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Undoubtedly, the trajectory of urban India’s cocktail drinking game has been skyward and new innovations are only adding vigour to this revolution. Pandemic pushed us indoors, presenting an unprecedented opportunity for drinking better and with experimentations. A number of domestic players are busy adding zing to the cocktails scene by introducing new mixers & syrups.
The ongoing pandemic may have put a dent in your spirit, but not among those who wish to keep you flavourfully spirited. Many have been making experiments with new mixes their new perpetual ritual. And adding to their swag are the homegrown tastemakers - Swa Artisanal Syrups, May & Co., and Mxyr Cocktail Mixers. They have eased the game and raised it a few notches.
Local, all natural Swa Artisanal Syrups with no preservative predate the pandemic. Bengaluru-based Vaishali Mehta began with a cold-press juice company in 2016, with the goal of fostering healthy drinking without it being boring. It is the demand for more flavours and a higher shelf life of drinks that induced her to transit to syrups, introducing SWA in November 2019.
Artisanal and Innovative
“We had 60 flavour combinations fixed beforehand, yet we invested two years developing the right permutations and balances, understanding our fruits’ provenances, science of herbs & spices, and the best extraction processes for each,” Vaishali reminisced.
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“Our clients wanted consistency and ease of making, which made us come up with stuff like tea syrups. These demands added to our experiments,” observed the lady.
Today, she toys with the likes of jackfruit, guava, chilli, aalu bukhara, kokum, etc. and sources her pineapples from Tamil Nadu, bird eye chillies from Coorg, mangoes from Ratnagiri, and more. Her all-women kitchen team meticulously prepares everything in-house, giving personal attention to each step. These syrups not only work well in cocktails, but even by themselves. My favourites are jamun kala khatta, lychee lemon, hibiscus tea, and orange mint and I look forward to their new coffee syrups with Blue Tokai.
Worth Savouring
May & Co. makes artisanal, handcrafted, small batched syrups and shrubs. Mayank Mohindra, a certified mixologist from the coveted European Bartending School in Barcelona, took matters in his own hands when the syrups available in the market couldn’t satiate his refined, trained palate.
He reconnected with his passion for fine drinks and submerged in extensive R&D. Couple of months on, 30+ initial samples emerged. And by October 2020, 15 flavours were finalised of which initially nine were initially introduced in the market, and five more have been added to the offering.
“The most important part is to identify the right ingredients and set fitting processes in place. That is what took us two months. Every ingredient is unique and no single process applies to all,” explained Mayank.
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May & Co. sources ingredients directly from farms in Himachal to Chennai and has meticulous, personalised control over quality.
The result of this painstaking process shows. Their products are neat, flavoursome, and well integrated. Besides directly selling to consumers, Mayank also wants to take them at bars to standardise & elevate their cocktail game.
The range of May & Co. is diverse. It begins from the simple ingredients like lemon juice, and Demerara gum syrup, and evolves to almond orgeat, hibiscus rose, and even an interesting pineapple rosemary shrub. I enjoyed their almond orgeat Mai Tai and the pineapple rosemary shrub, even by itself, with a splash of chilled water. Now I look forward to the hibiscus rose, and some of the new releases. A pineapple rosemary shrub ice-cream would be ethereal.
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