Time To Shake Things Up: Celebrating International Cocktail Day
That time of the year where its practically obligatory to embrace your inner mixologist in full swirl!
On World Cocktail Day you swirl a coupe glass like you mean it and pontificate loudly about obscure bitters and the perfect ice sphere density. But, please don't go for those pedestrian margaritas and syrup-drenched disasters and call it cocktails!
Instead, go for the ones that can be freshly made with simple ingredients handy and some really good liquor. So, grab your cocktail dresses ladies and those velvet smoking jackets lads (or pajamas, no judgements), this World Cocktail Day, you can through a cocktail night that never before, the ones that'll make you and your friends wanting more.
Here are five cocktails that are must-haves if you want to celebrate International Cocktails Day right!
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Jim Beam Summer Smash
Think you are putting one foot in Kentucky, one in Goa's Beach shack for the taste of bourbon that's gone tropical. Concocted by Suntory Global Spirits' portfolio advocate, Robert Hospet, this is a mash up of ripe Alphonso mango (the king of smooth rebellion), with herbal, gingery kick from tulsi and ginger juice.
The rustic sweetness triggered by the the addition of jaggery syrup as a spritz of soda keeps the drink dangerously crushable, this old-fashioned cocktail has an old-soul and a tiki bar's attitude. Pour the drink in an old-fashioned glass, slap on a mint sprig, and sip on your sun-drenched porch as you want the sunset.
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Toki Matcha Haiboru
What if your cocktail could help you reach the zen-mode? Like that idea? Try the cocktail crafted by none other than Suntory's spirited advocate Shibani Surkund. She shares that the smooth, crisp elegance of Toki Whisky tangoes with the earthy umami of matcha green tea, sugar solution and a whisk, tickled by tonic water and brightened with a citrus kiss.
Served in a highball, garnished with lemon peel, the drink is made from the Japanese Toki Suntory Whisky that's paired with Hakushu American White Oak Cask malt spirit and Chita heavy-type grain spirit.
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Beam and Bean Flip
Beam and Bean Flip is a bourbon cocktail that thinks its dessert but punches like a prizefighter. It has a bold, velvety texture and blends Jim Beam Bourbon with cold brew coffee, jaggery syrup, and a whole egg for rich, silky texture. If you think that's it? Wait till you mix a dash of cardamom bitters to the exotic whisper of the East. Think boozy Indian kulfi that's creamy and decadent.
Peat in the Jungle
Laphroaig Select is paired with grilled pineapple juice, falernum, lime (not lemon), and a dash of absinthe mist. Its a smoky, feral, peated tiki cocktail for the whisky anarchist.
What makes it unique is that unlike most tiki drinks that shy away from smoke, Peat in the Jungle served in a hollowed out coconut embraces it head-on.
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Sea Smoke and Honeyed Corn
Hold up, I know what you are thinking. But they sing very well together. Mix Laphroaig Select with sweet corn milk (yes, you heard me), with a touch of wildflower honey, a hint of soy sauce reduction, and spirit of yuzu zest or lime.
Garnish baby corn skewer dusted with smoked paprika. This silky, lush, savoury-sweet drink with an undercurrent of smokiness is surely up in the 'rule breakers' cocktail orthodoxy but once tastes, it unforgettable.