Mini Ribeiro
GIN GENIE
For some reason, gin has always been given a rather step-motherly treatment by tipplers. Vodka can have the same effect, they say, and under this pretext, poor ol’ gin has been relegated to the background.
Don’t desert that dessert
The surest way to ensure your guests end their meal with a smile is by serving them a glass of dessert wine.
The magic potion that elevates
There is no dearth of flavours one can infuse into cocktails. In fact, it’s these additives that make a cocktail special and unique. From the fruity to the colourful, cocktail syrups are flooding the market today, spoiling the tippler for choice.
Whisky and its mystics
Barley, water and yeast, aged in oak barrels, produce whisky. But that does not mean all whiskies are the same. Ranging from scotch to blended, each whisky has its own special characteristics that sets it apart. From the grains used to the barrels in which it’s aged to the blend which creates the finished product, there are many factors which affect the flavour and quality of the whisky, and each of these factors has a definite impact on the whisky’s flavour.
Add sparkle to your wine
Celebrations call for a glass of Champagne. And while most people routinely use Champagne and sparkling wine interchangeably, there is a great deal of difference. Champagne is perhaps the most famous sparkling wine, but that doesn’t mean the others are any lesser.
Bond with the best
The martini is one of the simplest drinks to make, comprising all of three ingredients. All you need to do stir or shake gin with a splash of vermouth and garnish with olives or a lemon peel. But easy as it sounds, bartenders will tell you it’s among the toughest drinks to get right. Bartender Biswas from Aqua Spirit at the Sun n Sand in Mumbai once told me the amount of vermouth determines how dry the drink becomes: The lesser the vermouth, the drier the martini.
Drinks see white
White spirits are neutral and more mixable, as they are not as strong on the palate as their darker variants. White rum is delicious, versatile and inspiring.
Pluck of the Irish
Trust the Irish to add a dash of alcohol even to something as innocuous as coffee! But truly, there is nothing more invigorating and energising than a cup of Irish coffee. Be it the wintry chill or during the rains, it remains an interesting and effective twist to coffee. A delicious alcohol drink with hot black coffee, brown sugar and whipped cream, Irish coffee also has generous dollops of whiskey (It’s the Irish, so the “e” is mandatory).
Wine: The drink of ’12
The crystal ball of my bar is in all readiness, and looking ahead at 2012, it makes a few rather startling revelations.
For you tea-totallers
For anybody like me who’s grown up in Kolkata, tea is an integral part of life. Tea, and especially Darjeeling tea, spells magic for me. It’s the world’s most expensive tea, one with an intensely exotic flavour; Darjeeling is to tea, what Champagne is to wine. Many a summer vacation has been spent in the tea
