalore. I am meeting Lokesh, founder of Madhuloka, Bangalore`s biggest liquor boutique and might also chat up with fabulous bartender from London Academy of Bartenders - Valentine, who is in town training folks at Taj Vivanta.

That besides, I am going to very seriously rack my mixology skills this week to come up with an orginal brandy cocktail to be submitted for an International bartending competition called Shaking Twenties. Only one guy will be selected from each of the 6 continents. I do not know if I stand a chance, but doesn`t harm to give it a shot!! So wish me good luck on that.

More bartending, for I am also doing a bash for an expat from New Zealand for his wife`s 40th birthday party at end of this month. Designing menu for that sinful night right now. Some action packed month this one!!

Now, if I may be excused, it`s about time I open my pint of beer ! Oh yes, I have been drinking a lot of beer. Blame it on increasingly hot Bangalore. I am sure Beer companies are pro-Global Warming!!!

Notorious Bartender T-Shirt

2009-09-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

Spotted on LAB trainer (London Academy of Bartenders) - Valentine in a recent bar tending event.

Andhra Martini

2009-08-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hahaha! Of all the places , Bhagini, one of Banglores`s famous Andhra Restaurant chains, would have been the last place I would expect a Martini being spoken about, forget being served. I was zapped by the group`s thought process of stamping a Martini with an Andhra sign. Yes, Check out this snap below. Bhagini, has gone one step ahead spicing your Martini.

Martini is a very popular drink outside India, yet to be liked here for its temparate weather. Also it is most complicated drink to make besides being world`s most debated one as well on the rmethodology of making it. Sounds easy but is not. It will need me a separate full discussion some other day on Martini, but for now back to Bhagini Martini.

I asked the manager , what is this Spicy Homemade Vodkatini (I wished they had named it better). He explained to me that its a regular Vodkatini (Vodka & Vermouth) stiired with a lot of ice and believe it or not - freshly stripped green chillies. Andhra enuf I guess!! Spicy drinks are not something new, but this way of mixing ...... hoof!!!I am not a "spice person" and excused myself the terror but all ye spice lovers, do try this out !!!

PS: IF you are still zapped abt a Martini at Bhagini, lemme tell you, so am I!!!!

Bacardi Martini Grand Prix

2009-08-25T00:14:00.000-07:00

The much awaited bartending competition of the town is here. Continuing their tradition of hunting down the best barmen & maids, locking them up in a fine hotel and putting them up against each other, Bacardi this year hosts the South India rounds today at Zaman Bar at Ista, Bangalore.

Participants are bartenders of various bars from Bangalore, Pune, Chennai & Cochin. They compete all through the day in two categories - Flair & Mixology. Winners from here join the India finals at Delhi, end of September 2009. Two winners from there will be flown to Italy for the international finals. Now that is a great platform for Indian bartenders - atleast a great experience. Last year Indian finalists ranked 4th and 9th in the international mixology & flair finals.

As always, Mr Y Lama of the famous Cocktails & Dreams bartending school from Delhi is one of the panel judges for the event. I will be covering more about the event at myBangalore very soon. Also hope to get an interview with Mr Lama, India`s first celebrity bartender!!.

In the meantime, I would urge you all to show up at 7.30 pm to see the grand finals of the South India event at Zaman, Ista (Mg Road) tonite. Nauhed Cyrusi is supposed to add glamour to the event!!

More info at
http://www.bmgpindia.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bacardi-Martini-Grand-Prix-India-2009/111381997150#/pages/Bacardi-Martini-Grand-Prix-India-2009/111381997150?v=wall&viewas=1485035840

Taking a break

2009-08-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

People, I am taking a very short break (2 weeks) away from the bar at Take 5 starting this week. With the whole scare of swine flu in the air , as a precaution to avoid public places as much possible, I am having to take this extreme step. Being at the bar, I constantly have to have close interaction with great many number of people, which is really not recommended. Ya I am mean & selfish, but then I am not saving the world either, so I guess its fine. hehe!!

While I will be away from the bar, knowing "your truly", I won`t be away from much action either. I am in the process of starting to write for two great Bangalore based portals very soon. This aside, though there is the flu scare , I can`t help but having to do a small Indian expedition on account of work during next week. I will be covering a few cities - Hyderabad, Kolkutta, Jamshedpur, West Bokaro, Ranchi & New Delhi. Some of them might present with watering hole prospects. Though I am tempted, again due to the flu scare I might not really venture out so much.

But I still do hope to come back with some booze stories or another from the trip. So till I drink something nice next & come back to write, stay nice!!!

Reviewing Cointreaupolitan

2009-08-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

I negotiated my way into a packed house at TGI Fridays last Friday (unfortunately could not walk in before happy hours), Arpan & Vinay, partners of a Bangalore based PR/Events company, introduced me to a Kyndall India`s Brand Manager, Pushpanjali Banerjee. While she was very passionate about the Bols brand in general, she was only too happy to talk to me about Cointreau and the drink they were promoting.

The recipe:

50 ml Cointreau
30 ml Cranberry juice
20 ml lime juice

All shaken together on ice and served straight up with a lemon twist in a martini glass.

Standing in the "moisted by drizzle" chilly Bangalorean air in the alfresco section of TGIF, Pushpanjali explained to me that the Cointreaupolitan (Cp) was invented by the in house bartenders at Cointreau. I was told then that Cp is essentially a Cointreau base drink and has no other alcoholic ingredients. It is targeted only at women drinkers and purported to be very sweet in nature.

As the "politan" part of the name suggests, I was assuming right from the time I heard of Cp it must be a version, derivation or improvisation of the great American - Cosmopolitan. I was lead into the bar of TGIF, and into their cocktail manufacturing section to show how the drink is made. Bartender Suman took out a tiny pink plastic shaker and added all ingredients in their respective measures. On my insistence he added little more ice to the shaker. Although the tiny pink shaker in Suman`s hand looked like a ping pong ball in Magic Johnson`s hands, he did give it a passionate shake and poured the mix into a martini glass. He gave it a lemon twist garnish (Cointreau website suggests an orange zest & you would know why). The Cp was ready for a photo shoot!!!

The look and smell of a Cp are no different from a Cosmo.I took the first sip and boy it tasted nice. The basic nature as it was intended, was SWEET. Mathematically, Cp = Cosmo - Vodka. But then Cosmo is generally equal amounts of all ingredients while a Cp is 50/30/20. Also in a Cosmo, the drink is generally flambayed with an orange zest to release some essential oils on to the drink and then the zest is rubbed around the rim of the glass. Nothing like that is done in a Cp.

As Pushpanjali mentioned to me later and I can`t disagree, Cp is less alcoholic in nature and also being slightly on a sweeter side, women can drink more of it on a single night without spoiling the taste in their mouth. One more advantage of a Cp is that you can be assured of almost NO HANGOVER if you do one too many. Cointreau ,the base of the drink,is a liqueur and not a spirit. Liqueurs generally have much lesser ABV (Alcohol By Volume) compared to spirits like Whiskey, Rum or Vodka. Also liqueurs are made with a number of herbs and botanicals and the distillation process is much finer.

Men's cocktails look and taste like they contain alcohol.Women's cocktails try to disguise the alcohol in them with bright colours, fruit juices and sugar. My conclusion on this drink : Yes, it is a definite ladies drink. Ladies who do not like the strength of alcohol in their drink. Besides it is less complicated to make. Not for sunny times. Being eye-watering, it would be a great accessory in a cocktail lounge or a night club.

Will it kill the Cosmo?? While Cp has its own charm, I don`t think it can kill the Cosmo.

Cointreau killed the Cosmo star!!!

2009-08-07T03:46:00.000-07:00

Ladies!!! Move over cosmopolitans. Its a passe now. Get ready to welcome Contreaupolitan which is all set to kill the Cosmopolitan. How, & will it actually achieve that , lets see.

Kyndall India presents "Contreaupolitan Nights" tonite at TGIF, Airport road. Cointreaupolitan Nights is a celebration of women everywhere, and an introduction to the Cointreaupolitan Cocktail. The Cointreaupolitan Cocktail has a unique serving ritual. Upon ordering, you get to shake and make your Cointreaupolitan yourself in a special pink Cointreau shaker. After all that hard work, you get the next Cointreaupolitan absolutely free of cost!

Traditionally a Cosmopolitan is a citrus vodka based drink shaken on ice with lime, triple sec (an orange liquer) and a dash of cranbery juice. In many occasions and I regularly insist that where ever you need to make a triple sec based drink - use Cointreau. It is a superior quality triple sec that give suttle hints of orange and is very flavourful. So I use it in my margaritas as well.

Cointreau has been pretty well accepted in India but there seems to be a special drive to make "IT" the cocktail base instead of the vodkas of the day and hence the special promotion of the drink Cointreapolitan. I have been invited to do a special preview tasting of the cocktail at TGIF tonite before the doors actually open to the happy hours crowd. What the recipe is and how it tastes, I will keep you posted !!!

In any case, if you are around the area, drop in to taste the Cointreaupolitan blend that is a perfect introduction to whole new world of sensations, loved by women worldwide.

7th August: TGIF# 1, Carlton Towers, Airport Road, Domlur, Bangalore - 080 25210570

PS: Cointreau, the world famous orange liqueur brand has a history of over 150 years and has its origins in the suburbs of Angers, France. Ever since its inception in 1849 the recipe has remained unchanged. This crystal clear liqueur is distilled from sweet and bitter orange peels of supreme quality. Cointreau is a product of Remy Cointreau S.A. France. Cointreau is imported and marketed by Kyndal India Private Limited.

Canned!!

2009-08-04T10:08:00.001-07:00

Your Whiskey Soda & Vodka Tonic just got canned. Sensing that people might be getting lazy mixing their own drinks or that they might not find time & space to mix when they are in a rush and yet want to gulp something down (may be at outside a train station or a bus stand ) or people get tired waiting for their drinks by a busy bar, someone thought of brining the pre-mixes concept to India finally.

Blue Water Alcobev Pvt., ltd, aMumbai-based distillery, has launched two of its ready-to-drink alcoholic pre-mixed drinks in Bangalore : "TOSS" a vodka premix, a blend of premium quality triple distilled grain based vodka with tonic water and CZZLE, a whisky premix, also a blend of Indian-grain-based whiskyand eight-year-old scotch mixed with soda, will be available in cans in the city. The 250 ml aluminium slim can, containing about 46 ml of alcohol, priced at Rs 69 cannot be spiked.The brands would also be launched in other parts ofthe state including in Mysore and Mangalore shortly.

Toss & Czzle have been available in Mumbai & Goa since August last year and now in Bangalore. A lesser alcohol content version Toss Mild is available in Mumbai, but not yet introduced in Bangalore. The product seems to have achieved considerable success in Mumbai, Pune,Goa, Daman.

Premixes are new to India but they have been prelavant very widely outside. These are popularly called as alcopops abroad. They are generally bottled or canned fizzy drinks mixed with mostly with rum or vodka. I personally know some of the popular premixes to be "Jack & coke" (Jack Daniels) and "Red & cola" (Johnny Walker Red Label) & "Johnny be good" (JW Blck & Coke).

Alcopops are generally priced at a very basic price level and like elsewhere, we can expect it to be a hot cake with college student community. Although without knowing what whiskey or vodka is being used, the success or failure of Toss & Czzle will much depend upon the acceptance of their taste. This apart their success at bars & pubs also remains to be seen as bar owners might be reluctant to sell premixes when they can sell alcohol & a mixer separately and make more money.

Anyways, next time wether you are tired or lazy or just want that drink to carry on a bus ride, there is something you can think of. May be you can consider them for your home party as well, spares you some trouble . Would you consider an alcopop? Let me know your views.

Alconomics

2009-07-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

If you have read Freakonomics, you will understand what is Alconomics. Freakonomics is a collection of articles by Levit & Dubner published as a book. The stories apply economic theories to diverse subjects not usually covered by traditional economists. (Courtesy - Wiki).For example in one of the articles, the authors state that the reason for rise in crime rate in US was not the liberal gun licensing policy as all assumed. The real reason was the rise in teenage pregnancies. Teen moms were abandoning their new borns. These babies were growing up in not so good neighbourhoods and eventually took up crime in life. The authors in fact establish their theory with statistics of correlation.

I read this book about 4 years back but a random TOI blog that I read a few days back on prohibition in Gujarat lead me to think of the concept of Alconomics. Gujarat has been a prohibition state for last 50 years. The statesmen have given the following reason for not lifting the ban in the state:

"The Gandhians in Gujarat however oppose lifting of prohibition tooth and nail. Many others think that there are no "other crimes" in Gujarat because the police is happy from the income generated from prohibition. Moreover criminals can also earn enough from this business: so there is no need for them to indulge in other, deadlier crimes. There are some who think that the streets of Gujarat are immune from the sort of crime seen in other places because of prohibition. Lifting prohibition will be akin to opening the gates of a dam, they argue. "

Very alconomics - ain't it? Read the complete post here!!

Bangalore`s Oldest Bar

2009-07-22T03:39:00.000-07:00

Some one told me that there are apparently 2800 licquor licenses in this town and you will wonder how many of them are the new age pubs and lounge bars. Good friend Atul`s tweet took me to this article. In these times, in India`s fast-rising high-tech capital - Bangalore, whose abundance of bars and clubs have earned it the moniker Pub City, still hanging to its heritage and glory is Dewars, a bar in older parts of the town.

