JOIN USWorld cocktail day: A reason to celebrate!
Cocktails are one of the most popular ways of having alcoholic beverages, be it at a formal gathering or a nightclub.
The Indian market has seen an uptick in cocktail consumption since the pandemic. With bars and restaurants closed, people started mixing drinks at home during the early lockdown days.
Jimmy's Cocktails, a brand offering bottled cocktail mixers, witnessed a 200 per cent growth since 2020. The success can be attributed to an evolving consumer for whom Jimmy's makes bar-like drinks accessible at home without an assortment of ingredients, said Anish Arora, who heads Marketing for the company.
Jimmy's has some serious names behind the business. Yangdup Lama, mixologist and founder of Sidecar, one of Asia's Best 50 Bars, has helped build the product profile.
Similarly, Arijit Bose and Pankaj Balachandran, both currently associated with Bar Tesouro in Goa (another entry on Asia's Best 50 bars), joined hands with Blue Ocean Beverages to launch Mr Jerry's, a ready-to-serve cocktail range.
Balachandran feels it is a need of the hour for the evolving Indian consumer to have multiple options in the alcohol range.
"With much excitement in the homegrown alcohol brands, people want to experiment and engage with the different ways of having a cocktail, and it is a wonderful change," said Balachandran.
Mr Jerry's promises to live up to the taste notes of an authentic cocktail across its six flavours and one limited edition offering. The brand name is a tribute to the original "Bartender's Guide" written in 1862 by Jerry Thomas.
Mixing drinks first came into practice by the British in the 19th century, but the concept of cocktails took off during the Prohibition in America in the 1920s. The quality of alcohol available to ordinary people during this period was harsh and often non-palatable. So bartenders started concocting drinks with smuggled alcohol mixed with sweets, water and bitters.
The best part about these new cocktails is ease— all you have to do is pour over ice and drink.
"Convenience is the key to building acceptance, especially for alcoholic products like cocktail mixers and ready to serve cocktails," said Balachandran.
Easy cocktails to make at home as recommended by Yangdup Lama, mixologist and head of product, Jimmy's Cocktails.
Cosmopolitan Spring
Ingredients
Gin 60ml
Jimmy's Cosmopolitan mix 90ml
Black Salt powder 1 pinch
Chat masala 1 pinch
Orange Wedge 1 number
Method
Pour the ingredients into a shaker glass filled with ice and shake well. Strain into a tall glass filled with ice, squeeze a fresh orange wedge and drop.
Summer Mango Mojito
Ingredients:
Tequila/Agave spirit 60ml
Jimmy's Mango Chilli Mojito mix 60ml
Tabasco 1 drop
Tonic Water 60ml
Method
In a tall glass filled with ice, measure the ingredients and stir to mix well. Garnish with a mango candy and fresh mint sprigs, and serve.
(Chandreyi Bandyopadhyay is a marketing communications professional and an avid traveller who explores new ideas in food and beverages.)