Is there a perfect cocktail to serve

[Suvir Saran]

Anyone?

[Simon Majumdar]

I am not sure if it counts as a cocktail but surely the the most historically accurate drink would be a Gin & IT.

Gordon's gin was, I am told the most widely drunk of the London Gins ( my office is about 1/2 block from the original mill ) in India and the original Indian Tonic was rich in malaria avoiding Quinnine(sp?)

So I would say a great big umbrella stand full with lots of ice and a slice of lime would be the ideal.

S

[A Balic]

Gin & IT? Isn't the "IT" short for Italian, as in Italian Vermouth?

[anil]

In Goa: A peg of feni with rice and salted fish.

In Punjab: XXX Rum with mutton and tandoori roti, specially Army issue rum from the

             defense canteens.

In Kerela: Arrack with rice & meat

In Mumbai & Costal West: Toddy with anything  

In Kolkatta: Banglu with Macher Jhol

On the road, Tharra with dhaba food.

Yes there is Indian Whisky,Gin,beer,wine - The above is what comes to my recollection of those

youthful days  

[Suvir Saran]

And does Black Label even fit in anywhere?  Like the Chinese, I am told Indians consume what they think, is a lot of Black Label Scotch... many drink spurious bottles feeling theya re getting the real thing.

And what is Banglu?

[Simon Majumdar]

Adam, IT= Indian Tonic

Suvir - I have not been back to India for a couple of years but last time I was there I loved (I did not sample for fear of the consequences on my insides ) the IMFL's ( Indian Made Foreign Liquors ) which had been produced in the days when imports were controlled.

what I particularly loved was the attempt they made to give them the correct sounding names, so you had

Sir Peter Scott Whisky

Tower of London Gin

Eiffel Tower Brandy

and my very favourite

Rasputin Vodka.

I wonder if these remarkable brews  which all seemed to be the same colour ( including the gin!) are still available

S

[A Balic]

Adam, IT= Indian Tonic

Only in Simon world:

http://www.barfliers.com/drinks/VIEW/852/Gin%20And%20It/

damn, must have been infected with LML virus, sorry.

[Suvir Saran]

Am I missing something here ?

I remember lazy afternoons in the summer.. as my elders golfed, and I had tried a few swings (is that what you call that action?), I would come to the dining room for cocktails and idle chatter with cousins and friends.

Gin was one of many other drinks.  IN fact, in those days Gin was mixed with Limca and some Lime Juice Cordial and lots of ice.  I am not much of an alcohol imbuer, but that concoction still remains a winner in my book.

I had never heard of IT and know very little about drinks anyways... sorry.

[Suvir Saran]

IT - India Tonic

I may be totally wrong here, but after what Simon shared with us about Malaria.  It could make sense.  

I hardly know enough about this to be making a statement with any feet, but the logic seems to be fathomable.

Tonic even today is had by many for that same reason.  Could it have been that they (the Brits) came up with this IT after having been in INdia?  

Anyone?

[A Balic]

Sorry Survir, I was teasing Simon. Gin and It, is most definately Gin with Italian vermouth (which is sweet, mostly), the "It" part is to differentiate it from Gin and French (Vermouth, which is mostly dry). Although, I have seen Indian people drinking Jonny Walker at with India food, I can't bring myself to do that and stick to beer or sometimes wine. Maybe Mango Lassi and Vodka?

[Simon Majumdar]

I am not going to argue about the modern meanings of IT.  But it did originate with the sahibs of the Empire as they had their medicinal snort every night to ward off malaria.

The estimable Mark Tully ( if anyone has not read his "No Full Stops In India" They should as it is the best book on India I have ever read ) once told me that the drink itself was created for one of the maharaj and the recipe had been purloined by the East India Company.

Em Forster's novels refer to Gin & IT and do Narayan's ( can't remember which one though.)

Still, whatever the origins.  A damn fine drink

S

[Suvir Saran]

As I said before.. it seems logical to me what Simon says.. and yes.. it is a fine drink.

And Simon.. are you not following the other links here?

[A Balic]

I am not going to argue about the modern meanings of IT.  But it did originate with the sahibs of the Empire as they had their medicinal snort every night to ward off malaria.

The estimable Mark Tully ( if anyone has not read his "No Full Stops In India" They should as it is the best book on India I have ever read ) once told me that the drink itself was created for one of the maharaj and the recipe had been purloined by the East India Company.

Em Forster's novels refer to Gin & IT and do Narayan's ( can't remember which one though.)