Click HERE to read on about this place.

Bartender Interview : Nick Hawkins

2009-07-17T02:52:00.000-07:00

Having mixed at quite a few big places like Taj, Olive & Red Light, Mumbai, working as a consultant for Taj - Chennai, owning a bar in Goa, & now handling Zara`s bar in Pune, Nick has come quite a long way is his bartening career of over 12 years.

Why did you decide to get into bartending?
Actually I didn’t make a conscious decision to get into bartending. I was 16 and wanted money. So decided to take up part-time work at a bar in UK – Melonis. I started cleaning tables and collecting glasses to begin with. After spending some time at the bar, I started liking the whole night life, enjoying the crowd at the bar, and also realizing that I am not so good at academics, moved over as a full time bar back. Melonis had 287 cocktails on its menu and it took me 6 months of rigorous hard work to be a bar back to begin with. It included working late and going home & staying up late to read the cocktail list and knowing what goes in what. One thing lead to another and I did a sponsored flair course as well with them and in 12 years, I am where I am.

How did you go about getting your first bartending gig? Was it tough to land your first one?

I was sitting with my sister and her boyfriend at the bar quaffing a beer (I was underage, but what can you do about it now?? Hehe). On my sister’s suggestion I walked up to the manager of the place to enquire about any jobs. Looks like I was successful in working my charm with the owner’s wife (the manager) and landed myself with the job. So no, it was not too tough!!

What is your favorite drink ?

To drink: Beer
To make : (After much mulling) – An Old Fashioned. It takes about 12 minutes to make an old fashioned properly.

What is your least favorite drink to make?

Anything blue in colour. There is no fruit that is blue in colour. I dun understand why we should use Blue Curacao at all!!! Blue berries don’t count – Sorry.

What is your bartender pet peeve?

Rude customers or customers who interrupt when you are busy with another customer.
Dirty Bars and stinky bars.

What’s the most interesting/scandalous thing that’s happened to you on the job?
No comments – involves a lot of girls!

What’s the most memorable pickup line you’ve heard?

Just 24 hours back there were a bunch of women who went wild and started dancing on top of the bar. One of them asked me out – not once – twice.

Who would YOU want to have a drink with and why?

Nicholas Cage from Leaving Las Vegas cause I think he comes around as a hilarious chap to me.

Tell us one thing about tending bar that we might not know?

There are two things:
1) There are at least 2 or 3 hours of cleaning and other dirty work after closing the bar. So customers should really understand and respect that the bartender’s job is not over. They must stop harassing him for that one last drink.
2) Bartending is a full time job and it can be dangerous for your personal life. Relationships can go through a lot of stress due to lack of time being spent with each other.

Hard Rock Cafe - New Delhi

2009-07-16T01:47:00.000-07:00

Guest writer - I must say I’m sooper excited to introduce Mr.Martin as the first guest writer on my blog. Martin has been part of Cocktail Nirvana`s family doing private gigs before and a great bartender (he pours amazing beer). In that context he is not a full time guest either. Today Martin gives us a hands on review of Hard Rock Cafe`s latest joint in New Delhi. Read on.

“Take time to be kind”, “All is one” and “Love all, serve all”. These are the three bold statements which catch your eye as soon as you’re ushered in by a very welcoming crew at the Hard Rock Café, New Delhi, which is located inside the 1 month old mall, called the DLF Place, Saket. The place has a very ‘woody’ architecture and has a lot of design cues from the 70s and the 80s, with things like a huge hologram of Mick Jagger and David Bowie behind the bar, which make the place, look very retro and classy. Hard Rock is known for its trademark bands memorabilia, given to Hard Rock personally by the members which ranges from guitars to costumes used by them in various gigs over time. This definitely would take the guests on a beautiful time warp for hours, or maybe more!

We found place at the bar and it didn’t take more than a few seconds to jump onto the stools and start flipping through the menu. We were being served by Surya, again a very energetic and ‘ready to try anything new with alcohol’ bartender. He has been doing this for the past 9 years, having worked in places like Saudi Arabia as well, and loves mixing alcohol for his girlfriend.

Having been to Hard Rock Café a zillion times in Bangalore, I love being served draught beer in the pint glasses, which has its own pleasure. So, I expected the same in Delhi. But it wasn’t to be. Draught beer is not served at Hard Rock Café, Delhi. No big deal, happens all the time, is what I say to myself and carry on with the experience which was to go on till 1 AM. This made me try Tuborg, which is being spoken about by a lot of people around, and I liked it quite a lot. Beer is priced at Rs. 250. We ordered some onion rings, which also is a habit which I developed in Bangalore. After a few rounds of beer, we decided to try a few cocktails, mixed at Hard Rock. We ordered a round of Whiskey Sour, which turned into 3 in sometime. Oh yes, there were no eggs around, so we had to do with Whiskey Sour, sans eggs in them. Cocktails are priced at Rs. 345 a piece. The price difference in beer and cocktails is not much, which would encourage people to try the various cocktails available.

Since I am not a big on any form of rock, which is usually played at Hard Rock, I wouldn’t comment on the music. But a friend, who was with me, and who loves rock, was very happy with the guy at the console, and so were others. And yes, the traditional YMCA was carried out with a lot of readiness, aplomb and let’s not forget, the heightened energy levels, by the crew members at the Hard Rock.

Beer and Whiskey present in our system at good levels, we decided to go for a round of B-52s. But Surya wanted us to go for something different. Enter, the Sambooka! And before we knew what was happening, he was on top of the bar with a bottle full of spirit, asking us to turn around one by one. And we did. He filled our mouths with the certain spirit and lit it, and we swallowed it down, which did send us on a crazy trip moments later. Priced at Rs. 700, a mouthful, if I may call it that, I would say, it was worth it.

A shot like that, and most smokers would scurry for a smoke, which, according to us, makes it feel “better”. And so we did. Usually, there is a separate section for people to smoke, at any place, which is super small and has no proper ventilation. But not this one. The smoking area at Hard Rock has a big window to let the smoke out and has enough space for at least 10 people smoking inside without having the next person eavesdropping on your conversation. Also the place is cleaned periodically and has the whole memorabilia thing extending inside as well.

Wrapping up on this, I would ask everyone who stays in Delhi or visiting Delhi for sometime, to give this place a definite try. And while you’re at it, you would also want to check the Hard Rock memorabilia store right at the entrance, which has Tee shirts, glasses and other collectives.
Hard Rock Café, New Delhi, Cocktail Nirvana recommends!

Nick Hawkins @ Zara

2009-07-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

If you listen to Radio Indigo in Bangalore, you must have heard the promos of this event. I was driving through the MG Road when this huge hoarding that caught my attention:

The last celebrity bartending event that touched the town was Prasad Biddappa mixing drinks at Caperberry bar. But this Brit who has made India his home for quite a few years - Nick Hawkins - is not a celebrity who is mixing drinks; but a bartender who is a celebrity. He is the latest coup at Zara, Bangalore. After successfully turning around Zara Chennai & Calcutta, Nick is on a month long mission in our town to promote the Bangalore version.

I have personally visited Zara, Chennai about 3 years back and loved their libations ; not sure if Nick was around at that time. Nick used to couple with Giancarlo Mancino - another Italian mixologist (now he owns a fabulous place - Giancarlos on Lavele road), at Taj , Mumbai to mix drinks. Flair is surly going to be part of his style & why not since he is also a national level flair championship winner a few years back. Now having mixed at quite a few big places like Taj, Olive & Red Light, Mumbai, working as a consultant for Taj - Chennai, handling Zara`s bar, owning a bar in Goa, Nick has come quite a long way is his bartening career of over 12 years. Read Nick Hawkins story here.

If you are a lover of the art of flair bartending and classic mixology Nick will be a great barman to see. I hope to see him in person very soon and would love if any of you would like to join me when I hit Zara this July!!

The day of the Gay

2009-07-03T01:30:00.000-07:00

The biggest victory for gay rights in India has arrived at our doorstep with Delhi High Court’s landmark decision of decriminalizing homosexuality today. A 149-year-old law has been muddled to achieve a major milestone in the country’s social evolution. Whether this ruling will hold good outside Delhi, we have to wait and watch, but a giant step has been taken.

Elsewhere - In the United States of America, THIS is how a few bars joined the fight for equality for gays recently. Hence the arrival of EQUALITINI. While there will be quite a few interpretations for this cocktail, I will be trying my own version tonite at Take 5.

Here is the recipe:
30 ml Chivas Regal Scotch
30 ml Grey Goose Vodka
30 ml ginger and honey syrup
Dash of bitters, lime juice and splash of orange juice

Stir all ingredients together in shaker with lots of ice and fine strain into a chilled martini glass. Serve along with a chaser shot of Cosmo.

If you are around, do ask for it and show your support to the gay community, for the law might have freed the gays, but the society still has to.

While we are at the foothills of the gay rights mountain, one of the best ways to take the temperature of the community is to see what they are drinking. Before the arrival of Cosmo, gays were surly getting drunk but they rarely held allegiance to any one drink, un aware that just beyond the horizon a new sunset beckoned. And in `97, Carrie Bradshaw and Stanford Blatch in the famous TV series “Sex & The City”, popularized the Cosmopolitan into mainstream drinking. Much to the colour of cranberry juice, the gay world immediately took delight in sipping Cosmos all the time. Eventually, every one you knew drank Cosmos & the gay world started hunting for the next cosmo.

Has the gay world found it ? No drink could ever hope to be the true heir of the mighty Cosmo, but the Mojito came pretty damn close in the early 00-03. But mojito suffered the same fate as the Cosmo. Even James Bond was drinking it in Die Another Day. For a brief shining moment, the Pomegranate Martini restored order and harmony.

After enough pursuit and tired of choosing allegiance to a specific drink, Margaritas, Old-Fashioneds and Juleps; the classic drinks, are being rediscovered by a new generation. I have guests who ask me specifically not to make drinks that are bold in colour like pink, blue or green. My guess is they are scared of being perceived as gays. On another hand a very close friend of mine who I know is super straight (right now J, pun intended), does enjoy his Melon Martini very much despite its pink color and sweet taste. Bottom line , people are now ordering based on their own personal preference, meaning that perhaps the days of the gay solidarity cocktail are at long last, numbered. What do you think?

No more Night Watchman

2009-06-29T12:00:00.001-07:00

Come July 1, 2009 & the Night Watchman will not be awake anymore. I am referring to one of the first English pubs of Bangalore city that was launched at the peak of the pub -boom in the early nineties. This one is part of the bunch of first few pubs in Bangalore that gave the town its alter ego - "The pub city". I was prowling in the Church Street neighbourhood for a mug of beer before lunch and decided to walk into "The Night Watchman" - standing opposite the famous Empire restaurant.

The pub wore an empty and dull look. No air conditioner, no customer. What do you expect at 12 noon on a Monday? Anyways, I took position over a bar stool and asked for a mug of tap. Devendran the bartender started chatting up when I referred to him about Take 5 & me. Eventually he mentioned that June 30 would be the last day that the pub would be awake. The lease is getting over.

Over the years, Devendran says, NW acquired a fiercely loyal clientele by virtue of its unmatched personalised, courteous service under the guidance of Suresh Mehrotri, the proprietor. Suresh was incidentally around and I introduced myself to him. He was a very disappointed man. He said, its not the lease. He has been asked to close down the place. The building in which NW is housed needs major repair and renovation as it is more than 20 years old and the landlord has got most occupants vacated. The renovation will take at least 1 year and he cant carry his staff around till that time.

After 16 years of feeding beer and other alcohols to Bangloreans, most of its staff, who have been working for equal number of years with NW are now faced with sudden loss of livelihood.Suresh says a couple of them were literally in tears last evening as the date of closure came nearer. In 2001 NW moved away from the cricket based interiors to a cool & dreamy look, with subdued lighting and the black-and-steel-grey decor. Over two mugs that I had at NW, I noticed a few things I liked about the place.

1. Brass Beer Mugs : Amongst hoards of beer mugs are a few brass mugs. Very antique looking and apparently 15 year old. Quite Fancy. I ll upload the picture soon.

2. Old Fashioned : Almost the oldest classic cocktail known to mankind - a whiskey base drink this one finds a mention in their menu. I have never seen "Old Fashioned" on a cocktail menu in India. This was quite fascinating to me. Sadly as in most parts of the world, the recipe explained by Devendran to me, seemed bastardised. An OF is best had by muddling a cube of sugar with bitters and then adding ice and topping with Rye whiskey. NW uses Indian whiskey (cant complain) & sweet vermouth????? instead of bitters. Isn`t that almost a sweet "Manhattan". Anyways.

3.Scandal : Their best cocktail. Whiskey, Brandy, Rum, Vodka & Gin - 30 ml each mixed with equal parts of orange & pine apple juice & topped with 10 ml of red wine. An improvisation of LIIT, I would say.

Finishing my dose of beer, I went up to Suresh, thanked him. For , though I might be totally forgettable, I feel part of the bar`s history and wished him good luck with his endeavours in future ; gave the bar staff the number of a F&B industry placement consultant. If you are in this industry & need resources, please do contact me and I can put you onto these blokes. Are there any bars you know, that have long been part of your neighbourhood landscape and got closed. Do you miss them. Drop in your memories.

