A tale of two spirits

Think about what you were drinking a few years ago A rum and Coke or perhaps a cranberry vodka if you were feeling fancy Today a cocktail surpasses the confines of sours and martinis incorporating unheardof botanicals mezcals and bitters that scream genius The world of mixology has undergone a renaissance of sorts and that is undeniable There are a few subtrends under this larger overarching transformationTopically speaking the celebrated comeback of gin is one and then there is the more ubiquitous manifestation of breweries and eclectic brews emerging as a result Notably the divide between what men drink and what women drink is blurred and to some extent that plays a major role in increasing the marketability of spirits or commodities for that matterMagandeep SinghSommelier Magandeep Singh echoes this when he says that the approach to drinks has gone through a remarkable reorientation and a few factors have decidedly lent themselves to the rise in popularity of these spirits He explains For some odd reason earlier whisky and beer were considered largely male drinks Today when I see beer branding going out its very androgynous In a way beer is more inclusive because you dont need to be rich or poor to be drinking it So its democratic and now it comes in various prices ranging from R100 to R1000 for a pint This unstuffy nature of the drink could have very well contributed to its seemingly omnipresent currencyOn the other hand there is gin an effervescent botanical spirit that has been exhumed with immense gusto and which is back on the shelves in many forms What is peculiar though to both Singh and Keshav Prakash mdash the founder of the Vault Collection which curates experiences in fine spirits and an acclaimed beverages expert mdash is why of all things city mixologists are combining gin and beer two nuanced spirits that are likely to mask each otherKeshav PrakashIts a little bit of shoehorning but there are ways to do it Just to be fair to the beer which can very easily be overpowered by the highly alcoholic and botanical gin I would probably mdash and only if I was armtwisted to do this mdash start with a wit or anything with a lot of hops so that it can hold its own The idea would be to experiment with agin whose botanicals would complement the beer rather than clash with it Prakash suggests adding that combining the two would mean working with a flavour bomb and the best way to navigate such a pair would be to keep it simple and extend that logic to the ingredients too by sticking to a basic citrusy garnish mdash a common element in both beer and ginOn International Beer Day we speak to the few folks who have dared to toy with this deadly combo Heres what they have to sayA pickme upBotanicals make up the heart of both mdash hops for beer and juniper berries for gin Thats why when mixed together intelligently the flavours marry into a light effervescent drink explains Santosh Kukreti bar manager at this Lower Parel watering hole The thirsty tonic is a DIY cocktail that comes with an inhouse GampT topped with a choice of beer and your picks from a botanical box While choosing keep Kukretis suggestion in mind mdash Balance is keySantosh KukretiAt Thirsty City 127 Todi Mills Lower Parel Time 6 pm to 1 am Call 9136942030 Cost Rs 600One for the roadBeers in cocktails can be sterner and the hoppy bitterness should be used as a secondary flavour to the gin It would thus pair well with a maltbased gin like Genever which can be further reduced to a syrup or used with tonic bar head at this restaurant Latesh Kotiyar tells us while speaking about Abbey Road a cocktail made with ginger honey fresh lime juice gin and wit beerLatesh KotiyarAt London Taxi Kamala Mills Lower ParelTime 12 pm to 1 am Call 61344902 Cost Rs 295GampT in a kegFor their annual beer and burger festival the team at this 12yearold gastropub decided to breathe the effervescence of a longtime favourite gin and tonic into a beer The sun of a witch is an unlikely lemony brew with juniper coriander liquorice and scents of cucumber created in collaboration with the Gateway Brewing Company Navin Mittal its founder explains Before hops found their way into beer in the 9th century the drink would be brewed with various herbs and seeds while juniper berries and spices were used to further enhance the flavour The goal was to produce a drink that was aromatic and balanced Area general manager at the drinkery Dolphy Sequeira adds We arrived at this after a lot of RampD and trials and picked gose a neutral beer with a tartness that brings in the tonic elementDolphy SequeiraAt Woodside Inn Colaba and Andheri Till August 11 1130 am to 1 am Call 22875752 Colaba Cost Rs 315 for 280 mlRiding on thisAt a newly opened restobar smarty Jones is a ginbased cocktail that comprises pressed cucumber juice aniseed apple and fresh basil topped with beer Its creator Mariki Sayles who has worked as a bar consultant here shares Drinking trends change worldwide In countries like India dark spirits were considered aspirational while white spirits were not considered premium That is now changing Wheat beers benefit from a lift of citrus and often pair well with spirits that have a little acid as well Hence gin and wheat beer pair well together in cocktailsMariki SaylesAt Derby The Capital BKC Time 12 pm to 130 am Call 61736296 Cost Rs 550 to Rs 600Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates