Fermented cocktails in India: How bars are using cheong, kombucha and lacto-ferments
Cocktail bars in India are embracing fermentation to create unique drinks tailored to seasonal ingredients and moods. This trend highlights the use of house-made vinegars, lacto-fermented syrups, and other fermented components to enhance flavor profiles. As bartenders experiment with traditional Indian fermentation techniques, they aim to minimize waste while crafting innovative cocktails.
- ▪Fermentation is becoming central to modern bartending in India, utilizing ingredients like lemons, chillies, and tomatoes.
- ▪Mixologists are encouraged to move beyond ready-made mixers and explore the craft value of fermentation.
- ▪Bars like The Brook in Nepal and Humpy in Karnataka are experimenting with unique fermented ingredients to create distinctive cocktails.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
A cocktail bar is no longer bound by menu. More often than not, we pick a drink simply because it is listed. But what if your cocktails now are built around your mood, seasonal produce, or whatever is fermenting in the bar’s lab?This shift is not just about sleeker tools at the bar console or the bartender’s theatrical presentation of your favourite drink, but also about the process of extracting the exact flavours out of the key ingredients used in the cocktail. It is time to pay close attention to the glass bottles lined along bar shelves — lemons, chillies, and fruits suspended mid-ferment. They’re not décor, but the new building blocks of flavour.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Hindu — Top.
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