Reclaiming Elephants

2009-06-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

OH Ya, I am alive. Apologies for my laziness and no updates. This thing, I am sure, happens to most bloggers, the ups and downs in the blogging tempo.

While I am back, allow me to announce a musical excuse for you to see me and imbibe some poison potions that I will be concocting at the bar. Do drop by at Take 5 on Thursday, 25th June, 2009 from 7.30 pm onwards, for some lovely adult beverages (read cocktails) in a late June musical soiree, as Reclaiming Elephants - American rock band on their India tour 2009 will be jangling in the main lounge.

Now, a live band in a livly bar : not too often spotted in our city. So for your money this Thursday evening,Take 5 will be quite a find in the cornucopia of "100 ft Road" bars. See ya there!!

Jimmi`s

2009-05-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Pecos, Mojos,Le Rock (Downtown), Stones (Indiranagar), B11 (Jayanagar), Legends of Rock,PurpleHaze (Koramangala, Downtown, Marathahalli) , R&B (New BEL Road). Small little neighbourhood rock pubs are everywhere in Bangalore and fast becoming the hallmark of the young beer guzzlers destinations of the city. One more addition to this genre of pubs is Jimmi`s Beer Cafe, bang on 80 feet Road, Koramangala.

Three of us chose this place to start our belting session for last evening, occasion : to bid farewell to a dear friend leaving for Portugal on an assignment. Drinkers at Jimmi`s looked mostly like locals from around and as in case of most of these places - quite some student crowd as well. Plain interiors with occasional Frank Zappa & Pink Floyd posters sprinkled around, the music played is predictably rock & really loud. Again a common feature in most of these places - low bench seating gives a very casual and informal ambience. Spangling over two floors, Jimmi`s has a smoking section to hold your fag and drink as well. All tables taken here!! Oh yes, they do serve seesha`s too.

Originally, a coffee shop - Qwiky`s, now a major part of it converted into a beer station, Jimmi`s serves only draught beers of Kingfisher and Fosters. They have a very short list of beer cocktails. Since they have license only for draught beer , they can add only non alcoholic ingredients to beer and make their drinks. Red Bird is first on the list - Beer with Tomato Juice. This is a torn down version of a very popular international beer mix - Red Eye - Beer, Vodka, Tomato juice and raw egg . Couple of other interesting mixes are Beer & Ice tea, Beer with Straberry ice cream.

We ordered couple of pitchers and ordered a veg cesar salad and some devlish chicken hariyali kebabs to hog. It took quite some time for the food to come. I would expect it to be a bit more faster. The chicken tasted very well but I would not rate it as lip-smacking. The salad was not cold as you would expect generally. Staff are friendly, laid back and pretty attentive. Owner - Rajiv Ramane was very nice and kind to speak to us about the place

Wallet rating - value for money. Pitcher - Rs 250, pint - Rs 100, beer cocktails - Rs 100 - Rs 150. Could very well be extention of your living room if you are living near by!!

Nocturnal Sunshine

2009-05-11T01:35:00.000-07:00

At last, a party that stays loyal to the name on the sign. Last Thursday, I was mixing drinks at this bday party of a friend & got people drinking till little before sunshine. Very cooly the event was called Nocturnal Sunshine. Turning old might not have been more fun. Against the uber neat backdrop of a pent house overlooking the lights of Bangalore, revelars whipped some dust off their partying hats and kicked great legs to DJ Su-G`s minimal and occasional hip-hop.

I on my part made sure alcohol flows for so long as there is some in the bottle left. Nicely set bar counter and creativly designed drinks menu for the night kept people asking for more. Classic Whiskey Sours to modern Shiro inspired Fig Mojitos,bottle shots & Flaming Lamborghinis that drove a few to hell and back. Pick of the evening seemd to be Long Islands and quite a few were taken. Well worth the efforts of a few people to get special glasses for em!!

I know quite a few came to the party to greet the party host and leave but could not escape the gravitational pull of the bar and the hot party. Find below the hep bar menu!!

Did you cross the town and drop by at the party. Did you like the mixes. Feel free to comment. Hope guys had fun!!!!

SHIRO

2009-05-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

Japanese, Chinese, Balinese these are the flavours in Bangalore` new talk of the town bar – SHIRO. It’s rare to find a bar as high ceilinged, gilded, spacious and gracious as the venerable SHIRO, a fixture on the Bangalore gastro bar scene. I tried SHIRO by chance last Wednesday while waiting for a table at a Rajasthani Restaurant in the UB city`s food court. My report – Excellent.

Shiro is the extension of Shiro Mumbai`s foot print into Bangalore. After Hard Rock Café, this is the newest welcome sign for Bangalore brought by JSM Corporation Pvt Ltd. If your expat friends came to visit and wanted to go to a nice bar, this would be where to take them.

Shiro welcomes you into their lounge cum restaurant with a giant statue of Buddha. Divided into several zones and rooms, the main attraction is the outdoor bar big enough to justify smoking seating. There is great feeling of luxury and opulence with eclectic objects, low seating, high quality furniture, a great mix of mature and young colours with magenta and purple overtones here. The vibe of the crowd if very different than your regular page 3 bars, though I am afraid it might turn into one soon. Just 4 months old after all.

For a Wednesday evening the place was totaly taken. There were two seats available though for un-announced guests like me and at a place I like the best – the bar stool. The bar has a few 100 small magenta smooth lights above it, giving a very bling look. The look and feel is a bit like as at HRC – long bar with only a few bottles placed at regular distances. This is what I do not like about a lot of bars. Hoards and hoards of bottles at the bar is what I like. That`s what makes it an embracing tap zone. Thankfully the stools are tall enough for me to grape for the floor.

Alcohol specialities here are named SHIRO Specials and the mixtures are named very Asian. Velvet Kimono ( more like Melon Martini), Balinese Beach (3 Rums with Guvava & Lychee juice), Oriental Spicy (Vodka with Guvava). Try the Fig Mojito – an Old Monk based Mojito with Figs crushed with mint. No soda, no sprite. Garnished with a sugarcane stick. Barman Siddesh was very nice mixing a Long Island for me. When I said , it was very cokish – he did not flinch to add a generous vodka shot.

Shooters section is also very delightful – Nan Ban & Spice (Iced vodka shot), Flame of Raymond (Vodka topped with Old Monk), Spicy Kamakaze etc.

Tried a sushi dish for starters, liked it very well. Unfortunately can`t comment about food as that is not my forte, yet. The staff was extremely polite, well mannered. Siddesh was very insightful about Shiro. Apparently it has already won the Lounge of the year award for Bangalore. Most of its crowd happens to be the Blue Bar crowd.

Prices – like most decent places. Beer – Rs.250 (650 ml), cocktails (Rs.275,325, 475). Straight drinks Rs.175 upwards for 30 ml. Music – Soft & Popular music, no DJ, no dance floor.

Then comes the zenith of man

2009-04-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful poem on the "Mint Julep" written by an American journalist in the Lexington times in the 19th century in the States. I heard it on a webcast by Chris McMillan, ace American mixologist from the Renaissance -New Orleans. Upon contacting him, he was kind enough to send me this poem , which I could not get on the internet after all the world`s searching. Here it goes:

“Then comes the zenith of man’s pleasure.
Then comes the julep – the mint julep.
Who has not tasted one has lived in vain.
The honey of Hymettus brought no such solace to the soul;
the nectar of the gods is tame beside it.
It is the very dream of drinks,
the vision of sweet quaffings.

The Bourbon and the mint are lovers.
In the same land they live,
on the same food are they fostered.
The mint dips its infant leaf
into the same stream
that makes the Bourbon what it is.
The corn grows in the level lands
through which small streams meander.
By the brook-side the mint grows.
As the little wavelets pass,
they glide up to kiss the feet of the growing mint,
and the mint bends to salute them.
Gracious and kind it is,
living only for the sake of others.
Like a woman’s heart
it gives its sweetest aroma when bruised.
Among the first to greet the spring, it comes.
Beside the gurgling brooks that make music in the fields,
it lives and thrives.
When the bluegrass begins to shoot its gentle sprays to sun,
mint comes, and its sweetest soul drinks at the crystal brook.
It is virgin then.
But soon it must be married to old Bourbon.
His great heart, his warmth of temperament,
and that affinity which no one understands,
demands the wedding.

How shall it be?

Take from the cold spring some water,
pure as angels are;
mix it with sugar till it seems like oil.
Then take a glass
and crush your mint within it with a spoon
– crush it around the borders of the glass
and leave no place untouched.
Then throw the mint away
– it is a sacrifice.
Fill with cracked ice the glass;
pour in the quantity of Bourbon which you want.
It trickles slowly through the ice.
Let it have time to cool,
then pour your sugared water over it.
No spoon is needed;
no stirring allowed
– just let it stand a moment.
Then around the brim place sprigs of mint,
so that the one who drinks may find taste and odor at one draft.

“Then when it is made, sip it slowly.
August suns are shining,
the breath of the south wind is upon you.
It is fragrant, cold and sweet – it is seductive.
No maiden’s kiss is tenderer or more refreshing,
no maiden’s touch could be more passionate.
Sip it and dream – you cannot dream amiss.
Sip it and dream – it is a dream itself.
No other land can give so sweet solace for your cares;
no other liquor soothes you in melancholy days

Sip it and say there is no solace for the soul,
no tonic for the body like old Bourbon whiskey.”

Julep Time

2009-04-17T02:54:00.000-07:00

Oh what the hell !! This excruciating summer , selling mojitos to beer lovers, part of me itches for a cloyingly sweet, bourbon loaded drink that reminds me of an adult lemonade stand. Julep - Mint Julep. The Mojito is here to stay , but if you are a bit more experimemtal and adventurous, let me introduce you to the subtle complexity of a perfectly crafted potion with a hint of mint, the darkness of a fine bourbon, and only the faintest touch of sweetness.

Like many other classic cocktails, not so well known in these parts of the world where we imbibe our poison, Mint Julep is living in obsequity compared to many a glamourous sounding drinks. Mint Julep was orginally invented during american derby times in the southern states of America and because Kentucky whiskey is famous around, Bouborne was a natural choice. Here is the recipie:

6-8 leaves of fresh mint, the smaller and fresher, the better (if they’re really small, toss in a few more)
Loads of ice

1 teaspoon sugar or 2 tsp simple syrup
75 ml — good Bourbon (American Whiskey made from Corn) , emphasis on the good — Jim Beam is most accessible though Maker`s Mark is better

Gently, very gently muddle the mint in the bottom of a tall glass, taking care to swab the sides of the glass with the oil seeping from the lightly bruised mint leaves. Add the syrup or the sugar (with a few drops of water to help it dissolve), and a little of the bourbon. Gently stir, then fill the glass with well-crushed ice*. Add the rest of the bourbon, and a little more ice so the glass is completely full. Stir briskly until the glass frosts. Top with more ice if needed (if you want to get really decadent, sprinkle a little Jamaican rum over the top), and garnish with a few beautiful mint sprigs. Skewer with a straw, cut short enough so you have to get your face right down in the mint. You can sprinkle the top with powdered sugar if you like, but you think you might wind up getting it on the tip of my nose and looking like an idiot, skip it. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so before indulging.

Julep enthusiasts around the world have deabted to death the real construction methodology of the drink, but my personal favourite is as popularised by one of the greatest mixologists of our times - Chris McMillan. Chris has been a cockatil guru working for many a big glitzy 5-star bars in America and more recently in New Orleans. Thanks to internet I was able to trace him down to Marriot Reanissance - New Orleans and got to speak to him as well. He does away with the mint after muddling them in the glass, just leaving the essences of mint in the glass. Rest is same.Whatever is the preparation, enjoying it in more than one way is a good thing, even if one is eveil and wrong.

If you are a whiskey moghul, susbisting 51 weeks out of the year , mixing whiskey with soda, let me show you a new religion. Plant your feet at the bar counter of Take 5, and see what great degree of attention, humble respect and dedication is found in the Julep.

Watch out for a fabulous poem I will posting followng this on the MINT JULEP!!!

Lime in my beer!!

2009-04-08T03:04:00.000-07:00

Bangalore is a treasure cove for Beer drinkers. I do not know about other cities but, in Bangalore we surly get the widest variety of beers possible - Belgian (Chimay, Chrisotphel,Orval & many more), Irish (Guiness) , Mexican (Corona) , Japanese (Asahi), Malaysian (Tiger), Thai (Malaysian), Australian (Cooopers) and many others. And each of these countries surly has its own quaff culture for their Beers.

I have been noticing in many bars across, people drinking Corona with a lime wedge at the mouth of the pint bottle. I assumed it to be a Mexican drinking culture thing. Not until I had a customer at Take 5 recently asking for a KF beer with a lime wedge, did my mind start thinking if its really a Mexican thing or does it do something different to the beer drinking itself.

Some Mexican research shows that the lime wedge in a beer pint was a marketing kick of a beer seller. So far, due to myth or shame, that individual has never come forward. Another says the lime’s acidity helps cut the slightly sweet corn flavor of the beers. Another says that the cans of beer would be stored in dusty conditions. Tourists naturally wanted to clean up the mouth of the can and they found a wedge of lime to be the perfect solution. Apparently this way of drinking is popular only with the tourists & Mexicans don`t drink that way. This explanation makes some sense.

