A Tale of Three Cities
- WhimsicalWhiskey
- Jan 18, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 5, 2020
My first properly curated 3 course cocktail experience, designed to celebrate the three cities closest to my heart, on the New Year's Eve of 2017.
Dec 30, 2017, I was in Nagpur on my ritual India trip and my sister recently had an accident, slipping from stairs, fracturing her right leg (funny story). So that new year's eve, we decided to take it easy and not go for any 'yo party' and instead, stay at home and celebrate it with just the core family.
I thought I need to add some glitter and glam to the 'parivaar' party, after all it was new year's eve! and for me, there is no better way of doing so than having some fancy cocktails which would make you happy-drunk in no time (my dad preferred plain whiskey though :|).
"I wanted to flaunt my love for the cities which have been an integral part of my life and have defined me in many different ways"
Earlier that same year, I have had an amaaazzzing experience at a Michelin star speakeasy cocktail bar called Aviary in Chicago that serves multi-course craft cocktail experiences. I was blown away with it; the concept of having well crafted cocktails one after the other (with a tasteful sequence) was crazy inspiring.
So I jumped on to the opportunity of trying out such a multi course cocktail experience for the parivaar (as they would be the best guinea pigs if I am not able to pull it off).
Thus, the cocktails would come in the course sequence of - Nagpur > Chicago > Nashville; My roots > my freedom > my independence.
And of course, I wanted to have some theme to it, so I thought of presenting the courses in the sequence of the cities I have lived in, and flaunt my love for these places which have been an integral part of my life and have defined me in many different ways.
Thus, the courses were going to be Nagpur > Chicago > Nashville. My roots > my freedom > my independence
(If I ever make this a 4 course, I will add Pune )
1st Course:
The Cocktail: Nagpur Roots
Ingredients:
Lemon grass infused Bacardi Rum
Fresh Nagpuri Oranges (of course)
Ambadi che phula (Roselle - google it)
#Saoji masala (hell yeah!)
Sparkling water
Now before the recipe, you might be thinking what's so Nagpuri about lemon grass and Ambadi che phula (Roselle sounds so chic; but its a nagpuri cocktail so I am gonna stick to "ambadi che phula" ). Watch this amateur video of me explaining the cocktail while serving.
Recipe:
Prep: Infuse fresh lemon grass in rum over night
Mash fresh orange slices, ambadi che phula, saoji masala and a pinch of salt and sugar in a shaker with a cocktail masher.
Add ice and lemon grass infused rum and shake well
Drain it in a martini glass and pour some sparkling water on top of it
Garnish it with the beautiful ambadi cha phul and a slice of orange (I wish I had a better picture of this cocktail)
2nd Course:
The Cocktail: The Windy Skyscraper
City: Chicago baby!
I wanted to denote the glory of my windy city in this drink: it's skyscrapers - classy, magnificent and glamorous! <3 These were denoted with flavored ice cubes, one over the other. (The ice cubes idea was completely snatched from Aviary, but the flavors I made were different.)
Ingredients:
Gin
Strawberries, Pineapple and Kiwi
Champagne
lemon
I wanted to denote the glory of my windy city in this drink: it's skyscrapers - classy, magnificent and glamorous!
Recipe:
Prep: Extract pulp out of the fresh fruits and freeze ice cubes of each fruit separately.
Take a tall, narrow glass and place the ice cubes of each flavor one on the other
Squeeze little bit of lime juice on top of the ice structure
Pour Champagne over it
Garnish with a slice of fresh lime on the rim (that's the Ferris wheel :P)
Well, I wish there was no picture of this cocktail at all because the one I have put is SO bad; (it looks like someone accidentally dropped few pieces of fruits in a lemonade) But in reality, it looks glorious! - The three different colored ice cube skyscraper standing tall in golden sparkly champagne with the Ferris wheel.
I also just realized that I have not made this cocktail after this night (I guess due to sheer laziness of the pre-work required); Writing a mental note to myself to make it the next time I am in Chicago with my favorites.
3rd Course:
The Cocktail: Of course, Nashville!
Ingredients:
JD No. 7 whiskey
Ginger
Honey
Ice globe
Smoked lemon
It cannot happen that I create a cocktail for Nashville and not have Jack's blessings in it. So when you have Jack Daniels in a drink, its of course so Nashville!
I have visited the one and only Jack Daniels distillery at Lynchburg, Tennessee hundreds of times (I can practically become their tour guide now), going there makes you appreciate the taste, color and flavors of this whiskey in a special way.
But what makes this whiskey more special for me is that feeling of belonging and familiarity that I always get when I have a sip of it, that belonging is for the place I call home now; my music city - Nashville :)
Recipe:
Roast fresh lemon slices to get a smoky aroma
Add a peg of JD No. 7 in a whiskey glass with honey and grated ginger
Give it a quick stir
Add ice globe and stir it again
Put the smoked lemon on top of the ice globe and serve (the taste of the drink will evolve as the ice globe starts melting.)
...That's how the boozy tale of my three cities ends.
And everyone lives happily drunk ever after!
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