Bartending and cocktails might be relatively new to India, but bartenders have been around forever in the West, and they have been concocting the most fascinating cocktails in that time. Naturally, some of these cocktails have found their niche and become legends in their own right. Cocktails are generally segregated into three genres to reflect the different times of the day.
So, one has the eye openers (mostly breakfast cocktails), the day drinks (consumed in the afternoon), and last but not the least, the most fascinating - the night cap. This name was first mentioned in a college book in Europe. Most cocktail specialists also mentioned these cocktails as dessert cocktails, which were consumed post dinner.
In different countries the trends are very different. Some countries consider brandy or cognac or an aged brown spirit as night caps or drinks post dinner. These drinks were mostly on the heavy (body) and sweet side, like Brandy Alexander, Milk Punch or in-house Irish Cream.
These cocktails can be served either hot or cold. The idea behind these cocktails was to create a rich and creamy sweet taste for the consumer so they can try this slowly after finishing their dinner and go to bed. As these cocktails contained a decent amount of alcohol, one also slept well.
Bartending has over a period of time evolved with the help of new techniques. As a result, every bartender has good knowledge of ingredients and their benefits, which makes night caps interesting. They use particulars herbs and spices in the these drinks to help the digestive system. I have created some cocktails on this pattern using mostly Indian and local ingredients.
Rage is made using curry leaves infused whiskey with in-house chocolate liqueur spice bitter. Its taste notes are robust sweet and spicy. Truth and Dare, on the other hand, is a vodka cocktail with crafted pistachio liqueur finished with distilled basil water. If you do try a night cap, just ensure to have the drink an hour before you hit the sack.
(The author is the beverage programmer at Raahi Neo Kitchen and Bar)