Still another account says the wedge of lime could be laid on top of the opening to keep flies from getting into the beer. Then again, the most plausible story might be that early bottles of Mexican beer were reportedly sealed with linerless caps, resulting in a ring of rust on the bottle rim. A swipe of the lime and the bottle came clean.

I tried some KF at home with the lime wedge, and boy I liked a new limey flavour of the beer for sure. While in India its still starting up, I would say, beer lovers outside have come full circle, so much so that they wear T-shirts with NFL slogans - "No Freakin` Lime". They do not like lime in there. Some think its a hoax. Imagine the bottles going in for refilling and the bottlers trying to pull out the lime wedges from them!!

So what ever the story might be , looks like our very own KF is soon to get onto the band wagon of Corona. Would you like to drink it that way??

A dash of Bitters!

2009-03-26T00:06:00.000-07:00

When was the last you took an anlogy question? Let me put you to one right now.

Salt is to food as ___ is to cocktails.

The answer if you have not guessed by now is Bitters. It is the defining ingredient of a cocktail. Having bitters in gives a cocktail that little bit of spice that brings out the flavor in the other ingredients. They take a drink from ordinary to extraordinary.

Over the last week, I met quite a few whiskey drinkers and a bunch of cocktail sippers on the bar-stools of Take 5. And I asked every one of them , if they ever tasted their drinks with Bitters. Most of them did not know what it is and a few of them claimed to be conservative drinkers who stick to whiskey and soda and do not experiment at all. One of them did give it a try after all, on my insistence and promise that it won`t cost him extra.

We all have our favorite drinks or cocktails, but what if your favorite could be better. Hard to believe, but it could be true. I am of the opinion that cocktails are better with bitters. Just like a little spice in my food, I like bitters in my cocktail. A cocktail without bitters seems bland and ordinary to me.

The name "Bitters" makes people think that it is something they don't want in their drink but the elixir is not necessarily bitter. Bitters is an alcoholic beverage prepared by infusion or distillation of herbs and citrus, dissolved in alcohol or gyucerine and having a bitter or bittersweet taste.

Take your favorite cocktail whether it be a Gin and Tonic, Black Russian, Martini, Cosmopolitan, or whatever and add a dash or two of bitters. Don't put so much it over powers the drink. Simply add just enough to spice it up and give it that unknown characteristic. To do this properly you really need to make your drink as normal, taste it, add the bitters, stir, and taste it again. Or if you want to compare side by side make two drinks. I think you will be surprised of the results.

Angostura

"Angostura Aromatic Bitters" is the most popular and most widely distributed bitters in the world. In India, its is almost the only one available. The bitters was actually named after the main port from which it was exported from out of the Caribbean. The only written recipe is hidden away in a vault in New York and the only confirmed ingredients are sugar and gentian. Its popular oversized label makes the spice instantly recognizable. How the oversized label came about is not exactly know, but a common story is that one person went shopping for the bottle and the other the label. After they had discovered the error and because the Caribbean is such a laid back place... they decided to just go with it and have another drink.

Where to buy?

If you want it but don`t know where to look for it, fear not. I am your friendly neighbourhood licquor savior. Look for Bitters in your nearest Nilgiris, Fabmall or any other departmental store. If you can`t find it there, Toms Store in Frazer town, Bangalore & Qmart in Banjara Hills , Hyderabad. A 100 ml bottle costs you around Rs400. You can also find at Metro sometimes, and obviously it costs a tad lesser there (Rs 350, I guess).

After you own a bottle of this, try tasting just a drop of its from your fingers. You will notice it is highly potent (alcoholic) and has a very pungent taste. This is the reason, most cocktails use just a drop or two of bitters and not more. A drop or two are not only enough to spike up the taste but it is simply not possible to consume anymore than that .

Once you come to realize "It's better with bitters!" don't just keep this knowledge to yourself. Go to your favorite bar and ask the bartender to make a new drink using bitters. Obviously don't just walk into any bar. This should be a liquid chef that you have gotten to know and have had conversations with concerning mixology. It should be someone you believe shares your passion about cocktails. (For ex: Yours Truly at Take 5 :) )

You might just get a drink named after you, you never know.

Barman Returns

2009-03-20T01:47:00.000-07:00

Well its official and for those of you that haven’t heard, I am now at a bar called Take 5. I was there for a very short time about six months back, and hope to be a little longer than that this time. Over the next week or so, I will be working on creating an Essential Summer Kit - the cocktail menu for this season at Take 5 . For those of you that enjoyed the old menu, we’ll still be able to do all of them, and we have preserved a selection of those for the list as well.

Just to give you a teaser, Cukootini (Cucumber Martini), Melon Madness (Vodka, Watermelon & Grenadine), Mango Mojito, Golden Lagoon ( Whiskey, Ginger, Almond syrup, Orange marmalade) are a few of the things running on the top of my mind. Also what I am doing is partly re-engineering the cocktail manufacturing process there. Try the mojito there next time and you will notice how different it is from the earlier one.

If you haven`t been to Take 5 in a while and (and from those that I’ve asked, that’s a lot of you) please come by and check it out. I will be there 4 nites a week Thursday to Sunday operating the liquid kitchen. I am damn excited to make you a neat cocktail while behind a bar that has come to become the hallmark of cocktail lounges at Indiranagar, 100 ft road.

See ya around!!!

The con at the Long Island

2009-03-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

Next time you are at an upscale nightclub, seemingly the kind of place you wouldn't expect a con at the bar to happen, well think again. It has more to do with the integrity of the owner than the geographic location. In lot of cases also the greedy barman.

Recently, I was with a bunch of my friends at Athena, the nightclub in Leela Palace for a Saturday night clubbing. The very 5 star hotel that is famous for signature martinis at its Library Bar.

The club was swarming with the hippest of Bangalore and alcohol was flowing at the bar. Like any other packed place, customers had to fight their way for their dose of beer or spirits for the night. People were happy with loud music and the apparent freedom to dance. One of our friends, struggled up to the bar and ordered for a LONG ISLAND ICE TEA.(LIIT)

Most of you would know what this cocktail is. But for the few of those who do not, I shall do the explaining bit. LIIT is almost the highest alcohol concentration cocktail. Popularised in America, this is a cocktail made with equal portions of 5 white spirits – Vodka, Gin, Rum, Triple Sec and Tequila. All spirits are mixed with sweet and sour mix and topped with cola in a High ball (tall) glass full of ice. On a normal day, one of this is good enough to put you out of your senses.

Back to the LIIT at Athena, that costs 600 bucks; my friend was served with the drink in a pilsner glass. (Pilsner is a much shorter glass than a high ball – basically a beer glass). As if it was not irritating enough, she could not taste any alcohol in the glass at all. The barman strummed in a lot of cola and no alcohol.

She asked me to taste the drink and I felt the same. No alcohol and a lot of cola. Mixing less and selling short is the most common cons at almost all bars. Especially with women ordering, the barmen take them easy and try to fool them of their money in busy clubs like that night. Sometimes this is done, so that the barman does not ring in the drink to the register at all and keeps the cash to himself. At other times, its done so that the barman can pour your share of alcohol into another guest for almost free and get a tip or serve a visiting friend at the bar for free.

When complained, a good bartender will take it back and give you something else, but, at Athena when we confront the creator of the drink, he confidently says, he made the drink and knows that he put in enough alcohol. When we insist, he adds a dash of tequila to it, making absolutely no difference to the drink. Our mistake - not paying attention to the drink when being made originally. It is such a pity to discover discovered that a majority of the bartenders have very poor knowledge about the art of blending liquor and on top of that they are conning around.

It makes my heart heavy to accuse people as such, but having seen it personally I cant help call a few of the bartenders – simply “thieves” who are determined to take advantage of every opportunity to steal. Sooner or later everyone becomes a victim of a greedy bar owner, but in case of Athena, I cannot blame management believing it to be a 5-star that wont try such cheap tricks..

The only defense at such times is question everything that doesn’t smell, taste, or looks good to you. Don't be afraid to speak up! If you don't have enough vodka in your drink, if you've been served in a "sly-ball" instead of a highball, COMPLAIN VERY LOUD! That’s what we should have done that night. May be next time. I mean loud, so everyone at the bar can hear you. You will get the service you deserve, and everybody will be looking at their glass wondering, then looking at the bartender suspiciously....

Awareness of what constitutes a good drink is the first step...

I met a couple of my friends for “drinks after work” last evening at TGIF & ordered their famous “Ultimate LIIT”. Aah, it was so bloody real LIIT. Except they replace Tequila with Brandy. Apparently, TGIF makes the best LIITs of the world. No wonder they are so popular at their happy hours. Ponder why it is so difficult for the rest of the world to mix 5 spirits honestly with coke and serve.

The arrival of the Wine Taverns

2009-02-10T01:08:00.000-08:00

You go to a mall, buy yourself a nice trouser, give it for that length alteration and have about 20 minutes till you can take it back. What do you do in the mean time? Wander about more around the mall? Some weird supernatural alcoholic power just drew me towards the food court of Lifestyle, Oasis Park, Koramangla, this Monday while I was waiting for the tailor to give my trouser. I wanted to check out the beer lounge there, but discovered some thing nice and new. Bangalore`s first WINE Tavern - Chopine.

I have been hearing a lot about these taverns for sometime. While on one hand the great BJP govt in the state has decided not to encourage pub-culture, they seem to be quite enthusiastic to boost the wine industry and promote a new "Tavern" culture. Ranking second in wine production in India after , the Karnataka govt, has planned to clear 100 licenses soon allowing opening of taverns that serve wine in glasses in its bid to popularise the drink and also help the grape growers. Now anyone can take a license to open a tavern in public places like shopping malls or open independently by paying a meagre fee of Rs 1,000.

Some of the major wineries are already harbouring major plans to mushroom chains of taverns all around town and they already seem to be a potential threat to the happening pub scene in Bangalore. The Reliance group have apparently applied for 30 taverns while Future Group and Nandy Valley 14 each. I met Chopine`s director - Satish at their tavern counter in the food court who was very glad to talk to me about taverns and Chopine.

Chopine apparently means " a glass of wine" in french. And three friends from college days started this project about a month back and are already planning a second counter at in another popular mall. They have an impressive wine menu. They are serving Shiraz, Carbernet Sauvignon , Reserve Shiraz, Merlot, Madera Red, Manthan & Valentio wines in the Red section. The white wine menu boasts of Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Flora, Chardonnay and many more. They also have sections of Rose wines,Dessert wines & sparkling drinks. Regular wines are priced at Rs125 a glass and Premium wines at Rs 169 a glass. They stock both domestic & imported wines. Right now they have an offer of Rs99 per glass of wine.

What catches my fancy is their "wine based cocktails" section or what we may like to call here as Winetails. Priced in the range of Rs155 to Rs 225, they seem quite interesting. Satish tells me that Wine cooler (White wine & orange crush shaken together & then served on ice with soda top) and Little Eva (Red wine, ginger ale, lime juice and sprite stirred together on ice in a shaker & served in a chilled wine goblet) are the most ordered winetails. I would have liked to see Sangria (Spanish wine based cocktail popular all over the world) in their menu, but was disappointed not to see it there.

Though cocktails are still struggling to get attention in India, the arrival of Taverns and potential winetails in the bazaar is surly a welcome sign to all of us who like to ingest alcohol more as appreciation of fine drinking than just getting high and sloshed. Taverns are surly targeting that profile of customers that believe in good health drinking punch line and the age group of 18 to 35 years. Well they might not be able to convert beer guzzlers into wine drinkers but nevertheless are a great new concept of going out for that after work drink or weekend outing.

World`s most expensive cocktail

2009-02-04T01:11:00.000-08:00

When you hear the word Sidecar, what image does your mind sketch? That removable one wheeler attached to a bike & Dharmendra singing "Yeh dosti" in Sholay? Sorry, moi is different and the picture that my mind etches is a classic martini glass, sugar rimmed, filled with Cognac shaken on ice with Cointreau and lime juice. Yeah - Sidecar - It`s a classic cocktail and has been around since end of World War I . Cognac being an expensive affair, bars around Bangalore resort to using regular brandy. The taste differs a bit but still is worth some indulgence.

There is good reason, why I am writing of Sidecar today. As I flipped though the pages of India Today`s lifestyle mag - SPICE, the last page was a delight to my eyes. A big picture and a small note, about Sidecar made in the Hemmingway Bar at "The Ritz", Paris. Hemmingway Bar is considered to be the Mecca of cocktails and serves the most astronomically "priced and tasting" drinks in the world. The bar is supposedly encased in warm wood paneling with photos of Ernest Hemingway covering the walls. There are bookcases and trinkets, leather armchairs and a hidden nook. My wife is visiting Paris next week & I intend to force her to go pay a visit to this temple of bars. May be I will get a first hand picture or two to post on this blog then.

Right now I am posting a scanned picture from the magazine & reproducting the text below it. The hemmingway bar has the Guinness Book record of serving the world`s most expensive cocktail.

