Got back to the guava juice Sharmila had bought. This is a relatively simple cocktail – two ounces of vodka, two and a half ounces of guava juice and half an ounce of sweetened lime juice – shaken over ice and served in a martini glass without any garnish.

Tried a variant on margarita. First off, used the guava juice that Sharmila got. Still experimenting with it. Second, instead of Tequila, used Casamigos Mezcal. And finally, used kiln fired rock salt for the rim of the glass.

Wet the rim of the margarita glass with a slice of lime and rotate the rim on a small pile of kiln fired rock salt so a little of it sticks all around. In a mixing glass, put ice, three ounces of guava juice, one and a half ounce of mezcal, three quarters ounce of cointreau and squeeze a slice of lime in it. Thoroughly shake it and pour in the glass.

This one is improvised from a recipe I found in a rather humorously named website.

Take two slices of lime in a muddling glass and throw in a spoonful of sugar in it. Muddle it very well. Add ice to it. Pour two ounces of rum and four ounces of guava juice in it and then shake it well.

Pour it in a glass of your choice (I used a margarita glass) and serve.

Great tropical drink. Probably more suited to summer days but I enjoyed it anyways.

The three ingredients of a Racquet Club are Gin, Dry Vermouth and Orange Bitters. Interestingly enough, you can make a Leaning Tower, Delmonico or an Astorio Bianco using those exact ingredients and nothing else. It is all in the proportions.

This one has 3 ounces of gin, 1 ounce of dry vermouth and 4 dashes of orange bitters.

Made a gin cocktail after a long time. Pour 2 ounces of gin with 3/4 ounce of Triple Sec, 3/4 ounce of Sweet Vermouth and a few dashes of Angostura bitters with ice in a shaker and our in a martini glass…

If you like cinnamon, you might like this. First, muddle a small cinnamon stick (they are very strong in aroma, an inch is more than enough) in your mixing glass. Pour half an ounce of fresh lime juice and three fourths of an ounce of honey syrup of honey liqueur (like Barenajager) and muddle it a little more. Pour ice and two ounces of rum and shake it. Pour into a coupe and top it off with champagne. Gently stir it and serve.

I loved the end result. I do not think I had seen this recipe before. Got this from The Spruce Eats.

First, muddle a jalapeno in a mixing glass. Add ice, two ounces of mango juice (I have a nice one from the local Indian store0, two ounces of vodka (I used Tito’s), a spoon of Agave Nectar, a spoon of lime juice and a couple of dashes of orange bitters. Shake it well and pour it in a martini glass.

The drink has a kick and is very flavorful.

I still have some of the guava juice left. Went with a variation of the Cosmopolitan today.

Mix two ounces of vodka, two ounces of guava juice, half an ounce of Triple Sec and half an ounce of freshly squeezed lime juice with ice in a shaker and then pour in a martini glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

This is not the real name. If you have a better name, let me know. I had some Guava juice with me. Guava was one of the common fruits we grew up with in India. In fact we had a couple of guava trees in our own yard.

The fruit itself, as I understand is not native to India. It was brought to India by the Portuguese, who themselves got it from southern Mexico. The origin, as I understand, is in southern Mexico/central America.

Anyways, I asked Sharmila what would go well with Guava juice. Ginger and jalapeno, she said.

So, here is how the drink was made…

Put a small amount of ginger paste or muddle a little piece of ginger with a couple of small slices of jalapeno in a glass . Ginger is very strong – so be easy on the amount. Pour ice, a little rock salt, 3-4 ounces of guava juice and 2 ounces of vodka. I used UV’s Sriracha vodka to get the extra pungency. Shake it and pour in a cocktail glass.

Continuing with the India themed cocktails.

Muddle a couple curry leaves with a few drops of lemon juice with a muddler. Add ice, Himalayan pink salt, 3-4 ounces of rasam (strain out everything other than the liquid) and 2 ounces of vodka. Shake and pour in a cocktail glass. Spring some dried and powdered cumin seeds from the top in the end.

Sharp to the tongue and very flavorful.