Mixologist Mahender Mahy talks to Asmita Sarkar about his desi take on cocktails
Neither do people seek to get high nor do they ignore their health for a binge when they go out to drink with friends. They spend time and money on keeping fit and want their cocktails to be mindful of that, says mixologist Mahender Mahy.
Working in a Gurugram pub, Molecule, he has created a menu that aims to marry the global with the desi. So he has been advocating homemade syrups instead of synthetic ones with preservatives and sugar. In fact, almost his entire “global temptations” menu is without sugar. “I ask the customers what they want in their base and how they want the taste to be like and 50 per cent of them want one that doesn’t derail them from their fitness regime. People want to be able to have five to six drinks and drive back home safely,” he says.
Some of the concoctions he has devised include cumin, chaat masala, sandalwood syrup —which enhances the fragrance of the drink — and other edible flowers and herbs. His team makes the syrups themselves and the fastest selling drink at the pub is a litchi-based one. To balance the sweet taste, they use chilli and pineapple. Another drink, the Southern tip, has gin, which he says has overtaken both whisky and vodka in the market, and a Himalayan fruit called phalsa and orange liqueur. The Kailasa sandal cocktail is another that caught our attention. This, he says, is made with sandalwood syrup from Kailasha, Darjeeling tea and a herbal bitter, making it one of the healthiest drinks on the menu. The Konkantini shakes up the traditional martini by infusing kokum juice balance with lime juice.
Health is a guiding factor for the fast-changing menus but so is social media. It’s a small industry globally and influences seep in from all parts of the world. India is slowly catching up with world trends.