" Call it classic fantastic. The Ritz Sidecar Cocktail, shaken and stirred, at the Hemmingway Bar in Hotel Ritz, Paris is a shot of excess. Quite literally. At Euros 700 (Rs45,182) , the Guinness Book of World Records calls it the world`s most expensive, commercially available cocktail. Concocted in 1923 by Frank Meier, the first chief barman at the Ritz, it is made of cointreau and lemon juice, and of exception fine 1865 Champagne cognac, produced before the ravages of phylloxera on the vineyards. In the 1860s, a pestilence of aphid-like insects wiped outmany of France`s finest grapevines, and only a handful of bottles of the Ritz Reserve remained (which, infact, German soldiers tried to steal from The Ritz during WWII). Preserved for more than a century, this 1865 Cognac is a rare treat. Which is why the hotel has sold only 60 drinks in the past 3 years. Savour, slowly we say."

Cocktail pairing @ Barbeque Nation

2009-01-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

Most people in India tend to prefer beer or wine when they are dining, leaving cocktails for pre-dinner or partying occasions, pub-visits and well, every other time except when they are dining. Cocktails have traditionally been thought of as “standing alone” because of their strong spirits and flavors. Cocktails have been going solo. That restaurants around the country are now beginning to offer food–cocktail pairings is a testament to how far cocktails have come in recent years, an acknowledgment that thoughtful, carefully made cocktails are worthy of chefs' creations. The subject of finding cocktails and food that work particularly well together is rather interesting.

I was at Barbeque Nation Indiranagar for a Friday lunch to figure out what on their bar-menu might compliment the delicious barbequed flare that they serve. Restaurant Manager Gregory D`souza was only very kind to welcome me with Masala coke and spend a busy afternoon with me over their bar on the ground floor, explaining to me their bar-menu in detail; from their beautiful list of single malts, to range of international vodkas and the newly introduced Australian ale – Coopers they have almost everything you want to drink.

BBN has invested in Kishore Thapar – a prominent name in the Indian cocktail industry to design their cocktail menu. Kishore has divided the menu into 3 parts – fruit martinis, combos and grilled cocktails.

Greg explains to me that people mostly order one of the fruit martinis or caiproskas. Fruit martinis are gin, sugar & lime based drinks shaken with a combination of a fresh fruit juice and a fruit crush. For example “Watermelon and Kiwi” Martini is a mix of fresh watermelon juice and kiwi crush shaken on ice with Gin, sugar and lime. Another martini is Pomegranate & passion fruit Martini.

The real deal is at the Combos and the Grilled cocktails. Kishore has tried to incorporate an Indian touch in the Combo section very creatively. Every drink in here is a twist to a classic with an Indian ingredient. Sample these:

Jaljeera Mojito: The traditional Cuban drink served with the Indian twist of Jaljeera.
Mango Mania: Vodka shaken on ice with Ampanna
Masala Margarita
Kokum Breeze: Gin, Kokum, litchi & lime shaken and served
Spiced tropics: A spicy cocktail, its guava or pineapple Daiquiri made with Tabasco sauce and served in a chili powder rimmed margarita glass.
Lemongrass and curry leaf martini: Gin based drinks with muddled lemon grass and curry leaves fine strained with lime and sugar syrup.

The lemon grass and curry leaf martini stands out in this section. Reason: Gin, the one spirit that is emerging as a leader in cocktail revolution and seems to be enjoying the renaissance of interest outside India. It is yet to get its share of attention in India though. The major flavor characteristic of gin comes from the juniper berry. The spices in gin enhance a variety of food flavors, from sauces, meat and fish. It also adds its own layers of flavor and just a little bit goes a long way towards complementing whatever dish you’re pairing it with. In our barbequed context the Indian tinge of curry leaf and lemon grass work well balanced on Gin.

The Barbequed cocktails spawned a great level of curiosity in me. This section was added very recently and is just 6 months young. This section is a bunch of classic cocktails with a barbequed variation. No, they don’t put the drinks of the grill. They just add a barbequed fruit or herbs or veggie to the classic cocktail, giving it a smoky taste. Though not very highly creative, it still works. They have 6 drinks in this list:

Barbequed Mary: Grilled Tomato with Bloody Mary
Guava Rita: Traditional tequila margarita with a grilled spicy guava
Barbequed Caipiroska: Fresh mint muddled with grilled lemon chunks added to crushed ice and vodka
Orange Drool: Vodka with freshly peeled and grilled oranges
Spiced Fusion: Rum based drink with grilled pineapples
Coriander and Tamarind Martini: Gin and grilled lime

Bartender Shiva made me a Coriander and Tamarind martini. This does look the best of the lot to go with grilled prawns on the table. Again a gin base. Absolutely easy to make at home too. There is an Indian flavour here as well. Coriander and grilled lemon chunks muddled first in a shaker. 2 teaspoons of tamarind juice, a teaspoon of MDH chat masala and then an ounce of gin and sugar syrup shaken all together and served in a martini glass. The tangy flavour is really paired well against the barbequed mushrooms and cottage cheese. Don’t let the drink get to room temperature or it will taste like the water from your panipuri wala.

Often outside of India, bbq food is paired with smoky flavors of scotch or bourbon based drinks. But being an expensive affair and also because of the ordering frequency, Greg mentions they stuck to white alcohol for their cocktails. I feel this also avoids any potential overpowering of the barbequed food. So, no brandy or dark rum cocktails in these sections. BBN`s extensive use of herbs like mints, coriander, curry leaf, lemon grass is an excellent way to bond cocktails with their starters. Their garnishes to different drinks also have these herbs on them giving that aromatic touch where needed.

What I like about the cocktail menu of BBN is that they do not use many syrups in their specialty drinks. Most of them are from natural ingredients. For a price range of Rs175-200 plus taxes, they make hell of a sense to pair with your grilled fish. Though they serve all the classic cocktails, I would not spend my wallet on them. Its truly unique cocktail menu makes it definitely a “cocktail bar” that I at Cocktail Nirvana would recommend. Even if you are not in for their food, its quite a value to grab a bar-stool there just for a drink after work.

PS :
Barbeque Nation rolled out its first outlet in 2006 in Mumbai and currently has 14 outlets spread across the country. This is the first venture in the country which has live charcoal grill on the dining table. Each table has a sunken pit in the centre where a table grill with hot coal is placed with the skewers & unlimited starters flowing in from there. The choice of barbeques is drawn from PanAsian, Oriental, Mediterranean and Continental cuisines and perfected for the Indian palate. The barbeques are 90 per cent cooked and the final touches are given by the customer according to their taste.

Cocktails in Recession

2009-01-22T03:07:00.000-08:00

According to a Reuter’s story on msnbc.com, bar-tenders and alcohol companies around the world are devising new recipes and reviving "heritage cocktails” to keep the spirits alive in recessionary times. As the world is steeping into recession the mood is transitioning from dull to gloomy.

Something needs to be done to at least palliate (if not to cure) the mood about town. Doing my bit, I am taking some inspiration from the skidding times and mixing some cheer into your glass of vodka. Here are a few recession themed cocktails, easy to make and drink at home or serve at home parties, not burning holes in your pockets.

So lets shout aloud “Recession be damned” and hoot those big loud cheers!!!!

Market Crash:
Reckless deregulation and greed caused the realty market crashing in US. Whatz a bit or rum and Irish cream?

15 ml dark rum in a shot glass with 15 ml of bailey’s Irish cream layering – consumed as a shooter!!

No Bonus
December usually brings year-end bonuses, but last year's tough economic climate has forced many businesses to rethink bonuses or perks. Oh yes, you are not alone in the down turn that has taken that bonus cut.

Build in a Collins glass full of ice - 30 ml rum of your choice, 15 ml Archer’s peach schnapps, fill the balance of the glass with Manama lemon flavored ice tea (ice tea syrup mixed with water). Stir and Garnish with a lime wheel and a long straw.

Pink Slip:
No bonus follows pink slips eventually

45 ml Gin, dash of lime juice, dash of orange juice and 15 ml grenadine syrup shaken on ice and then served in Collins glass full of ice with ginger ale.

Bailout:
Is the aspirin working for the economy? This bailout might work for you!!

Whiskey, brandy and dark rum 10 ml each shaken on ice with 10 ml lime cordial and 2 teaspoons orange marmalade and then served on crushed ice in an old fashioned glass. Top with orange juice if you care!

Rescue Package:
There has to be something to trigger optimism. Who knows what it is? May be this rescue package!

Blend 15 ml each of vodka, white rum and gin with watermelon chunks and 5-6 strawberries and a good scoop cracked ice. Empty into a hurricane glass full of ice and top with cranberry juice. Garnish the drink with a black straw and dark grapes on the rim.

CN believes in an experience and not a hang over.Drink responsibly.

Thank god, I am a man!!

2009-01-20T23:16:00.000-08:00

Hard Rock Cafe

2009-01-18T04:52:00.000-08:00

Its no exaggeration, that Hard Rock Café is one of the premier watering holes of Bangalore. This weekend when a good friend visited us from Hyderabad, we decided to catch up there. This was going to be my nth visit to the place since it opened. However, it’s a bit difficult for me to remember when I went there last as I mellowed down on my bar visits since the great Indian public smoking ban coupled with recessionary waves. There are a few things that caught my attention this time. Few, I probably did not notice earlier and some definite changes.

Valet: As I gave my car keys, the valet was polite & informed me that I need to give a 10-minute notice while asking for the car back. I guess, they are parking the car, way away from the bar.

No barstools: As I chalked my way to the bar, I realized, they have taken off the entire set of bar stools (rather bar-chairs). I always found the bar counter of HRC a bit uncomfortable. I do not like low seating bar chairs for a thing and secondly they did not have enough leg space. On house pack days, it’s a bit difficult to sit there and have a conversation with people jumping from all sides for their drinks. Looked a good sign to me. I was happy to order and hold my drink right there, though the height of the counter is still a negative.

Less crowded: HRC seemed to be unusually less crowded for Saturday evening. I guessed 8.30 was still early. We stayed there till about 9.30 and then moved over to the backyard section to satisfy my smoking urges. I realized, people had been walking from behind me all this while straight into this section. The crowd was buzzing in this side and the non-smoking section was holding a just a few people. This side was packed. Personally, that’s how I like weekend bars to be - crowded. Besides, the level of music is just right this side.

Second bar: Since people were flocking to the alfresco section, it seemed wise for the HRC to open a second bar in there. Not so attractive, but still serves as an immediate bar for the overflowing side of HRC. No bar stools here either. I guess space constraint. I like this section though, now.

No Dheeraj: My wife`s bum-chum buddy and HRC`s operations manager - Dheeraj has quit the place. Dheeraj is managing Ruby Tuesdays now and there is a new face here at HRC.

Service Charge: I might not have noticed this before, but HRC joins the club of the TGIFs and others of the world, mentioning a 10% service charge on the bill. Worst, your vat gets levied on service charge as well. Your beer got expensive by so much now. Rethink tipping??

Music still remains to be something to be worked at HRC, with irregular variations in genre and deafeningly loud decibels inside towards the end. Anyways, who cares, after you get your high? Food was okay. I liked my onion rings with the beer and I liked their service well. They have some competition on the same road with the F-bar coming up now. Needs to be watched how well they hold to their love all, serve all belief.

Christmas events

2008-12-24T03:58:00.000-08:00

If you did not know, Cocktail Nirvana is supposed to be a speciality bartending service in Bangalore. More about it here. Serveral months after a short stint at Indiranagar`s famous jazz club - Take 5, I am performing at two events this Christmas Season.

Tonite on the Christmas Eve, I will be teaching guests for dinner buffet at Silsila-@-Silicrest Koramangala, how to mix cocktails. And tomorrow for a Christmas Buffet , I will be manning the bar of Casa-Del-Sol in Residency road, teaching their guests the art of mixology.

Cocktail Nirvana would have its very own bar counter at the restaurants. Like a seasoned Chef De Bar, I will be carrying my own bar equipment too. Two drinks that I have selected to teach people at this event are Mojito & Daiquiri. Both of them are Cuban cocktails. While I will be doing the heavier version of Mojito with brown sugar and dark rum topping, I will be doing a Kiwi or Strawberry Daiquiri.

Though its Christmas time, I will be teaching these summary drinks as they go well with almost any cuisine. Lets see how the gigs go!!!

Cheers

Shaken!!!

2008-12-23T00:56:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I am shaken today. Finally the economic crisis is hitting the company I work for, as well. Who could be spared!! The official email in my inbox today has hit me with the reality finally that we are living in bad times. Somehow I was avoiding it all these days in the hope that my company will sail through. But doesn`t look so cool!!

My company has chosen euphemistic words to announce the sad state that we might have to endure in 2009. Wage freeze - Meaning no merit increases next year, Voluntary separation - meaning VRS schemes, reduction in total payout - meaning no bonus in 2009, reduction in International Service Employees - meaning forget any international travel or exposure in 2009.

Apparently they have layed off 400 production staff in a factory in the US. I will not blame the company for doing this. They are doing the best they can to save the company.

On another side I hear so many people making plans to celebrate Christmas and New Year`s eve. Catholic Club which hosts the biggest xmas bash in banglore seems to be going strong with its party plans. I myself have agreed to be a special guest bartender in a couple of places for the Christmas eve and for a brunch on Christmas day. Though not very hopeful of a great response at restaurants in these trying times, I am going to be teaching the art of mixing drinks to the guests at the two restaurants. Let`s see how it goes.

Christmas Eve Dinner - Silsila Crest , Koramangala
Chirstmas day Brunch - Casa del Sol. Richmond Road.

