It was many years ago, at Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai that I had my first good cocktail. The kind that still makes me smile. A green apple martini. Served in a delicate martini glass, pale green colour with that flavour and tang of a fresh green apple. Something that I stuck to, the entire time that we spent in the company of glamorous who’s who of Mumbai elite. It was simplicity at its finest but something that I haven’t been able to get anywhere else or even recreate. There was something perfect about it. Was it the colour or the fresh flavours of that cocktail or that oh-so-delicate martini glass or that I was surrounded by glitz and pizzazz or maybe everything combined, I am not sure.
I felt the same emotions again, last year, with another gorgeous cocktail. I can write paragraphs about it! It was at the Cyberhub outlet of Vietnom where we had a Gurgaon Food Freak event . It was their version of whiskey sour. I am not a whiskey drinker or aficionado but I couldn’t get myself to try anything else that evening. If one could have perfection in a glass, it was that. The layers of colours, the balance and the absolutely perfect kick of that Instragram-able cocktail are still fresh in my memory.
And that brings me to the idea behind this blog. What is it about cocktails that makes them so alluring? What is the attraction, the lure? Something that used to be considered as a ladies beverage of choice, now has takers across the spectrum. From the young and chic to the hardened drinkers and everyone else in between! Restaurants are hiring mixologists. There must be a reason why. Innovative cocktails look for their rightful place next to the classic ones.
The last few years have seen a wild growth of social media. We look for pretty things to post. Those fancy cocktails with cute garnishes and fancier names have a place right at the top.
This is what I think. A good cocktail focuses on the marriage of complex flavours, expensive high quality ingredients and visual appeal. Subtlety and purity is the key. Mixologists stretch the limits of modifications to classic cocktails. Those creamy, heavy cocktails of the 80s don’t have too many takers anymore. From thought going into icecubes of various shapes and sizes to alcohol-infused air to gold dust garnish to quirky glass ornaments to outrageous ingredients and desi influences, we don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. We have become more confident to try new things and are more experimental with flavours and spirits. Quirky names evoke intrigue and price tags don’t seem to be a deterrent at all.
At another food event, few weeks ago, a friend remarked that she doesn’t believe in going to parties to have juice or cold drinks! That’s absolutely blasphemous! So yes… I would like you to think of it like this. You can better deal with the guilt of hundreds of extra calories when these have been diluted with a spirit of choice. The guilt gets lowered further when the drink looks gorgeous. The calories get nullified! They just don’t count, right?! The fact that one gets stunning photos for a post on Facebook or a family WhatsApp group is an added bonus. So, go ahead. Order that stunning cocktail and delight yourself with some good (and responsible) drinking. After all, there is a lot more to a cocktail than just well-mixed liquor.
