For the spirited ones

SPIRITS - VAPOURS that rise from the warmed fermented mash - sound ethereal, but popular conception links them to more earthly matters, even deeper.

Want to lift your spirits? Walk into Fort St. George bar at the Taj Coromandel hotel and meet Andrew Charles Pearson, a man with spirits on his mind.

He has come from England to quench the thirst of a new generation of discerning drinkers, and has brought with him recipes for 25 or more cocktails - both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

Food and beverages manager J.V.S. Rana said the promotion campaign was to change the drinking trend here - from just beer and spirits to cocktails. Before this, the Taj had its own simple cocktails "which too were very popular". Bar captain Raymond Perreira says, "Now with the new ones on the list, there are sure to be more people coming in."

The base for most cocktails is gin and vodka, for they do not have as many flavouring elements as whisky, rum or brandy. And, Andrew says, our gins and vodkas are quite good drinks. Perriera suggested Singapore Sling and Cosmopolitan for the two of us.

For the former, which my friend had, Andrew had used gin, cherry liqueur, Benedictine (a French liqueur), Port Cointreau, (also a French liqueur made of brandy and orange peel), lime juice, pineapple juice, grenadine (pomegranate syrup) and angostura bitter. The alcohol content was about five per cent, said Andrew.

I tried the Cosmopolitan - a mix of vodka, Cointreau, lemon juice, cranberry juice (got from the U.S.). It had a tangy taste, vodka means little water but the similarity ends with the colour or lack of it.

Mr. Rana said Andrew's magical potions seemed to have caught the fancy of the Chennai crowd.

Since the festival began on March 9, many customers have tried the new drinks, and have been asking for them - "and liking them too. That's important."

A cocktail is a mixed drink with lots of ingredients - not for drinkers. So Andrew has rustled up quite a few mocktails, as he calls them, for those who do not like alcohol. They'll not give you a hangover (they'll, certainly, not give you fun, excitement.)

My friend's wife had a Shirley Temple (Rs 175) made of lemonade, grenadine and fresh lime. The next day she said she had tried Cricketer's Special (now that the Tests are on) - this was apple juice and peach syrup. Both were good, she said.

Fort St. George Bar beckons you - the spirit stirring promotion is on till March 18. Never mind the prices.

Rustle up a Rattlesnake, more bite than half of a lager, and enjoy Andrew's other masterpieces in an ambience charged with the electrifying presence of a Mauritian entertainment troupe.

N. NANDAKUMAR

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