Cheers

I know when I am drunk

2008-11-28T01:17:00.000-08:00

A man walks into a bar and orders one shot. Then he looks into his shirt pocket and orders another shot. After he finishes, he looks into his shirt pocket again and orders another shot. The bartender is curious and askes him "every time you order a shot, you look in your shirt pocket. Why?" The man replies, "I have a picture of my wife in my pocket and when she starts to look good, I go home."

People 7

2008-11-20T20:51:00.000-08:00

805 Julu Road,
near Fumin Road
Shanghai
Telephone:00 86 5404 0707

Earlier in March this year on my trip to China, I walked into the coolest bar, I had ever been to. People 7 is part of a chain with a restaurant by name People 6 in Shanghai already and another bar called People`s 8 opening shortly in Beijing. This bar is slightly hidden, though its on the main road. I saw no signboard outside the bar. Only a laser sign on the street right outside its entrance. The very mysterious & dark entrance way is totally to dig at. You will never know where the entrance is, if you are not going with a local. Once you are through that, you are welcomed into a very high gloss, ultra hep expat bar of Shanghai.

One of the hippiest night joints, People 7 `s ambiance and design has loads to write home about. Raw concrete walls and dim lit candles on all tables put you in a mood. The seating is mixed, a few tall tables, few couches, some lounge tables. Warm and cosy design of the den is very relaxing.People seemed to be nice and wore a smile. The bar is unimaginably long and straight. Display of drinks like I never saw before, the green lighting at the bar is a total puller.

Crowded by expats and locals alike . Absolute stunner of a place for either a date or a night cap. Air conditioning was bit too deep. My host Brett and his girl friend Mary took me there after a feast at one of the local restaurants. I took their help in ordering as the menu was in Chinese. We ordered Long Islands for Bret and me and a rum and Curacao based cocktail for Mary. I wished I had noted the name. Slightly expensive place. Did not try the kitchen, though Brett says they have very good lunch special.

The bar played lounge music, did not seem to have any dance floor. One long island was really enuf for me & I hit the loo before leaving. The funkily designed loo might make you feel dizzy even without the alcohol dose. The knob of the door was placed on the side the door is hinged to the wall. I tried desperately to pull or push the door only to realise someone coming out from the other side. Goofy, eh!

People 7 was an appropriate ending to my trip to China, for I took the first flight back home next morning. Thanks to Brett and Mary for taking me there.

Imperial Brut for a B`day

2008-10-07T23:31:00.000-07:00

It was my BIL`s wife`s bday yesterday & it was celebrated in style. We opened a bottle of Champagne. & not just another champagne. Moet & Chandon. This was one of the seven bottles of alcohol that Doctor successfully smuggled into Indian seas from her last trip to Europe. Her friend in UK was apparently presented with this one for an achievement at work. But as she doesn`t indulge in the holy habit of drinking water of life, she passed it over to Doctor.

So the bday was a perfect occasion to uncork the beautiful champagne. Moet & Chandon is a french winery & co-owner of the luxury brand - Louis Vitton. It is one of the world`s largest producers of champagne & also a champagne house. I was curious about a small note on the bottle about it being a supplier to the queen Elizabeth II. Wiki clarifies that M&C holds a royal warrant to supply champagne to Queen Elizabeth II.

I quickly set out to look for some strawberries. Did you know, strawberries & Champagne make a great combination?? If you saw Pretty Woman, you would remember Richard Gere explaining to Julia Roberts that the strawberries bring out the taste of champagne better. But alas, I could not find any in the neighbourhood nilgiris or more or reliance fresh or the food world. What a shame!

Doctor wanted the bday girl to shake uncork the champagne, but I advised against allowing the nectar to be wasted in froth. I am more than willing to shake uncork a local champagne but not this one. M&C produces 4 kinds of champagnes - Imperial Brut, Rose Imperial, Nectar Imperial & Grand Vintage. Impreial Brut is their flagship product. We quietly pop opened the Brut & ummmmah, the vinous aroma started flowing around. It apparently has pears, apples & citrus overtones. No wonder, the aroma. Its infused with butter, gingerbread & lots of vanilla. Is your mouth watering??

A bottle of 750 ml of Brut generally costs around 50 US$ , but if you try to buy it in India it will cost Rs3,400. Thx to duties. Imperial Brut is a blend of three wines Chardonay,Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier & has about 12% alcohol in every 100 ml. I dont know how old it was in the bottle, but apparently its good if experienced after one year in the bottle. Nevertheless, our share tasted extremely heavanous leaving behind a sense of harmony and mellowness with peach and nectar lingering.

We did not malign the drink with any snacks but just savoured every sip of it. After about two rounds for every one & little more than that for the greedy myself, I was feeling mildly pleasant. I call this state " feeling good" & a close friend of doctor`s calls it "pleasantly tipsy". haha!!

We all moved over to enjoy the dinner!!

Mixology Methods

2008-10-06T02:21:00.000-07:00

Creating cocktails can be straight forward or artistic; depending on the person, their tastes, and how far they want to take it. Often, the first lesson of bartending school teaches basic skills - from shaking, to pouring over a spoon. Most people can quite easily get by with these techniques, especially when tending home bars.

Shaking : When a drink contains eggs, fruit juices or cream, it is necessary to shake the ingredients. Shaking is the method by which you use a cocktail shaker to mix ingredients together and chill them simultaneously. The object is to almost freeze the drink whilst breaking down and combining the ingredients. Normally this is done with ice cubes three-quarters of the way full. When you've poured in the ingredients, hold the shaker in both hands, with one hand on top and one supporting the base, and give a short, sharp, snappy shake. It's important not to rock your cocktail to sleep. When water has begun to condense on the surface of the shaker, the cocktail should be sufficiently chilled and ready to be strained.

Straining: Most cocktail shakers are sold with a build-in strainer or hawthorn strainer. When a drink calls for straining, ensure you've used ice cubes, as crushed ice tends to clog the strainer of a standard shaker. If indeed a drink is required shaken with crushed ice (ie. Shirley Temple), it is to be served unstrained.

Stirring: You can stir cocktails effectively with a metal or glass rod in a mixing glass. If ice is to be used, use ice cubes to prevent dilution, and strain the contents into a glass when the surface of the mixing glass begins to collect condensation.

Muddling: To extract the most flavor from certain fresh ingredients such as fruit or mint garnishes, you should crush the ingredient with the muddler on the back end of your bar spoon, or with a pestle.

Blending: An electric blender is needed for recipes containing fruit or other ingredients which do not break down by shaking. Blending is an appropriate way of combining these ingredients with others, creating a smooth ready to serve mixture. Some recipes will call for ice to be placed in the blender, in which case you would use a suitable amount of crushed ice.

Building: When building a cocktail, the ingredients are poured into the glass in which the cocktail will be served. Usually, the ingredients are floated on top of each other, but occasionally, a swizzle stick is put in the glass, allowing the ingredients to be mixed.

Layering: To layer or float an ingredient (ie. cream, liqueurs) on top of another, use the rounded or back part of a spoon and rest it against the inside of a glass. Slowly pour down the spoon and into the glass. The ingredient should run down the inside of the glass and remain seperated from the ingredient below it. Learning the approximate weight of certain liqueurs and such will allow you to complete this technique more successfully, as lighter ingredients can then be layered on top of heavier ones.

Flaming: Flaming is the method by which a cocktail or liquor is set alight, normally to enhance the flavor of a drink. It should only be attempted with caution, and for the above reason only, not to simply look cool.

Some liquors will ignite quite easily if their proof is high. Heating a small amount of the liquor in a spoon will cause the alcohol to collect at the top, which can then be easily lit. You can then pour this over the prepared ingredients. Don't add alcohol to ignited drinks, don't leave them unattended, light them where they pose no danger to anybody else, and ensure no objects can possibly come into contact with any flames from the drink. Always extinguish a flaming drink before consuming it.

Courtesy: Drinks mixer

Twisted Daiquiri & Choclate Vodka

2008-10-06T00:49:00.000-07:00

My wife called over couple of her Friends for a lazy lunch on Saturday. She got herself busy cooking some Mughali chicken dishes & tapped me to think of some nice afternoon cocktails for the ladies. I checked my booze stock & found half a bottle of Romonov & about 100 ounces of Blue Riband gin.

For a nice sunny afternoon, nothing is better than Cuban cocktails. & Cuban cocktails mainly use Rum. We all know of Mojitos. But a lesser ordered cocktail in India with the Rum base is Daiquiri. Daiquiri is widely known outside India, but I have not seen too many people in Indian bars ordering it. I guess, they don't know much about it. I wanted to make Daiquiri`s but without Rum in my stock, i thought, I will twist the cocktail`s base to Vodka & keep the rest as it is. Thas why "Twisted Daiquiri".

One of the nice things I observe about white spirits (Tequila blanco, white rum, vodka, gin etc) is that you can almost use them interchangeably in many cocktail recipies. Of course the taste gets a bit different, but, they don`t become undrinkable. Anyways, Twisted Daiquiri is made thus:

Its built in a cocktail tin. Squeeze about one full lime without its seeds into the tin. Then add some ice-cubes. Pour about one ounce of sugar syrup.(Sugar syrup is home made, easy to make, just boil equal parts of sugar & water.Allow it to cool for a about 30 minutes & ready to use.) Over the ice-cubes pour 1 1/2 ounce of choicest vodka or rum. Since I wanted the drink to look & taste fancy, I added about 1 ounce of Manama KIWI crush into the tin. Close the tin shake it vigorously till the shaker starts freezing. The moment you see the frost all over the tin, your drink is very well shaken. The shaking roughens up the strength of vodka & makes it milder. Also, shaking infuses oxygen into the drink & creates the bubbles. Its these bubbles that give you the aroma to the drink. At this point, strain the drink into a martini glass & garnish it with the peel of orange or a slice of lime. & Twisted Daiquiri is ready.

When the guest are ladies, I make sure, I keep another drink apart for a limey one. & that has to be a chocolate base. Even if the drink falls apart, ladies will drink every sip of it adoring your skills, only because, what chocolate can do, no man can. :) This is how I made a Chocolate,Coffee martini.

Chill a martini glass before making the drink. You can do so by keeping it in the freezer for about a minute of two or just fill it with ice cubes to throw them later when you are ready to pour your drink into the glass. Take ice in a cocktail shaker, add about 1 ounce of vodka, 1 ounce of Kahlua, (If you don't have the coffee liqueur, you can use some cold dark black coffee). Add about 1 ounce of Hershey`s chocolate syrup.Shake them together till the tin is frozen. Empty the contents into a martini glass & top it with some coke. Garnish it with a Kit Kat bar or a a cadbury toffee. You cant fail!!

I made two other regular drinks for their third & forth rounds - Margarita & Mojito. I got the ladies mildly high on the cocktails as I enjoyed the Mughlai chicken & Dave bruebeck on his saxophone.

Bus to Hell

2008-09-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

A drunken man gets on the bus late one night, staggers up the aisle, and sits next to an elderly woman.She looks the man up and down and says, "I've got news for you. You're going straight to hell!"

The man jumps up out of his seat and shouts, "Man, I'm on the wrong bus!"

Ice Ice baby

2008-09-30T03:57:00.000-07:00

I know quite a few of my friends who think that when a cocktail is served with a glass full of ice at the bar, he is being cheated. The myth is that the drink has only ice and very little alcohol. People seldom realise that ice is as important to a cocktail as any other ingredient. And popping the glass full of ice is by no means a way of duping you. There is a good reason for doing so. Lets explore.

Although its effects may be subtle, ice is an integral part of a properly made cocktail, and shouldn't be ignored.The most obvious consideration is flavor.Ice not only chills drinks , but as it melts it becomes a part of the mix and because of this, the frozen water deserves more than a little attention.

If you add just a cube or two of ice, eventually its melts into water and becomes part of your drink.Nothing wrong. But what happens to the temperature of the drink? When you sipped first , the drink is nice and cold, because of the ice cube. But as it melts down, the drink also comes to room temperature gradually. This gives varying flavours to your drink from the beginning to the end. Thus it is important, to keep the flavour and temperature of the drink consistent from start to finish, to use more ice than just a a couple of cubes.

If you are planning to nurse your drink a little longer than regular, I would suggest you go for larger, thicker surface cubes as they melt slowly and causes less dilution. It is customary to fill a glass 2/3 full for best results. However, you might not be able to get those big cubes for home use. Its OK to use the traditional tray ice at home, only remember to keep changing or rotating the ice cubes for fresh is best. Avoid storing ice near to fish or meat as ice has a tendency to absorb odours around it. This might give a fishy taste to your drink.

So next time you are at a bar, don't give that snare to your bar-tender for dropping in too much ice.

Ginger Banger

2008-09-26T04:21:00.000-07:00

Next of the Easy Poison series. Let`s learn this easy to make cocktail called "Ginger Banger". I tasted this one about 5 years back in a bar in Hyderabad called "Bottles and Chinmeys". I do not know the origin of this drink. Neither am I sure if this was invented by that bar. Nevertless, it has got that amazingly refreshing taste and the best bit about it is that you can make it at home without using any exotic ingredients or any hassle.

