The art of mixology takes on a whole new meaning for Raul Dias as he sips his way through a selection of quirky cocktails at the Taj Lands End Mumbai’s Atrium Lounge, whose new cocktail menu is all about the kitchen meeting the bar
It started off like any run-of –the mill weekend pre-dinner cocktail routine. You know the kind where a bunch of office-weary friends gather together in a weekly communal bitching session. The main topic of which ironically always revolves around the mean old boss and his slave-driving tendencies. So there we were, a motley group of five 20-somethings congregating on a humid Saturday evening at the Taj Lands End Mumbai’s Atrium Lounge, ready to drown our sorrows in a pitcher of beer. “Let’s have cocktails instead. We need something more potent!” suggests Abir, my investment banker friend who thinks that a pitcher of beer just won’t hit the (sore) spot.
The elegant columnar leather-bound menu is proffered immediately by the efficient waiter. I am the first in the group to steal a glance at it. A frown and a furrowed brow distort my face, indicating that something is amiss. “I think the waiter has mistakenly given us the food menu,” I inform my thirsty chums, after reading the name of a ‘dish’ that simply says ‘concassed tomato water with char grilled bacon-infused Smirnoff Black’. The waiter is beckoned and the apparent gaffe is pointed out with a ‘know-it-all’ smirk that yours truly is legendary for. “But Sir, this IS the cocktail menu,” the waiter patiently explains, paying a blind eye to the five surprised stares that he is met with. “This is a new concept called ‘Kitchen meets the bar’ that we have recently introduced, try it”.
And it was the waiter’s last two words “try it” that kick started my journey into the quirky world of Rishi Kumar and Pankaj Kumar that is full of weirdly interesting cocktails that simply cannot be ignored. “We love the idea of surprising our guests and what better way than with cocktails that most people love,” says Rishi. “The weirder the better is our motto, which is why we took over two months in coming up with a list of these 10 cocktails. It involved a fair bit of R & D and not to mention tasting sessions that we involved a lot of colleagues in,” quips Pankaj with a naughty glint in his eyes.
As the Atrium Lounge’s manager and assistant manager respectively, the thrill of innovation is what drives these two young men to come up with gems of mixology that defy convention in each and every way. For starters they have come up 10 cocktails; all priced at Rs 650 plus taxes, using vegetable ingredients, unlike the conventional cocktail base of fruits. Among these 10 cocktails are two cocktails that are the world’s first non vegetarian cocktails— the ‘chicken consommé with Red Label whisky’ and the ‘concassed tomato water with char grilled bacon-infused Smirnoff Black’. They have also developed the idea of ‘pre plated cocktails’ where every one of their cocktails in the Kitchen meets the bar section comes with its own accompanying appetizer. But not only are the concoctions innovative, the names also draw inspiration from culinary expression. “This simply means that our drinks are named like food dishes on the menu. For example, carrot ginger water flambéed with tangerine, blue berry and balsamic sorbet, mixed fruit compote with tamarind glaze etc.,” explains Rishi, who is quick to name a few cocktails that didn’t make the final cut, such as the ill-fated sugarcane and vodka one and the beetroot and gin cocktail that not only left a bitter taste in the mouth, but also a lot of colour! “The final 10 are the best of the best,” says the genial Pankaj brimming with the well-earned pride of an inventor as he speaks of his newest ‘babies’.
But as the saying goes, ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’ and in this case the drinking. The first libation the dynamic duo plies me with is the fragrant and colourful ‘carrot carpaccio with rosemary and Tanqueray gin’ served along with olive tepanade and mushroom paté bruschettas. I hesitantly take a baby sip and then go in for a giant gulp. The drink is so good. Bursting with flavour from the rosemary and Cointreau, the carrot slices add that perfect crunchy bite. “But I still see more of the bar and less of the kitchen in the drink,” I tell Rishi and Pankaj.
To placate my kitchen-cravings their next choice of drink for me is the weird and whimsical ‘concassed tomato water with char grilled bacon-infused Smirnoff Black’ that first set me on this crazy voyage of discovery. “I’ll be honest about this one if I don’t like it!” I warn the two. Bacon in a drink, whoa! At first the drink lethargically unravels itself on your palate like a striptease performer going about her routine. You first taste the delicateness of the tomato water, the sweetness of the muddled basil and then all of a sudden the intensity of the bacon-infused vodka takes over like a bolt of lightening. But not one that leaves you saying never again. Au contraire you want to experience that sensation again, which is what makes the drink work. Just like a good film with great repeat value, the bacon cocktail truly is encore-worthy.
