It’s March, the month that has now been partly dedicated to celebrating women. As an annual exercise, I am faced with a barrage of queries on life choices, career choices, and women breaking glass ceilings. I am happy to tell you that in the last decade, women in hospitality and the alcobev world have made remarkable strides as in all other specialised fields. I find that more women now attend my master classes on wine, whisky and mixology.
They are stepping out of their comfort zone and are experimenting with new flavours. They are happy to nose around the world of wine, discovering the joys of the different styles. They boldly sniff into whisky barrels to uncover the secrets of tradition, heritage and nature. Scotch vs Irish vs American vs Japanese! And raise a toast with delicious symphonies of delicate botanicals in wonderful receptacles. Here’s my cheat sheet. For first-time wine drinkers — begin with a slightly sweet white or rosé. If you can’t find that, add apple, orange, mango or cranberry juice to your wine to soften the palate. Add a generous splash of lemonade maybe, even with the reds. Dunk in a slice of fruit. Keep it cold. Soon, you’ll be able to reduce the juice and increase the wine as your palate gets used to the flavours. The idea is to try everything. Grab every opportunity and discover new flavours. Don’t be afraid. Here’s my favourite cocktail for all you brilliant women.
Twisted Negroni
Glass: Rocks/Old Fashioned
Ingredients
30 ml gin
20 ml Campari
15 ml orange liqueur
20 ml red/white wine
4-6 cubes of frozen orange juice
For garnishing: A slice of orange/sprig of thyme
Method
Fill a shaker or glass with ice.
Pour all ingredients over the ice and stir to chill and mellow.
Add more ice if the liquid level rises above the ice.
Stir again till the glass/shaker looks frosty.
Fill a fresh glass with the orange cubes.
Strain the cold drink over the orange cubes and stir. Garnish
(The writer is a mixologist, beverage consultant and author immersed in hospitality and alcobev for over four decades.)