The potions
The base if going to be vodka. Choose any vodka you like. I personally prefer Smirn off but whe recession hits, you can do well with Romonov as well. Be careful to select a normal un-flavoured vodka as a flavoured one will change the taste of the original drink and might not be as refreshing as it is intended. What else you need is a can of tonic water, another of gingerale, one whole line and 3-4 mint leaves.

The Art
Build the drink in a collins glass (tall glass). Fill the glass with ice. Pour 60 ml of vodka over ice. Squeeze half lemon. Half-fill the glass with gingerale and then top it with tonic water. Drop a few mint leaves into the glass and garnish it with a lime wheel. By principal all cocktails that are built on ice and served as it is, should go along with a straw. Its not so nice to let the ice cubes touch your teeth when you are imbibing a greatly tasting cocktail.

Bartology

2008-09-24T01:18:00.000-07:00

This post is first of the series that will explore around things used, said, done in a bar. I am sure, lot many people still do not understand, rather are confused, with words like straight-up and on the rocks. I have tried to list some basic terms and words and phrases below that are standard throughout the industry. We can look at advanced concepts in future. The ability to understand various words related to the and to the art of drinking will help you order the right way and drink the right way.

Aperitif
An aperitif is an alcoholic drink served before a meal, sometimes as an appetizer, or accompanied with an appetizer. The drink is usually somewhat bitter, sweet or light, and serves as a warm-up or opener to a meal.

Box
Pour into and out of a shaker, usually only once. Gives the drink a quick mixing without shaking.

Call Drink
A liquor and mixer, of which the liquor is a defined brand. (ie. Tanqueray and Tonic, Bacardi and Coke)

Cobbler
A tall drink of any liquor served in a collins or highball glass with shaved or crushed ice and garnished with fresh fruit and mint sprigs.

Cocktail
Any of various alcoholic beverages consisting usually of brandy, whiskey, vodka, or gin combined with fruit juices or other liquors and often served chilled.

Lace
Normally applies to the last ingredient in a recipe, meaning to pour onto the top of the drink.

Fizz
An effervescent beverage. (ie. that which is carbonated or which emits small bubbles.)

Highball
Any spirit served with ice and soda water in a medium to tall glass (often a highball glass).

Neat
The consumption of a spirit as a straight, unaccompanied shot.

Nip
A quarter of a bottle.

Nightcap
A wine or liquor taken before bedtime.

On The Rocks
A wine or liquor poured over ice cubes.

Pick-Me-Up
A drink designed to relieve the effects of overindulgence in alcohol.

Punch
A party-size beverage consisting of fruit, fruit juices, flavorings and sweeteners, soft drinks, and a wine or liquor base.

Shooter
A straight shot of spirit taken neat.

Straight-up
Single, unmixed liquor served chilled (either by shaking or stirring) in a stemmed glass

Twist
Generally a peel (orange or lemon) garnish to a drink.

Virgin
A non-alcoholic drink.

Well Drink
A liquor and mixer, of which neither are defined brands. (ie. Gin and Tonic, Rum and Coke)

CN believes in an experience and not a hang over. Drink responsibly.

Flavors of Entanglement with a coked Godfather

2008-09-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

My wife is away for a week on business to the beautiful landscapes of Europe. My buddies are pouring in taking advantage of this time. This evening was just one of them.

Roker dude came over to cook some potatoes for dinner. Helping him as much as I could, I switched the power house & played loud my latest acquisition – Alains Morisette`s new album – “Flavors of Entanglement.” To give company to Alains, I decided it would be right time to taste the much-awaited Amaretto.

First tried it the normal way of coke & ice. The taste was a bit weird. Sweet but still weird. A bit oily flavor actually. The first song on Alanis`s album started – Citizen of Planet. It begins with tabla beats giving an Asian sound & then proceeding to a heavy metal wedding depressing lyrics & Alains`s vocal. Ignoring the song Mr. B seemed to like the sweet taste. Roker dude also preferred it the sweet way.

But having tasted the conventional way, I decided to upgrade my drink to the Italian mafia style – the cocktail called “GODFATHER”. It is built on ice with equal parts of scotch and amaretto & bingo, you could sip it like the mafia. But my variation has coke in it. If you would remember, I have mentioned about this cocktail in my earlier blogs. The scotch gave bitterness to the drink. I could slowly decipher the bittersweet symphony of coked Godfather as “underneath” played & reminded me of the good old Alains of Jagged Little Pill. The next song has electro sound to the whole Alain`s typical croon singing style. Straight Jacket. Though a sad song, it will be a good dance number for a nightclub.

I lit my Marlboro lights & soaked a bit more into Godfather as the 4th song – Versions of Violence started with a heavy electronic metal intro. Instantly it reminded me of Marlyn Mansion in the album "Golden Age of Grotesque". This song gives a different flavour to the sad tone & jilted lover lyrics of Alains. I slowly realize why the album is called flavors of entanglement. The main theme running through the album is Alains Morisette`s depression, thanks to her much publicized break up with her ex fiancé Raymond Ray. That’s the entanglement part. Every song is sad but the music arrangement for each one is different & varies from disco, electro, slow piano ballad (Not as we & Torch) to regular rock (praise of vulnerable man). All of them give a feeling of different “flavor” to her sadness.

I intend to put no Moratorium on my alcohol consumption, but Alain`s song by the name explains her intention to be away from all kinds of relationship & commitment. God, how sad is she? The songs “giggling again “ & tapes have a coldplay flavor to them as per me & the last song – “incomplete” is a typical Alains Morisette style varying in between soft & heavy rhythm guitaring.

To sum up, Alains Morisette has yet again written a bunch of songs on sorrow & I quite like few of its flavors. Looks like the break up has brought out some creativity out of Alains. Apparently she knows only two emotions – Sorrow & Joy. & She can write 6 zillion songs on these two emotions. Rocker dude was correct in that the different musical arrangements & the title to the album could be a production gimmick as not all would want to keep listening to her songs of depression unless there is some variety. Trying to sell more eh! As for me, I am waiting for the day she writes about the second emotion she knows & she says in one of her interviews, that day will come when she is happily married & having 6 kids.

I thanked coked Godfather for staying with me through the album as the potatoes showed up over the dinner table & we all arranged ourselves to devour on them with some soft rock set to hear – The Verve, 4 non blones, Oasis, Dire Straits, Eagles & REM.

Say Cheers!!

Threesome with Tia

2008-09-12T00:23:00.000-07:00

Wow! Did you click this entry because it says "Threesome"? I bet you did. Well, let see how far I live up to your expectations. I will tell you about Tia & I will tell you about the Threesome. But before that, you must know why I am writing about it now. More so because this threesome happened about more than a month ago.

Its monsoon time here in Bangalore & has been wetting the hell out of all of us. Its raining this afternoon as well. But not cats and dogs but the English way - drizzling. My favourite lunch time activity now a days is to try & write a blog entry & this rain now reminds me of that rainy afternoon about a month ago when I was pulled into the threesome. Thas why this blog.

So that Friday afternoon just when the weekend mood was settling around my desk area, Sailor Boy (SB) gave me a ring.
"Pleasant surprise", I said.
"My parents are out & Tia is here" , he said."Don`t you think this beautiful rain is the best time to get on top of Tia? We can go together or take turns. :)"
I said ,"Hell yea" & zipped over to his place, two blocks away from my office.

He opened the door & took me straight to the bar cabinet & brought out a swanky dark bottle -TIA. Guys, I am talking about "Tia Maria". Knowing me, it only has to be a fancy alcohol. :). Sorry to disappoint you. Lets talk about Tia Maria here today.

Last time SB was at our place, I showed off my Kahlua bottle & thas when he asked me if I ever tasted Tia Maria. I had not & so he invited me over. First thing I always do is look at the beauty of the bottle. Next I smell the spirit. Unfortunately I wasn`t able to recollect the smell that time but now I know that Tia Maria smelled almost like Kahlua.

Tia Maria is produced by the same company who makes Kahlua. Pernod Ricard. Tia Maria is a coffee liqueur just like Kahlua. It is dark in colour like Kahlua. I can talk about Kahlua some other time if you don`t know it. Lets stick to Tia now. The difference is that Tia is made in Jamaica using Blue Mountain Coffee Beans. Vanilla, sugar, cane spirit & coffee beans are the fermented ingredients in Tia. The alcohol percent here as in most of the liqueurs is 20%.

SB poured me a large measure of Tia over rocks in an old fashioned glass & topped it with coke. Tia touched my lips and ........ummmmmm, I could feel layers of coffee & coke with the light alcoholic tinge so clearly in my mouth. This one is so similar to the taste of other coffee & cola based cocktails like Dark Scotsman (Whiskey, Cold Black Coffee & Coke) & Vodcola (Vodka, Cold Black Coffee & Coke), except that they have more alcohol content. I think Tia can be used in B52 flaming shot also, instead of Kahlua. The rain outside called us to the balcony & we lit up a cigarette to complement the taste of Tia. The combination was perfect.

When a Tia Maria or Kahlua is available, guests don't have to choose between coffee and an after-dinner drink. Kahlua and Tia Maria-type drinks give a mellow buzz of alcohol and caffeine (when imbibed responsibly). I do not know how much a bottle of Tia Maria costs in duty free or outside , but its family member Kahlua costs around Rs. 800 for a one litre bottle in duty free & Rs.2500 for 750ml bottle outside. Incidentally , I got this recipe on the net to make Tia Maria easily at home.

4 cups water , 4 cups sugar , 2 cups Rum, 1 cup dry instant coffee, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract,1 tbsp caramel coloring, if desired. Boil the water and sugar in large pot, until sugar is completely dissolved. Stir.Remove from heat, cool for half an hour. Slowly add in the dry instant coffee, stirring continuously. Add vanilla to the rum, pour into gallon jug.Combine cooled sugar syrup and coffee mixture with the rum in gallon jug. Cover tightly, and shake every day for three weeks. Store in cool, dark place. After three weeks strain the concoction to get your Tia Maria.

SB & I decided to take on another round of Tia. It would be too bad to not turn up at my desk after lunch time, so I decided to be sober & let the taste of Tia linger in my mouth for the rest of the afternoon after that second round. That was the story of my threesome - something my wife wont be unhappy about. :)

Italian Aperitifs from Malyasia

2008-09-11T00:42:00.000-07:00

I never loose any opportunity of asking alcoholic favours. . Dont get me wrong, I dont get drunk on others wallets. I am refering to this penchant thing in me to ask any friends travelling out of India to get me exotic liqueurs. This time a father of two young lovly twins & a close friend of Smita & me, BJ, was coming back from Kaulalumpur.

So I got him to buy for me two amazing Italian spirits - Bianco & Amaretto. Allow me to educate you about these a bit.

Bianco

Bianco is the product of the Italian licquor giant - Martini & Ross. It is sold under the Martini Brand. Lets tear it up.

Bianco is part of the Vermouth family, its siblings being Extra dry & Rosso. I have owned & currently using a bottle of an Extra Dry. It is a great martini maker. I was hoping to get one more bottle of the same, but Mr B, got me Bianco. First impressions as soon as I opened this bottle , reminded me of Absynthe. This one is extra light green in colour.Italian white wine is the base for Bianco . The sweetness comes from some refined sugar. It is then blended with aromatic herbs & most nicely - Vanilla which seems to be giving the great flavour.

Bianco is a great party drink outside India since generations. It has a very intense flavour. I am yet to try it but the smell surly suggests smoothness & sweetness. I will keep you guys posted as soon as I try the long or short version of this aperitif very soon. Apparently it can be served on the rocks with some strawberry slices or with tonic water, ice & lime juice as a tall drink. My personal guess is that it will o well with Gingerale or cranberry or apple juice too.

Damn inexpensive like the Extra Dry, in a duty free zone it is not more than INR450 for a litre bottle.

Amaretto

Almonds and apricots are the main flavours in this brandy-based drink from Italy. I am not near my bar counter to go look for the name of the manufactuer of the bottle that I posses now. But Italy is the source.

The bottle is extremly beautiful. The colour of amaretto is medium brown. You can guess that becasue of almonds in it. The bottle that I own has a cork stopper at its neck instead of a screw cap. I guess the cork keeps the suttle & sweet fragrance of the almonds in tact.

Looks like there is a lot of cultural reference to the Italian underworld around Amaretto. There are many cocktails based on this liqueur that have names like Godfather & Mafia`s Kiss. I am yet to open this one too & I plan to make the Godfather out of it.

Here is the recipie:
One part of Scotch & one part of Amaretto poured over an old fashioned glass filled with ice. No shaking, no stirring. Gulp it up.

Amaretto goes well with Gin & Vodka as well. It makes an excellent liqueur for coffee and goes well with desserts. There are quite a few cooking recipies as well that you might find on the net.

A 1 litre bottle of Amaretto from the KLIA duty free cost me around INR.1400.

Vodcofola

2008-09-02T04:10:00.000-07:00

The idea of making cocktails at home is very often not even entertained in any corners of our heads. I realise this is mainly because , many think that the ingredients that go into making them are exotic and we do not find them easily in stores in India and even if we do, they are damn expensive. While this is definitely true, let me assure you that there are a myriad varieties of cocktails that you can make without involving these rare and exotic ingredients and liqueurs.

Exotic yet affordable cocktails are not that hard to cook. Finally, with this post, let me introduce you to that kitchen. Simple, flexible and no hassle concoctions that you can brew at home. Ingredients that are easily available in stores in India. I will be posting recipes on a regular basis under the label "Easy Poison" and one of them will always be found under the "Shank`s Liquid Kitchen" at the home page of the blog.

