Bar-style cocktails you can master at home this summer

This isn’t just a book of cocktail recipes. It’s a journey through time, flavour, and tradition. It’s a celebration of the drinks we once savoured, the ingredients we took for granted, and the techniques that were lost in the tide of modern drinking culture.

Inside these pages, you won’t just find instructions on how to mix a cocktail—you’ll find stories. Stories that bring to life the culture, history, and rituals that make Indian drinking traditions so unique.

There are 101 uniquely Indian cocktails waiting for you, each crafted with local spirits, fragrant spices, and ingredients that have been part of our kitchens and celebrations for centuries.

Some of these drinks are inspired by royal feasts and ancient rituals, while others are reinventions of classic cocktails with a distinctly Indian soul. Every recipe has a story—some rooted in history, some inspired by tradition, and some simply born out of the joy of experimentation.

This book isn’t just about following recipes; it’s about understanding how a single sip can capture the essence of a region, a festival, or even a forgotten moment in time.

At its heart, this is a book about rediscovery—about bringing back the flavours we once celebrated, mixing them with modern creativity, and raising a glass to everything that makes Indian mixology bold, inventive, and exciting.

And, of course, it’s about having fun. Because drinking isn’t just about what’s in the glass—it’s about the experience, the storytelling, and the shared moments that make each cocktail special.

So before we begin, pour yourself something good. It doesn’t have to be fancy—just something that makes you feel at home.

Because this book? It’s a toast to India’s cocktails—past, present, and future.

BENGALI GONDHORAJ GIMLET

(Rainy, Aromatic, and Lightly Melancholic)

Ingredients

50 ml botanical Indian gin

20 ml fresh Gondhoraj lime juice + 15 ml simple syrup or sweet lime cordial

Optional: Dash of soda for a modern twist

Ice cubes

Garnish: A thin Gondhoraj peel twist or dried lime chip

How to Make It

(Quiet and Scented)

1. Combine gin, lime juice, and syrup in a shaker with ice.

2. Shake gently—don’t bruise the scent.

3. Strain into a coupe or small tumbler.

4. Garnish with Gondhoraj peel.

5. Sip where the breeze can reach you.

THE KERALA TODDY COOLER

Ingredients

(Tropical, Spiced, and Refreshing)

90 ml fresh Kerala toddy

30 ml fresh coconut water

15 ml sweetener syrup

10 ml fresh lime juice

A pinch of crushed black pepper and toasted cumin

A few fresh curry leaves

Ice cubes

Garnish: Coconut slice and a sprig of curry leaves

How to Make It

(A Ritual from the Backwaters)

1. In a shaker or large tumbler, add toddy, coconut water, lime juice, and sweetener.

2. Add crushed pepper, cumin, and curry leaves.

3. Shake gently or stir, keeping it rustic.

4. Pour into a chilled glass with or without ice.

5. Garnish with a coconut slice and curry sprig.

6. Sip slow, under a banana leaf roof if possible.

THE MANGO DAIQUIRI

Ingredients

(Poetic, Bright, and Summer-Heavy)

45 ml aged golden rum

30 ml Alphonso mango pulp

10 ml fresh lime juice

5–7 strands saffron

Optional: 5 ml jaggery syrup

Ice—cubed

Garnish: Dehydrated lime wheel or a single saffron strand floated on the foam

How to Make It

(A Ritual of Heat, Pulp, and Poetry)

1. In a small bowl, soak saffron in warm water for exactly three minutes. Set aside.

2. In a shaker, combine rum, mango pulp, lime juice, saffron water, and optional jaggery syrup.

3. Add a generous handful of ice and shake hard—longer than usual—to emulsify the pulp fully.

4. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass.

5. Garnish with a single saffron strand or a thin lime wheel, dehydrated or fresh.

THE NO-ICE GOA COOLER

Ingredients

(Straight from the Tropics)

60 ml cashew feni (or white rum as an alternative)

120 ml fresh tender coconut water (pre-chilled)

10 ml fresh lime juice

A pinch of Goan sea salt

4–5 fresh mint or basil leaves

Garnish: Strips of coconut flesh and a sprig of basil

How to Make It

(A Ritual of Coastal Cool)

1. In a chilled glass or coconut shell, add lime juice, salt, and herbs.

2. Pour in cashew feni and stir gently.

3. Add chilled coconut water—no ice necessary.

4. Stir again and garnish with coconut strips and basil.

5. Serve barefoot, preferably within earshot of waves.

Excerpted with permission from ‘Madira: India’s Forgotten Spirits and Cocktail Revival’ by Parag A. Shastry, published by Rupa Publications India; ₹,495, PP 344.