February 2005
FOR THE BREAKS

A Bar Code

As you pitch for a mouth-watering account that could double the topline figure of your company, the next couple of days would be crucial if the decision maker is here for a week-long stay and you have secured two evenings out with him/her. Though you have a good sense of food, the perplexing world of beverages still eludes you as a host. Is it proper to start with cocktails or opt for whisky straight away. Can one drink beer with food? What is an aperitif and what is a digestive? What are dry wines and dry vermouth? What is tequila and how does one drink it? What is a shot and are champagnes different from sparkling wines? An insider’s guide into drinking while on business. A ready reckoner from Yangdup Lama, a leading mixologist and beverage consultant based in New Delhi, on beverages.

What are cocktails and what are the different categories of cocktails?

Any mixed drink with an alcoholic base is a cocktail. For example even a whisky and soda is supposed to be a cocktail but we refer to it as a straight drink. A straight drink is a drink which is drunk neat. Categorisation depends on certain factors like the method of preparation and the type of mix used. The basic categories of cocktails based on mix used are Sours (e.g. Whisky Sour), Fizzes (e.g. Gin Fizz), Slings, (e.g. Singapore Sling), Collins (e.g. Tom Collins), Flips (e.g. Sherry Flip), Coladas (e.g. Pina Colada). Cocktails depending on the method of preparation are Caipiroschka and Mojito (muddled drinks), Martini and Cosmopolitan (stirred drinks), Margarita and Daiquirie (shaken drinks), Bloody Mary, Planters Punch, Screwdriver, B-52 (built up or layered drinks). In addition to the above cocktails if any cocktail is served in a shot glass (approx-60ml) and is meant to be drunk in one gulp, is referred to as shots (e.g. Kami Kaze)

Cocktails do not call for occasions and one can drink it whenever one is willing. However, cocktails can be best enjoyed depending upon certain factors like, taste profile, alcohol base, and the time of the day and occasion.

Taste profile would be selecting the drink in terms of flavour, e.g. fruity, fizzy, sour, sweet, juicy and creamy or in terms of the alcohol base, e.g. gin, rum, vodka, whisky, tequila, wine, brandy and liqueur or with regard to time, usually day drinks are tall fruity and fizzy with low alcohol percentage like Champagne or wine and tall spirit based drinks, e.g. Bellini, Mimosa, Sangria, Screwdriver, Fuzzy Navel or Mojito.

Evening and late evening drinks are slightly heavier in terms of taste and alcohol percentage like Maitai, Bloody Mary, Caipiroschka, Black Russian and Martinis. Late night or party drinks are most preferably shots and shooters, which has more fun in terms of drinking style, the name of the drink and alcoholic percentage, e.g.-Tequila slammers, B-52’s, Kami Kazes, Sex on the beach, etc.

Are there any macho cocktails for men and lady-like cocktails for females?

Not exactly since drinking a cocktail is about personal preference rather than rules. Looking at it statistically, however, most women today stick to vodka or wine cocktails as compared to men who even drink whisky or dark rum cocktails.

Some examples of men cocktails are Whisky Sours, Manhattans, etc.

Some examples of women drinks are Kir Royale, Cosmopolitans, Bellini, Caipiroschka, Mojito, Sex on the beach, Fruit Margaritas and Fruit Daiquirie, etc.

What are the different types of spirits and what are their significance and how are each of these respective beverages drunk best?

The basic categories of spirits are rum, gin, vodka, brandy, whisky and liqueurs. In addition to the above there are a lot of individual country spirits like Cacacha from Brazil, Marc from France, Grappa from Italy, Tequila and Mezcal from Mexico, Aquavit from Scandinavian countries, Pisco from Chile and Peru, Ouzo from Greece, Feni from Goa (India) and traditional lesser known home made spirits like Guras Ko Rokshi from Darjeeling made from the juice of rhododendron flowers.

All these spirits have their respective flavours and differ in terms of the ingredients, manufacturing process etc. For example, white rums of two different brands are not the same and hence priced differently. It has its own unique taste and flavour. Therefore one can drink each of these spirits either neat or with soda, water, ice, aerated water, juices etc. I would suggest: drink your beverage as per your choice. I drink my whisky with half quantity of coke and ice and I like my flavoured vodka on the rocks. “It’s about personal taste.”

Could you elaborate on the types of whiskies and their special appeal, the neutral taste of vodka and the flavours of gin?

Some of the well known types of whiskies are Scotch from Scotland, American whisky and Bourbon whisky from America, Canadian or Rye Whisky from Canada, Irish whisky from Ireland.

Of these the most well known is Scotch (all whiskies distilled and matured in Scotland for a minimum of three years). Scotch is of three types: grain scotch, malted scotch and blended scotch. The whisky is matured for a minimum of three years in pre-used oak casks (like bourbon or sherry casks). Blended whiskies were very popular until five years ago but the new revolution in Scotch whiskies are the malts. The most unique character of Scotch is its peaty flavour. The grain Scotch are not very popular and are mostly used in making blended Scotch.

American whiskies are mostly made from corn and rye although malts are also used. They are slightly sweetish in taste as compared to other whiskies and have to be matured in new white oak barrels which are charred from the inside to give it a unique character. Bourbon is whisky made from corn and can be manufactured anywhere in the USA (e.g. Jim Beam), whereas Tennessee whisky can only be made in Tennessee and is filtered through maple charcoal (e.g. Jack Daniel Tennessee).

Vodka or wodka comes from a Russian word voda which means “dear little water.” The many distillation and filtration processes remove all the impurities from the vodka making it into a neutral spirit with no taste, smell or colour, the reason why it makes such a good cocktail base.

Gin on the other hand is a high proof flavoured spirit actually produced for medical purpose. The main flavouring is of Juniper berries along with herbs and spices. The term “dry” on the gin label stands for “not sweet” or “less sweet,” and is mostly manufactured in England.

Can you elaborate a little on the types of wine Aperitif and digestive?

Aperitifs are beverages which are “dry” to taste and a little less alcoholic and can range from a wine to a cocktail. Aperitifs are drinks which are taken before food and are meant to set the tone for the other foods and drinks to follow. (For example, any dry white wine, dry sparkling wine, dry vermouth or cocktail such as Martini, Manhattan are aperitifs).

Digestives are basically after dinner drinks and slightly on the sweeter side and also help in the digestion of food. For example, liqueurs, sweet wines, sherry, cognac etc.

Wines are fermented grape juice. It can be classified into the following:

By Nature—still, sparkling or fortified wines;

By Colour—red, white or rose;

By Taste—dry or sweet;

By Year—vintage or non-vintage.

Still wines form almost about 80% of the total wine production and are the normal table wines that we see every day. The alcohol volume varies from 9% to12 %. They come in red, white and rose and can be either dry or sweet.

Sparkling wines are also called effervescent wines and sometimes called the bubbly. The most famous is Champagne. These wines are mostly used during celebrations or any happy occasion. They also range from the very dry (Brut) to sweet (Doux) wine. They can be drunk as an aperitif and also as a digestive.

Fortified wines are wines to which a spirit of a similar nature, i.e. brandy, has been added to increase the strength of the wine and to preserve it. Most fortified wines are good digestive. The alcohol percent varies from 14 to 25 %.

Vintage wines are wines made from the grapes harvested in one particular year and the government declares that particular year as vintage. Vintage years can vary from one country to another.