Cocktail Making Competition

I took part in cocktail making competition at Mogamoto (Fort) and was surprised when my team  bagged the first prize.

We were the team of food bloggers grouped into 3 persons for each team and the idea was to create an innovative cocktail. Since I like spicy stuff, I decided to add black pepper.

It was a relaxing afternoon at the Mogamoto at Fort, restaurant done up beautifully with drapes on the ceiling and art on the walls. A flight of 10 wooden steps separates the restaurant into two levels giving it a cozy touch.

Each team went behind the bar at the cocktail station to play around with the ingredients. There were drinks, juices, syrups, garnish and exotic ingredients. The temptation to make an innovative cocktail was strong. Initially, I wanted to be just an audience, watching all the teams perform, but at the last moment, I was inspired too and decided to make something different by playing around with the ingredients.

It was fun watching team prepare the cocktail. There was lotsa discussion on what to add, with little prompts from the bar tender, who were always willing to help. The crew of ‘Food Food Channel’ were all set with their cameras, shooting the session for their program, while the judges asked questions after every drink, discussing the ingredients used, and then passing around to everybody to taste and pass the verdicts.

Team A

Team B

Team C

Team D

 I am not much of cocktail or mocktail person. If left on my own, I will just sip plain water. But in a company of friends,( so as to not stand apart), I will have a small glass of fresh juice. Lately cocktails and mocktail have made remarkable appearances at the parties. You feast on finger food and sip your drink. To go with a flow, I drink whatever is available. I normally take just one small glass and it stays with me as an ornament after few small sips.

So, what is cocktail?

A cocktail is kind of a salad, mixing of hard drinks, fruit juices, herbs, water and whatever you fancy. It normally consists of three different classes of ingredients.

The first: the base.

Base is normally some sort of spirit like gin, whisky, vodka, wine, brandy, etc.

The second: The modifier.

This is used to bring out the aroma of the base and to modify the taste. The main flavoring is normally different fruit juices.

The third: The flavor

Flavor is added to enhance the taste of the base and also adds color to the drink. Common special flavoring are basil leaves, kafir leaves, lime, lemon, ginger and other garnishes.

Most cocktails are also decorated with fruit slices like orange peels, cocktail sticks, mint twigs etc.

Off the track, a friend asks 

‘Why did cocktail bleed?’ – 

because it was bloody Mary, 

another Q- ‘Why did cocktail not marry? – 

because it preferred to be virgin Mary……