Today, I introduce you to a vodka-base drink that I like to call - Vodcofola. There isn`t a heavy inventive mind behind this drink. It is in fact a vodka version of a whiskey cocktail that my buddy & I used to drink very once in a while in a pub in Hyderabad called "One flight down". A basement bar that we used to frequent on Saturdays for the rock music that it played. The whiskey cocktail was called "Dark Scotsman". The base being any regular whiskey, add black coffee and coke. I served this very drink to a couple of guests in Take-5 when I was there briefly and was liked by them a lot. Vodcofola replaces whiskey with Vodka and makes it perfect for even ladies who generally despise even the smell of whiskey. (I am yet to meet a whiskey drinking girl!!!). Besides when made with Vodka base, the drink tastes bitter-sweet due to the coffee & coke and easily mixed Vodka.

Vodcofola is built in a high ball glass full of ice. Here is the recipe:

45 ml Vodka
60 ml Black coffee
Coke

Build the drink in a highball glass full of ice. Throw a lime wheel,straw,stir and sip.

CN believes in an experience and not a hang-over. Drink Responsibly.

Bar hopping with a Mojito

2008-08-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

Bangalore is a city of heavy drinkers and closet alcoholics. After a heavy week of work or studies or lectures or projects, we all like to loosen up a bit. Some of us might have the stamina to endure a whole night of drinking. I ususaly reserve it for special weekends for celebrations. And what I like to do those times is bar-hopping; spending the whole night going from one bar to another drinking with buddies and passing the night away. Fortunately its not dine every night or at every reason to celebrate.

And my bar-hopping is generally restricted to 3 or 4 same happy places everytime. My friendly neighbourhood - TGIF (old airport road), the spacious halls of Hard Rock Cafe (St Marks road), if allowed at that time - into the heights of 13th floor (Church Street) and then to call a night - Tavern (Museum Rd). And the drink I hop around with is always the same - the great Cuban elixir - Mojito!.

I have introduced you to Mojito earlier. This is the most refreshing drink of the world - "as per me". Let me take you through my observations during bar-hopping, of the variety of Mojito preparations that Bangalore bars offer. The classic way is to muddle mint and lime in a high ball glass with sugar. Add Ice and white rum and top with soda water. TGIF and hard rock prepare them almost exactly this way. Except both use sugar syrup instead of sugar. I observed couple of times that the bar-tender at Hard Rock Cafe shakes it before topping with soda water.

Let me explain to you two very innovative ways to making Mojito in couple of other places in Bangalore. First - Take 5, a jazz bar in Indiranagar. Here the good bar-man -Sam muddles mint leaves and lime along with the ice-cubes. He basically crushes the ice along. He adds couple of tea spoons of powdered brown sugar. Empties the cocncoction into a glass and pours some rum and then tops with soda. Different take, but the problem somtimes with this is that you might over muddle the mint and lime , bringing out the bitterness from their peel rather than their oils. One more remark - I frankly dont like the glass in which the Mojito is served there. It just doesn`t fall under any category, looks like a juice glass.

The best Mojito that I ever had is in 13th floor. The drink is built in an old fashioned glass. Mint and lime are muddled with granules of brown sugar unlike sugar syrup or powdered sugar. This muddling brings out the perfect balance of oils and flavours of the ingredients. Crushed ice is added. White rum poured over the ice, soda water topped. This way the drink stays chilled as long as we are at it. The barman`s special comes here. About 5 ml of dark rum is dropped on top of soda, giving a sweet aroma. Now the drink looks, smells and tastes heaven.

Sticking to just one kind of drink when you are hopping bars will avoid mixing of different varieties and keeps the taste in the mouth almost similar and because of its refreshing nature, Mojito does the job just perfectly.

Orders for your first cocktail

2008-08-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

Our lives have a lot of firsts: The first time we ever rode a bicycle without training wheels, the first time we ever drove a car, the first this and that and may be the first drink. While we could use training wheels for cycling and a learner's permit to drive the car, the laws on drinking leave no room for education. These laws simply drop us right into the responsibility of alcohol without bothering to take the time to teach us how to actually drink responsibly.

And I took up to this great challenge with great vigor and excitement the day I thought I had become 18 and hence an “adult”. There was no one to help navigate me into the world of alcohol. But it dint seem so difficult either and I started my spiritual journey with a 650 ml “Golden Eagle” beer under the campus water tank with a bum chum, buddy, munching on raw Soya chunks. My first visit to a bar was a couple of years later when I started my training for my accounting degree. And in the last 10 years, I hardly seem to remember, when I graduated from Beer to whiskey, when I moved on with life and accepted rum to be elixir or life, least do I remember my first vodka shot. I wished today that I had chronicled my ordeals with alcohol.

I am right now at a stage in my alcoholic life where cocktails have taken my fancy and I wished that I had always been drinking them. I wished I had ordered a Mojito the first time I visited a bar and not just rum and coke. Alas, no one had told me when I began drinking, about the exotic and delightfully illusionary world of cocktails.

I wish to spread my love for cocktails now. Today, I shall introduce you to this grand world of liquid cuisine and help you choose your first cocktail when you go to the bar next. Let my blog be your training wheels with which you can have extensive experience and then gradually get used to this form of Nirvana.

Here are a few recommendations for trying your first cocktail upon reaching the legal age or knowledge of drinking which ever comes later:

Mojito: Rum based. The most popular “in” cocktail of our times. Originally created in Cuba. Acts as a great thirst quencher. Lime chunks muddled along with mint leaves and sugar and then rum and soda water added.

Cosmopolitan: The famous TV series Sex and the City popularized this one like no one else. The girls in this series are always yakking about their lives in the bars of Manhattan with this drink in their hand. Largely associated as a ladies drink, is vodka based with suttle lime, orange bitters and cranberry flavors. Served in a martini glass, the pink color is a delight to the eyes.

Caprioska: The original version is called Capirinha and is based on Brazilian rum called cachaca. But since that rum is not so widely available, there is an alternative version, which is based on Vodka & rest of the ingredients being the same – lime and sugar. If you observe it’s almost same as Mojito except there are no mint leaves in here.

Margarita: As Mexican as it can get. If you knew that tequila is drank only as shots, here is some surprise. Margarita is the most popular Mexican cocktail. Generally served in a salt rimmed “Margarita “ glass, its is a greatly refreshing drink. Silver Tequila mixed with triple sec (orange liquer) and limejuice. The bartender should not go wrong with this.

Cocktail Nirvana believes in experience and not hangover. Drink responsibly

Someone teach me how to drink

2008-08-26T00:48:00.000-07:00

Who gave you "your first alcholic dose" ? Did you know what you were ordering and why? Were you being forced to taste alcohol by a bunch of college bullies or at an office party? Did you know what would happen if you drink gin instead or rum or whisky? Did you want to know how much to consume and when?

You must have admired, and worshiped those amongst us that we know as "adults". They seem to have all of the answers. They are infallible. Some day, we too will be an "adult", and will also be a fountain of wisdom and advice. Reaching 21 is essentially that imaginary cross-over; it is when we suddenly turn into an "adult". We have most likely been driving for several years by now. We are probably living on our own, have a job, and have to shave regularly. We have arrived. We are an adult. Unfortunately, we know almost nothing about alcohol, and drinking beverages that contain it. In this subject, we are mere infants, and like infants we need long and slow training in order to acquire the necessary skills to navigate its shores. But, at the same time, we are adults. All of our past experiences have instilled upon us the need to now present ourselves with the bravado of confidence. To convince ourselves and those around us that we do in fact know it all. I expect that it is from this, that many of our drinking problems spring.

Furthermore, while parents and teachers are greatly involved with educating us about how to safely drive a car, the only drinking education we receive is informally given to us by friends and older siblings. In fact, the only formal education I ever received in school about alcohol was that it was bad. I was never really taught about different types of alcohol and their practical effects on the body until I started drinking myself. And where did this leave me?

It left me several times surrounded by people in parties, wondering if a bottle of Malt Liquor was hard alcohol or not. It left my alcohol education not to parents and teachers, but to certain members of the accounting firm where I was training for my degree, who took me and my peers under their wing and showed us the way. It left me to learn how to binge drink at parties , but not how to drink at dinners and events.

We need a system that allows us to progressively learn from our elders how to responsibly enjoy alcohol. Much like the year that we have a learner's permit, I believe that we need to have a year's worth of alcohol education. This would essentially involve granting young adults who are 18 the right to legally drink, but not the right to legally purchase alcohol and not the right to legally enter bars. During this time, 18-year-olds would be forced to drink with people who are older, and wiser, and would inevitably gain from it.

Instead we have a system in place where young adults learn about alcohol not from their parents and relatives but from their friends and siblings.

The Importance of Cocktails

To begin with, despite everything that your peers might be telling you, the purpose of drinking is not to get drunk. Yes, technically alcohol is a chemical substance that induces drunkenness, and yes, cocktails wouldn't really be cocktails without alcohol. But a properly made cocktail is so much more then just being defined by the amount of alcohol it contains. The cocktail is a form of cuisine, with interesting, exciting, and even enlightening flavor potentials.

The cocktail (and its alcohol), when taken in moderation, also has a socially relaxing effect. It comforts you, and allows you to let your guard down just a little. When you are out with friends, it adds a little bit to the fellowship of the evening. However, if you go too far, and get "ripped", then it just makes a mess of things.

An old adage goes : "Drinking just to get drunk, is like having sex just to get pregnant."

Yes, technically both are the biological intents, but if that's all you are focusing on, then you are missing out on the real enjoyment that can be had when you truly embrace the experience properly. Frankly, when you go out drinking, you should probably get "drunk" about as often as you'd like to get pregnant.

Train

There are many aspects of the cocktail which are so far outside of your existing experiences that the only real way to deal with them is to rely on some form of training.
Gin, tequila, and whiskey can be very difficult for the budding cocktail palate to understand, much less appreciate. Brandy and rum can be a little more approachable, but still distinctly unusual. The best drinks to use as training wheels, will be those that bare a close approximation to the same flavor profiles of the drinks of your youth. Drinks flavored heavily with juices, or which are almost a soda pop, will be the easiest to accept. In fact, you can essentially take anything non-alcoholic that you might like, and simply add a shot (45 ml) of vodka to it, in order to turn it into an "adult" drink. This is essentially all that a Screwdriver is; orange juice, with a shot of vodka.

In my next blog, I will give you some cocktail recommendations to try on your first experiences with alcohol. Let`s learn how to drink.

Cocktail Nirvana believes in an experience and not a hang over. Drink responsibly.

The Beginning

2008-08-22T04:17:00.000-07:00

This blog is something I've been thinking for quite a while, and I've finally taken the leap to turn it into reality. It has just taken birth, it still isn't complete but it is far enough along for it to finally see its official unveiling on the www. Not only will the content solidify eventually, but I expect the blog itself will probably go through a few visual and organizational changes as I fine-tune my approach to presenting this information in a reasonable fashion.

This will not be one of those million Cocktail web sites. Instead I want to share with you my experiences as I explore the true art of making cocktails.

The cocktails I present here will all be ones that I have personally tested, and over time, many of these will be expanded to include my own observations, insights and versions. I'll also intend to talk with you, my ideas and experiences on home bartending, and how you can begin to put together your own collection of ingredients and tools so that you can enjoy or treat your guests a great cocktails at home yourself.

How I came to like cocktails?

My discovery and enjoyment of cocktails doesnt go way too back. As a child, and at times far too young to even understand what alcohol really was, I don`t remeber being fascinated by the concept of cocktails and bartending. But as the years in my adventures with spirits progressed, I kept thinking how much fun it would be to go through bartending school and learn how to master the art of cocktail alchemy.

Back in time, I found myself old enough to go into cocktail bars. Having had a well rounded wallet with me,during my training days for my accounting degree, I knew a few names as "Sex On The Beach", "Screwdriver", Long Island, and there was also this drink called a Martini that nobody really ever ordered. Cocktails in general are not ordered at bars in India as beers or whiskey sodas are. I always found myself at a loss when it came time to order myself. This is because I didn't truly understand what a cocktail was, or grasp the importance of the ingredients that they were made of.

Living in Bangalore and traveling our little globe, my tastes developed and evolved an appreciation for the multitude of cocktails. I started brining home a variety if liquers and started trying combinations. Over last three years, I never knew when my combining skills turned me into a mixologist. I have been mixing drinks at different parties for quite some time.

Cocktail Funda

Humbling myself, I call myself a Mixologist rather than a cocktail connoisseur. Cocktails are different from Wine,Beer, Coffee or Tea. With the laters it's like being able to go into a fine restaurant, and know how to read the menu and order just the right items. But with Cocktails, your role is much closer. Anybody can slop some gin into a glass, drop in an olive, and call it a Martini, but there is more to it then that. Shaken, stirred, gin, vodka, vermouth, olive, twist, orange bitters… there are lots of things to consider and understand if you are to provide your guests with a Martini that they will remember.
This is the path I am on, to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the cocktail. This blog will be my vehicle for sharing my adventures with you, and hopefully helping you to learn along with me.

Cocktail Nirvana believes in experience and not hangover. Drink responsibly.