In case you're in Jaipur for only an evening and you don't have the bandwidth to pack in all the monuments it's famous for, you can try a bar in the heart of the city that will be a perfect tour guide for you. Sura takes inspiration from the Pink City's historic spots and the Rajasthani culture at large to concoct cocktails that are not only potent and delicious, but also shots of the city's sights and sounds.
Located on the rooftop of Kalyan Hotel near Hathroi Fort, Sura allows you a vantage point that syncs with its cocktail menu: a 360 degree of the entire city. An outline map of Rajasthan graces the wall on one side, while the colours of Blue Pottery warmly welcome you to the Pink City. Mixologist Virendra Singh lends a clink to the signature cocktails stirred from the city's colours, flavours, smells, and styles.
The Amber Sour
A saffron spin on the classic whisky sour, this cocktail is inspired from Kesar Bagh, the saffron garden opposite Jaipur's historic Amber Fort. A mix of fig jam, ginger, and citrus lends a fruity and aromatic touch to the drink that leaves you with a refreshing saffron aftertaste tinged with a hint of smokiness.
Windy Palace Affair
No prize for guessing that this drink gets its name from the city's most iconic structure - The Hawa Mahal. Ingredients like lemongrass and a special sparkling pineapple vermouth make this a light-bodied affair. These, mixed with gin and aperol, provide a tropical touch to the cocktail, with a slight bitterness that aptly cuts the sweetness of the pineapple.
Cannon
One of my favourites is this cocktail which takes inspiration from the world's largest cannon situated at Jaigarh Fort. The chemical ‘X’ here is – no, not gunpowder, but something very close – a gin infused with lasoda (glue berry), traditionally used to make pickles in the state. While the art of making lasoda pickles in the city's Achar Walon Ki Gali dates back 180 years, the glue berries are cherrypicked from the Aravali's stretch between Nahargarh and Jaigarh forts. Even sweet vermouth and Campari can't deter the explosion this cocktail offers.
Punch by Sura
This cocktail is made of panch tatva or five elements – here represented by pistachio, cardamom, rock melon, coconut, and jaggery – sourced from the bylanes of Jaipur's iconic Panch Batti (a five-lamp post) at the centre of Mirza Ismail Road. Nutty, creamy, fruity, and rich – every sip from this drink is as overwhelming and loaded as navigating the perennially busy spine of the city.
Goosy Godawan
Made from the local whisky named after Great Indian Bustard, Rajasthan's state bird, this cocktail is a tribute to the endangered species, of which only 150 remain currently in the grasslands. Mixed with amla (gooseberry), green tea, and elder flower, the drink is malty, grassy, aromatic, and mildly floral – a taste of the grasslands the Godawans love frequenting.
Mathania Margarita
An infusion made of Hydrosol and Mathania chillies (an indigenous red chilli grown in the eponymous Marwar village), this cocktail isn't for the faint-hearted. Even the fig and orange jam and a shot of citrus can't kill the heat. And a pinch of coriander salt only makes things spicier.
Tipsy Tea Tale
A hat tip to all the old chaiwallahs of the city – Gulabji and Sahu among others, this cocktail is a spin on Jaipur's love for masala tea. Tulsi, jaggery, and chai bitters are blended with vodka, dry vermouth, and a clarified masala tea to lend the mix a desi aroma straight out of that early morning cutting chai.
Tamarind High
Tamarind may not be grown widely in the state, but it's consumed in various forms daily. Imli chutney (tamarind sauce) is the perfect antidote to the fire-in-the-belly mirchi bada and the pyaaz ki kachori. A tangy imli rasam is married to gin and vodka, along with grilled tomato and coriander to arrive at a cocktail that's sour, spicy, earthy, and smoky at equal measure.
Moustache-y Paloma
A citrus delight, gandhoraj lemons, mosambi and grapefruit tonic meet Togarshi and pepper oxymel in this tequila refresher. Wondering what's so Rajasthani about it? Well, it's the Yuzu Foam on the surface that leaves you with a foamy moustache after every sip. Yes, this moustache can't be twirled like how the pagdi-bearing Rajasthani men do, but it can surely be slurped after a bottoms-up.