14 June 2022

Juhi’s Elder

“Hey, that cocktail matches your name!”
“That is because I created it!”

Last couple of trips to India, I had gotten to know Juhi. This time, I had not noticed her initially – those masks still make facial recognition tricky for me – but one of the nephews pointed out “Juhi didi na?“.

As I was talking to her, I noticed that the advertised cocktail at the bar of the Executive Lounge carried her name.

“Looks like a summer drink to me”, I said as I read the ingredients.
“Yes sir, best on a hot day.

“Let’s make two of them. And then I will take a picture of the drink with you.”

Sharmila and I both tried the drink.

It tasted great. The elderflower left very fragrant notes and the vodka was mild enough. Probably better suited for being by the pool in heat rather than in an air conditioned room though.

1 May 2022

From the bartender’s corner – Oude Genever

Genever (also Jenever) is the original predecessor of gin. (There was an in between genre called Tom Gin). This alcohol goes back five centuries! The distillation process was crude enough that the monks thought it best to put in juniper and other herbs and was mostly used for medicinal purposes (which it was not). Between Oude and the Jonge versions (Old and Young), I prefer the Oude. This particular one is aged for a year and to me it gives a whole different nose and complexity to the drink.

30 April 2022

From the bartender’s corner – Lemon Drop Martini

I was not exactly in the mood for a martini but I need to empty my bottles and get rid of them. Need to set up the bar area in this house in a different fashion. There was enough Absolut Citron left to throw in some Dry Vermouth and make a Lemon Drop Martini out of it.

Ideally, I would garnish it with a lemon twist but the new house does not have any of those things yet.