Keeping Up the Monsoon Spirit: How to Build Your Bar Cart for the Season
With the onset of the monsoon season comes the urge to consume warm foods and drinks like tea and fried snacks like samosas and pakoras with some mint-based chutney that can keep you company as you make full use of the relatively cooler weather. The rainy season also has something in store for you if you’re also looking to customise your home bar for the season. Balanced, well-crafted beverages with an infusion of fruits and warmer liquor like whisky are some of the many options you can choose from when deciding how your home bar will look for the season.
The following guide is here to guide you with the basic spirits, mixers and cocktails you might want to procure and make at your home bar.
Essential Spirits
A bunch of warm spirits can occupy a place in your home bar during monsoon. Some widely stocked ones include whisky, rum and brandy, and are thus often used in mixing drinks in both monsoon and even winters.
Whisky, a warm liquor with its spicy notes, smoky flavours and smooth finish helps prepare warm cocktails for the wet season.
Similarly, rum is well-suited for warm drinks, particularly in colder weather, due to its versatility in flavour combinations. Its typically spiced flavour profile also pairs well with common warm drink ingredients like hot water, cider, or hot chocolate.
Brandy’s warmth helps release it’s subtle notes of vanilla, caramel, and spices, particularly those aged in oak barrels.
Additionally, if you’re craving botanical gins in your base spirits instead of saccharine and smoky flavours, it might be worth trying gins that contain Indian spices like cardamom and cinnamon that are quintessential must-haves for monsoon.
Also Read: 5 Whisky-Based Cocktails To Serve This Monsoon Season
Mixers (and Flavours) for Monsoon
Spices like ginger, turmeric, and garlic, along with flavours like cinnamon and cumin, are quite prominent in these weather conditions. Fruits like jamun, plums, and lychee added to drinks can thus offer a sweet and tangy contrast. Buying fruits in stock throughout the season is a smart way to never deplete your supply of mixers for whatever cocktails you choose to make.
These seasonal fruits are also suitable mixers with whisky, dark or spiced rum and gin, leading to flavourful combinations of cocktails. If you eat these fruits often during monsoon, using them in your home bar can help create balanced, aromatic and well-structured beverages to go along with the smell of petrichor outside the window.
Another mixer to try if you want something more tropical is coconut water, if readily available. With its velvety mouthfeel and subtle savouriness, coconut water can help you craft your next tropical cocktail. To mix coconut water in your drinks, you can pair it with 30 ml of Captain Morgan or other dark rum of your choice, and garnish it with citrus fruits like lemon.
Besides fruits, you can also try experimenting with mixers like coffee and hot chocolate added to cream liqueur, if you wish to go beyond the classic combination of chai with samosas, vada pavs and pakoras [https://in.thebar.com/articles/easy-baileys-cocktail-recipe-for-rainy-day-evenings-see-prep-tips-inside]. Such mixers are ideal for those who prefer sweet and dairy flavours during this season. A hint of spice with 30 ml or less of Bailey’s Original Irish Cream Liqueur and these ingredients can add a slight change to the largely dominant sweetness of your drink.
For recipes on some more easy cocktails you can make this season, click here
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
