Ghee and butter in cocktails? Here’s why more Mumbai restaurants are experimenting with fat in cocktails

If you enjoy making cocktails, you will agree that the beauty of making the concoctions are the endless yet heady experiments. It is the use of different permutations and combinations of ingredients that could lead you to a totally different or new flavour than the one you expected, leaving you pleasantly surprised. It is precisely what Mumbai's restaurants and bars are busy doing. Such is the need to cater to the evolved palate of the diner that they are not only exploring ideas and concepts within their own spaces but also inviting other experts in a knowledge-sharing exchange. It can be seen with the popularity and evolving nature of bar takeovers over 10 years. It is this very nature of experiments that makes it an exciting time to be in the city if you enjoy sipping on cocktails or simply want your palate to enjoy new flavours.

While the city has seen many bar takeovers in the last year, restaurants are also taking the opportunity to innovate with the cocktails that are not only limited to innovations with classic cocktails but creating ones that are unique by themselves and more recently there are a lot more who are adding fat to their cocktails. The technique called ‘fat-washing' basically means using ingredients that release fat and using that to influence the flavour of a cocktail. It is not to be confused with clarified cocktails that city mixologists say are made by the complete drink getting clarified, whereas fat-washing is purely applied to the spirit. Surely, the cocktails have existed before it was christened but city mixologists and bartenders believe the technique is having its moment, and one should enjoy every sip of it.

Ghee and butter in cocktails?
On the menu at the newly-opened Nksha in Churchgate, Desi Ghee, which includes premium rum and ghee, is one such example. It is definitely intriguing and refreshing, especially because ghee is an ingredient that would usually appear in the food section but here strikingly appears in the bar menu. While it is hard to imagine having fat in your cocktails, this one will leave you surprised because it not only has an extremely smooth flavour but also manages to hold your attention for longer. Varun Sudhakar, bar and beverage consultant for the South Mumbai restaurant, explains, "The drink is a dedication to Punjab's food and drink culture. The dhabas in the streets of Punjab use a lot of ghee in their preparations and it is very evident, if you travel often to Amritsar." However, the rum and ghee shouldn't shock you because it is mixed with a familiar combination of Thums up -- a version of the classic rum and coke enjoyed by drinkers in India.

Interestingly, Sudhakar says, there is a story to the inclusion of the fizzy drink too. "I have added it because one of the most famous soft beverages liked by the locals there is Thums up. This drink is finished with a little smoke symbolising the smoke from tandoor. The recipe includes a simple combination of properly measured rum washed with ghee, umeshu, and Thums up," adds the city-based consultant. The umeshu adds a citrusy flavour to the cocktail but has to be added in limited proportions to avoid the drink from being completely overpowered by the citrus.

While this may seem like an experiment, Sudhakar says he has been incorporating the technique in his drinks for the last five years and has been honing it with each passing day. "Now, we have more effective tools to make it much better. The key is temperature as well as the quality of filtration," he says. So, at Nksha, he took the liberty to not only use the technique to make not one but two cocktails on the menu with the other one being called ‘1966'. If one has ghee, he uses butter in the other along with bourbon whiskey. "Butter brings in a unique smoothness. The recipe includes fresh green tomato juice. When combined, it gives a savoury flavour to the drink, which resembles most of the street food that have originated in Mumbai streets. This drink is served with a portion of sev puri to complement the drink," he shares.

Why use fat in cocktails?
While the use of fat in the form of butter and desi ghee does seem unusual for many and at the same time intriguing for others, why really are restaurants using them and how does it influence the flavour? Sudhakar explains, "Fat is an amazing ingredient to be used in cocktails. It needs to be studied first because you need to know if it triggers any allergy from the base ingredients (for example: peanuts). It takes time and patience to get the correct product." The complexity of the technique has also led him to refine not only the ingredient and the usage in the cocktail but also the flavour profile of the cocktail. What gets better is how it influences the flavour. "By using fat, the mouthfeel of a drink can be made more buttery or rounded or cut off the rough edges of a strong spirit. The mouthfeel along with the flavour of the base ingredients like butter and ghee makes the whole experience unique."

Interestingly, Nksha isn't the only city restaurant that is experimenting with fat in cocktails. SAZ American Brasserie in BKC also includes fat in two of their cocktails namely Truffle Sazerac and Poker Face, which have been on the menu for a year now, and have got a good response for it. Senior bartender Prashant Patil says it was done with the sole intention of adding flavours that are more complex and give a unique profile to the cocktail. "It adds a smooth finish to a cocktail and gives a savoury flavour profile," he shares.

Adopting the technique is even more exciting because there are so many different kinds of fat that can be used. While Sudhakar has used butter and ghee, Patil has used truffle and parmesan. He explains, "I have used truffle oils for the Truffle Sazrac, where I have used fat-wash method." The city bartender reveals he has used the method in chilled filtration by mixing all the ingredients and keeping it in the refrigerator, so that the alcohol absorbs all the flavours of the oils. "After 48 hours, I strain it and my batch is ready," says Patil. On the other hand, for the Poker Face, the bartender associated with the BKC restaurant, says, "I used chunks of parmesan, added tequila and then smoked it with cinnamon sticks and left it for 48 hours so that the parmesan chunks melt slowly and and give it a nice creamy texture to it."

If Sudhakar has been working with the technique for almost half a decade, Patil says Passcode Hospitality, which runs the restaurant, has also been experimenting with the technique since 2018. Apart from the two cocktails, they do plan on adding more to the menu in the future.

While Sudhakar and Patil had two, then Hemali Bendre, head mixologist at Native Bombay tells us that the restaurant has one more with three cocktails on the menu. Just like the other two, Bendre started using the technique around four years ago. "Fat washing is much like a technique," she simplifies, adding, "It changes the overall mouthfeel of a cocktail. Whatever fat you use, also adds its distinctive flavour to the drink which can either be perceived as a contrast or a pairing to the other ingredients in your cocktail." One that can not only be seen in the Desi Ghee and 1966 but also the Truffle Sazrac.

In fact, Bendre tells us that history points towards bartenders wanting to create a unique experience for drinkers while keeping their tastes in mind. "If you see the history of fat washing cocktails and when this technique became popular, you will know how bartenders wanted to club two ideas in a drink keeping in mind what their consumers wanted," she informs. The city-based mixologist says apart from fat making the cocktail smoother, it also makes it much creamier and Poker Face is proof.

Innovation is key
With the growing need to cater to a diverse palate, Bendre says she has observed a lot more bars adopt the technique now more than before. "It is not a very old trend or trick to do. It has become famous recently with the way Indian bars are upgrading their way of making cocktails rather than only sticking to old-school bartending," she rightly hits the nail on the head.

On the other hand, Patil, who likes to keep himself updated as the beverage industry evolves and learns new techniques, says the technique which has been there a while and may see more bars picking it up again. "It all depends on the restaurant theme and the bar team working there, and to what kind of technique they are using to make cocktails," he shares.

Patil's words hold true as Sudhakar says Nksha has incorporated the technique because it not only matched the flavour but also the storytelling based on the concept of the restaurant. It is also the reason why he is open to experimenting more with the method, as and when they have a seasonal menu or a bar popup. So, how about some fat in your cocktail?

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