5 Ideas To Make Cocktails Using Indian Summer Drinks

Summers in India mean prickly heat, warm wind and constant sweating. It also means going for cool drinks in the hot weather. Refrigerators overflow in summer with bottles of chilled water to make sherbets and fruity drinks, complete with citrusy flavours and sugar. And if one is fond of consuming chilled cocktails there are some recipes that turn a sherbet or panha into an alcoholic drink.

Indian drinks are known for their tangy, spicy and sour flavour profiles. There is immense diversity in these concoctions and every region boasts of its own local fruits and herbs whose juices are harnessed to create these numbers. From the thandai to the mango panha to tender coconut water and kokum sherbet, there are numerous summertime drinks which can be converted into alcoholic concoctions at cocktail hour.

The flavours of these drinks coupled with the robust tastes of premium liquor will have a crisp finish. These drinks can be had on summer evenings.

Read on below to know more about a few concoctions which will turn traditional sherbet recipes into cocktails:

Kokum Sherbat And Vodka

Kokum has a rather tart, and almost floral taste. It is a fruit that is plucked, dried and used widely in western India to introduce a bit of acidity into a dish or to make a sherbet out of its syrup. Turn this kokum sherbet into a cocktail by adding 30 ml of quality vodka. Add lots of ice and a bit of cumin powder for another layer of flavour.

Caribeno Cocktail

This drink suggests a holiday in the Caribbean, but it can just as easily be reproduced along Indian coastlines. Tall coconut trees, brimming with fruit abound in India where tender coconut water is a popular drink. Turn tender coconut water into a cocktail by adding a bit of lime, sugar and rum.

Rose Sherbet And Gin

Rose sherbet is a very popular drink during summertime. The syrup of this fragrant flower has a sweet aroma and carries lots of flavour. To make a rose sherbet cocktail, add 30 ml gin and grenadine syrup along with lots of ice to the rose concoction.

Thandai And Vodka

Thandai is a drink made from nuts and spices as well as fragrant rose petals and kesar, popularly made while marking colourful festivities at the start of summer. While thandai is usually laced with bhaang, it can also be turned into a highball cocktail by adding 45 ml vodka to the recipe. Garnish the chilled drink with almonds and cardamom for the thandai finish.

Vodka-Aam Panha

As raw mangoes become available in abundance during summer, so too many households make panha, a sweet and tangy drink infused with jaggery or sugar and loads of kesar. Making panha is a complicated process but the end result is a chilled drink made often during summer. Make a glass of panha cocktail by adding 30 ml vodka to the drink and make it an offering on the menu at a house party.