But no repeat performances for me unfortunately as I’ve got a few more drinkable surprises in store for me. The next shocker is the piping hot ‘chicken consommé with Red Label whisky’ that sure packs a mighty punch. The aroma of kaffir lime and lemongrass permeates the air as the brandy balloon of the steaming potion makes its way to me. Ignoring the possibility of a singed tongue, I sip the elixir letting the orgy of flavours tickle my palate and unblock my sniffly nose. If I found the ‘carrot carpaccio with rosemary and Tanqueray gin’ more bar and less kitchen I find this cocktail more kitchen and less bar. It is clearly not one of my favourite. But full marks for its ingenuity.
In a five course meal, if the first three cocktails were my amuse-bouche, appetizer and main course respectively, then what would be my last two? A sorbet and desert, but of course! And that’s just what Pankaj and Rishi spoiled me with—my favourite part of the meal. Reminiscent of the forbidden kalakhatta ice gola of my childhood, the ‘blueberry and balsamic sorbet with Smirnoff Black vodka’ was divinity in an old fashioned glass. The tart piquant taste of the balsamic vinegar, fusing with the jamminess of the blueberries and the freshness of mint and lime, were enough to send me into a spasm of orgasmic ecstasy. I fell in love with the drink to such an extent that when it was time to part with it in favour of the last cocktail, I bid it a tearful adieu with an “I’ll be back promise” that I had every intention of fulfilling.
How can anyone possibly go wrong when playing with ingredients as luscious as cream, mascarpone cheese, chocolate sauce and vanilla ice-cream all bathed with vodka? Fool-proof from the word GO, the fact that the ‘tiramisu with Smirnoff Black vodka’ succeeded is a no-brainer. Liquid tiramisu in all its silken splendour lay before me, ensconced in a martini glass waiting for an appraisal. 10 on 10 was what my mental score card was reading. And I let its creators know just that after I had savoured the drink’s delicacy. Success was theirs, at least as far as I saw it.
So, would I recommend these deliciously weird libations? You bet your last rupee I would. What’s life without a little bit of experimentation, so much so that the kitchen actually meets the bar in an ecstatic embrace, leaving you clamouring for more!
Recipes:
1. Carrot carpaccio with rosemary and Tanqueray gin
Glass: Martini Glass
Ingredients:
45 ml. Tanqueray gin
15 ml. Cointreau
10ml. lemon juice
45 ml. cranberry juice
1 long stem rosemary
Garnish: carrot slices
Method:
Muddle together the rosemary and the cranberry juice adding the gin, Cointreau and lemon juice into a shaker.
Fill shaker with ice and double strain into a chilled martini glass.
Garnish with carrot slices
Accompaniment: Served with a duo of olive tepanade and mushroom paté bruschettas.
2. Concassed tomato water with char grilled bacon infused Smirnoff Black vodka
Glass: Martini glass
Ingredients:
60 ml. bacon-infused Smirnoff Black vodka
60 ml. tomato water
5 ml. lemon juice
2 fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
A pinch of rock salt
Garnish: fried basil leaf
Method:
Put pieces of char grilled bacon into a bottle of vodka and let it infuse for a couple of days.
Muddle together the basil leaves, garlic pods, rock salt along with the bacon-infused vodka and lemon juice in a shaker.
Add the tomato water and ice into the shaker and shake well.
Double strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a fried basil leaf.
Accompaniment: Served with a trio of cocktail samosas.
3. Chicken consommé with Red Label whisky
Glass: Brandy baloon
Ingredients:
120 ml. chicken stock
30 ml. whisky
2 scallions
1 star anise
3 kaffir lime leaves
2 tsp. chicken stock powder
Method:
Boil chicken stock with scallions, star anise, kaffir lime leaves and stock power.
Add the whisky to the stock mixture while stock is still hot.
Pour warm into a brandy baloon.
Accompaniment: Served with blue cheese and asparagus canapés with a bouquet garni of chopped carrots and scallions.
4. Blueberry and balsamic sorbet with Smirnoff Black vodka
Glass: Old fashioned
Ingredients:
60 ml. vodka
25 ml. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. blueberry jam
3 lemon wedges
4 mint sprigs
Dash of sugar syrup
Garnish: Lemon wedges and a sprig of mint
Method:
Muddle together the lemon wedges, mint leaves and blueberry jam along with the vodka, balsamic vinegar and sugar syrup.
Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour muddled mixture stirring gently.
Garnish with lemon wedges and a sprig of mint.
Accompaniment: Served with a cold soba noodle salad.
5. Tiramisu with Smirnoff Black vodka
Glass: Martini glass
Ingredients:
30 ml. vodka
30 ml. Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 shot single espresso
30 ml. chocolate sauce
10-15 ml. double cream
1 tbps mascarpone cheese
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
Garnish: coffee dust
Method:
Mix all the ingredients together along with ice into a shaker and shake well.
Double strain into a chilled martini glass coated with swirls of chocolate sauce
Garnish with a dusting of coffee powder.
Accompaniment: Served with a chocolate brownie.
(First published in Uppercrust)
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