Floral flavours are the talk of the town when it comes to new age cocktails or botanical mixes of emerging gins and are making themselves into the part of headline ingredients. Not only the cocktails are infused with floral flavors (like this lavender, Rose, Hibiscus) but flowers have also make it to the show stopper garnish at bars and restaurants.
Deepak Sharma, Beverage Manager at Saga, Gurgaon adds “Floral flavours have a long history with cocktails – violet (in an Aviation), rose that sees it history with the whole family of Italian liqueurs known as rosoli, borage that's seen in a Pimm’s cup) or be it the orange flower water from the famously the Ramos Gin Fizz but off late flowers have become more of an adventurous ingredient, borrowing again from the kitchens of modern chefs and rising to prominence with the tide of social media cocktail photos”.
Floral components add to a much new and interesting spectrum of flavors and aromas across a broad range of drinks categories. These flavors that rule the glass are driven by popularity such as the popularity of rosé, pink drinks in general, and a general move towards lighter flavors and drinks.
Shreevardhan Asopa, Co Owner, LMNOQ, Kolkata “Cocktails are all about fusion: sweet and sour, spirits and syrups, style and substance. So why not throw some flowers into the mix? We decided to take it up a notch and infuse blue pea in our gin for our floral Gin and tonic. The beautiful colour that this cocktail gives out makes it more desirable along with the fact being that when aesthetically pleasing purple when citrus is added to it, it brings out the flavour of the blue pea flower.
With florals such as rose, jasmine, and lavender which are used globally are some of the classic botanical ingredients that’s used in perfumery. Also adding to the fact that tasteful Indian consumers are now on the constant lookout for experiences that are modern, globally inspired.
Abhishek Pandey, Senior Mixologist, The Drunken Botanist & Viet:Nom is of the opinion “Cocktails that are spruced with flowers absolutely have a visual charm apart from the taste that absolute delight. While cooking with flowers the fragrance and the taste of flowers gets mingle in the process of cooking but that is not the case with cocktails. When added to drinks, flowers enhance the fragrance and bring a unique complexity to the flavour of the drink.
Even bartenders take a lot of pride and honour and effort in curating a fancy drunk for the table. They are no more just those who pour a straight drink or swirl a mojito. They have pushed their boundaries in reinventing and recreating their roles. The current cocktail culture in India is seeing a great innovative boom. Also in a world full of Instagram photos these beauties perfectly make for that great post.