Here’s how to beat the summer heat

With the mercury soaring ever-upwards, and the sweltering month of May still to make an appearance, this is just the time when your body craves cooling drinks and how. Visions of fruity, hydrating, refreshing cocktails, poured over crushed ice, dance tantalisingly in front of your eyes. This is a demand that bartenders and mixologists at popular watering holes all over the country are keeping in mind as they fashion exquisite drinks to beat the summer heat.

“Typically, the logic is that you have dark spirits to warm up and clear spirits to cool down, but that’s not really the case,” says Nick Harrison of the Olive Bar and Kitchen, Bandra, Mumbai. “The key to making any spirit refreshing is to amp the citrus or balance with a bitter element.” This is a sentiment that Vincent Gomes, of Guppy at Mahalaxmi, Mumbai, agrees with as well. “Frankly speaking, one can always make any kind of spirit interesting by mixing well balanced ingredients,” he says.

With many opting to take advantage of a swimming pool, if they have access to one, poolside drinks are also very popular during the summer months. And these concoctions make ample use of the season’s freshest ingredients such as pomegranates, mint, mangoes, citrus fruits and berries — which helps not only in beating the heat wave, but also in refreshing you considerably.

Says Nick Harrison, “Living in the climate that we do, we’re blessed with some of the best fruits in the world. With May around the corner, naturally, mangoes steal the show. We’ve showcased the versatility of the fruit, in two different cocktails using two different varieties: a sparkling alphonso daiquiri and a raw mango caipirojka.”

Vincent Gomes, on the other hand, points out that summer cocktails needn’t stop at seasonal fruits — flowers can make for equally refreshing additions. “Though the king of fruits (mango) is there in our special cocktail menu, our bartenders opt for a floral cocktail called the hibiscus tea punch,” he says.

Sparkling Alphonso Daiquiri
This cocktail is put together as a classic frozen daiquiri using fresh alphonso but we cut the sweetness by topping with sparkling wine giving the drink a whole new dimension.

Ingredients:
60 ml white rum
50 gm alphonso mango
100 ml mango juice
70 gm ice
5 ml lime juice
50 ml sparkling wine

Method:
Blend the fresh mango, mango juice, white rum, ice and lime juice. Serve in a margarita glass, top with sparkling wine and garnish with freshly diced mango. The richness of the fruit results in a beautifully creamy texture offset by crisp bubbles that tantalise your tongue.  
— Nick Harrison

Hibiscus Tea Punch

Ingredients:
60 ml vodka
150 ml hibiscus tea
10 ml lime juice
25 ml sugar syrup

Method:  
In a mixing can, add all the ingredients together with some ice cubes and shake vigorously. Pour the mix into a Collins glass with ice. Garnish with an edible flower.
— Vincent Gomes