BENGALURU: Summer is the best season for mixology. During this time, a lot of seasonal fruits and other ingredients are available in the market, making it the perfect time to create citrus and fruity cocktails. Fruits like mango, sweet lime, watermelon, guava and many others are easily available. With the help of these, many bars plan to make a summer menu for their patrons.
Currently, bars can also create a good detox menu for their summer offerings. Spirits that are trending right now include gin, light rum and tequila. You can choose either of these for your cocktail. Gin goes well with fruits like strawberry and tonic water. You can even consider an in-house strawberry compote to mix with your favourite gin and tonic.
Summers are also a great time to try margaritas and daiquiris because these are the best for rehydration. The bartender can then use his/her creativity to serve you a drink based on your choice and preference.
For example, drinks like mango jalapeno margarita tastes great. With rum, you can play around with drinks like guava mojito and watermelon basil daiquiri, which are usually hits on any menu.
This summer, we are introducing cocktails like Alcoholic Kaanji, Mature Panaka and Modern G&T. During my childhood, my mother used to make kaanji for us. We drank it after returning from school to hydrate ourselves. I still remember the taste. The alcoholic version we are serving will be a fermented drink with black carrot, beetroot, salt, lime, asafoetida, and vodka.
Similarly, the Mature Panaka also has an interesting back story in South India. Whenever a guest came home, people welcomed them with this drink, which is made of lime, ginger and jaggery. Inspired by this, we made a cocktail called Mature Panaka, which is a gin cocktail with raahi panaka mix. On the other hand, the Modern G&T comes with our in-house sous vide cooked lemongrass, a fresh citrus skin concoction and grapefruit tonic in it. Cheers to summer! (The author is the beverage programmer, Raahi Neo Kitchen & Bar)