Cocktails Art Of Mixology

Cocktails, and spirits comprising these drinks, are becoming popular as they speak to the consumers' soul and respond to their inner tastes. Cocktails are selling in record numbers. Not only are bartenders brewing up these delectable tipples for eager and avid consumers but the demand for these ready to drink (RTDs) beverages is also increasing. Millenials and Gen Z are demanding the RTD tipples which they can consume at home with friends. This category has been growing globally. Many liquor brands too have launched RTD cocktails. Ashok Malkani takes a look at the growing trend of consuming cocktails instead of straight alcoholic drinks with a dash of water or aerated waters.

- Ashok Malkani

AS one raises the glass to bring in the New Year and say cheers”, it is found that the glass does not contain just alcohol or soft drink or even juice but a combination of several ingredients. Yes it's a Cocktail!

Today, as food has become a hot topic of discussion due to globalization, which has made it easier for chefs to procure high quality ingredients from virtually every corner of the globe, what goes with the food has become equally important. There is now a trend of sophisticated tipples. High end restaurant would serve drinks at that level. Just plain alcohol served with water or soda or Cola is no longer the vogue. What surrounds the alcohol in the glass is equally important.

Cocktails are becoming the fashion. They can not only make you feel refreshed but you could also regulate the amount of alcohol that you consume. Brenda Fiala, Global Vice President of Strategy, Insights & Analytics at Bacardi, is of the view that as cocktail culture flourishes people would seek inspiration from new flavours, sensations and experiences.

But one wonders why it is called a cocktail! Why would your pre-dinner sips have such an animalistic name? Such a name, you feel, would be the last thing that would come to one's mind when cradling a Crantini. One should not be mislaid by such a name. The real root of the word doesn't have anything to do with chickens. It involves horses.

According to Vicky Bachani, Co-Founder at Farmaaish Lounge and Bar, Pune, "The word is derived from something concerning horses with a mixed lineage. These mixed breed horses used to have their tails cropped short to recognize these breeds hence the analogy where spirits that are mixed and are no longer pure spirits are called cocktails."