Still, whatever the origins.  A damn fine drink

S

My favorite drink (Gin and Indian Tonic) after so many years. I can't abide those Vodka and Tonic people. I have never drank it with Indian food though.

[Suvir Saran]

I love champagne with mango juice... it is a great cocktail to have with Indian food.  At our holiday party this last year, my parnter and I did it in a local restaurant to support the economy.  A fist for us, since most of our 100 or so guests look forward to crowding our humble apartment like one would a train in India.

The restaurant was one of the oldest Indian restaurants in the city, Nirvaana.  Our cocktail of choice that evening was Champagne with a splash of mango juice.  It was consumed like there was no tomorrow.  Worked very well with all foods we served that night.  Which was a lot of food.  

I also love lychee juice with vodka.

Gin with giner infused lemonade.

[Suvir Saran]

We chose Nirvaana since it was the restaurant fabled to be the place where Ravi Shankar and George Harrison and the owner of t he restaurant Shamsher Wadud came up with the idea of the Bangladesh Concert in the early 70s.

George Harrison had passed away a few weeks before our party and the plight of our moslem friends encouraged us to choose a setting that was all New York and yet very full of hope and a secular vision.

Nirvaana has the most beautiful views of Central Park and of upper Manhattan.  We requested my singing teacher to come sing a few songs.  She sang some Indian Classical pieces and also a couple or actually three Bengali Songs that night as well.  The servers at the restaurant and the management were in tears.  Nostalgia and also a sense of feeling honored in a place they least expected. At one point as I was singing alongside my teacher, my eyes opened and I saw the entire staff of the restaurant standing in attention and with a big smile on their faces.  It seemed like for that moment the restaurant belonged in the bar alone.  I then realized we had been singing Aamar Shonar Bangla, the national anthem of Bangladesh and one of the many beautiful songs written and composed by Rabindra Nath Tagore.

For all of this... people had the mango and champagne cocktail and certainly a few chose beers and wines.

Come to think of it.. the mango juice was a good choice.. since the song, the national anthem of Bangladesh also makes a reference to the mango orchards that so intoxicate the senses of those living in that golden land, Bengal.  It was only now, this moment that I made this connection.

[Simon Majumdar]

I had a deeply depressing meal at Nirvana a year or so ago.  That is until I eschewed the "feast" and went back into the kitchen and sat with one of the cooks who fed me the staff fish tandoori paratha.  the meal came to $500 for the four of us, but I still think I got the best end of the deal

S

[Suvir Saran]

They have changed some stuff since then.. but I think you did get the best end of the meal...

[anil]

Nirvana is in my neighborhood, and except for it's view; I have not found it really top notch.

Having said that, sometimes its not about food   I also took folks to Nirvana atop 1 Times-Sq.

A well known swiss chain won the rights to run the restaurant on Victoria Peak in HKG too  

I'll highly recommend it for its view  and not enything else..................

[Suvir Saran]

Sad but true.

Anil, you have a long life as we say in India.  Just a few minutes before your post, I had wondered where you had been.

[anil]

...........

And what is Banglu?

In the older era, WB gummint used to have booze they served from their outlets

that  was similar to "tharra".  We, and many others called it -- banglu -- Others called it

'jyoti basu's slush fund   ' brew GF

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks for sharing that detail.  I had never heard of Banglu.

[A Balic]

I had being thinking about this cocktail and Indian food question, when I remembered that one of my friends (whos father is an ex-Indian cricket team captain) telling me about a liquor that here father had that was for very special occasions and very important people. From memory it was based on a Mogul recipe and was basically Eau de Vie with gold flakes flavoured with spices and for same reason a partridge. I can't recall at what point in the meal it ws served at, so it may not be a cocktail as such.

Personally, I think the mango and champagne is a much better bet. I had a Bollinger and mango cocktail at a restaurant in Melbourne a few years ago -  very nice.

[anil]

....... when I remembered that one of my friends (whos father is an ex-Indian cricket team captain) telling me about a liquor that here father had that was for very special occasions and very important people..........

Pray who might that be ? For him (ex-captain) to have a son your age (whatever it is), he, had to be

leading the team when I was growing up....

[A Balic]

My friend is a she and her father is Bishen Bedi. I met him once (unfortunately at his ex-wife's funeral) he liked the sausage rolls I had made for the wake.

[Suvir Saran]

You should find out more about that drink they served... Very curious here.  Sounds decadent and innovative.. and somewhat similar to Goldschlager.