Do you see the connection among the four bottles? That is a gin, vodka, single malt and a liqueur from India. Thinking of doing a few cocktails with India theme. I guess to keep up with times, I should strictly say “Bharat” theme. If you have some ideas about recipes, let me know!

Bourbon, ginger liqueur and bitters.

2 ounces of whiskey and 5 ounces of ginger ale garnished with candied ginger.

With the oppressive heat in the evening, wanted to do a chilled cocktail like Negroni but did not feel like a gin today. Opted for the sister drink Boulevardier. (Bourbon replaces gin; sweet vermouth and Campari stays)

Cooling down with this cocktail with ginger beer, lime juice and vodka. Of course, it is never a real Moscow Mule till you have it in a copper mug!

Gin, yellow chartreuse and orange bitters. Love the yellow chartreuse on the nose. The drink is great on the palate too…

Sweet Revenge is a strawberry liqueur (whiskey based) made in the USA. Actually, I do not think they make it any more. On this rainy cloudy evening a Strawberry Cure was called for. This is Sweet Revenge with soda water and lime juice.

After the disaster yesterday, I tried to follow the recipe with a different achar today (this time it was a chili achar). With equally disastrous results. That Instagram post was either by somebody who is a neophyte in cocktails or I am simply not getting it.

The oil makes it very uncomfortable to sip. Achar, in general, is exceedingly strong on the nose and the palate. Cocktails are best when they have gentle but firm expressions on your olfactory senses and taste buds.

I am dropping the concept of cocktails made from achar here.

DJ sent me this recipe from an Instagram post. It basically has some Indian achar, vodka and ginger beer.

I used Bedekar’s garlic achar with mixed results. Sharmila did not like it at all. I thought it was just okay. The biggest challenge is the oil in the achar that floats to the top. The initial sips are very oily to the lips. (you can see the red oil floating in the picture)

Tomorrow, I will try with a different achar and see if that makes a difference.