Celebrate Goa’s hippie culture with character drinks at this pop-up in Bandra

Sujan Shetty

This Thursday, Slow Tide - a restaurant built at the spot of a 1960s shack named San Francisco celebrates Goa's hippie culture with its food and alcohol offerings - pops up at Bandra Born for a night with four drinks. We coaxed the beverage manager, Sujan Shetty, to spill some beans.

Tell us about your interpretation of the hippie culture in Anjuna into cocktails.
Sujan Shetty: The drinks draw inspiration from the iconic hippie culture of the '60s at the Anjuna Commune. They were some of the free-spirited veterans of that era that made Goa famous. Take Acid Eric - inspired by a guy nicknamed Santa Claus for making psychedelic substances at home and distributing it for free - that has tequila, watermelon, yuzu, basil and almond milk to cut the harshness of its taste.

Visitors enjoy a meal at Slow Tide in Goa. Pic Courtesy/Instagram

The Who celebrates an iconic British rock band that played incognito in Anjuna beach. No one knew who they were but they doled out some cool tunes. For them, we have a bottled cocktail which has a yogurt-washed pandan and pineapple soda, along with a secret ingredient.

Don Xavier is named after the owner of one of Goa's first fine dining restaurants, and has Irish whiskey, coriander, green chilli pickle for a spicy kick. Lastly, Vidal is inspired by a stylish Jamaican with dreadlocks and marries the tropical punch of passionfruit soda and Caribbean rum. Rumour had it that his dreadlocks touched the sky.

If one wants to add a Goan touch to cocktails at home, what are the ingredients, and pairings you would recommend?
SS: Definitely pick feni for the Goan spirit. Consider ingredients like jamun, kokum and amchur [dried raw mango powder]. I love to steep kokum [you can do with amchur and imli, too] in sugar syrup overnight and use it to make a cocktail. You can also add a little rum in it. I would go all the way and add 200 gm of dried kokum into a bottle of vodka and rum and give the spirit a new flavour.

Acid Eric

A mixologist's advice to order cocktails at a bar...
SS: Say yes to ice! A lot of people order even a Long Island Iced Tea without ice. It's used for a reason; you have to dilute your drink to make it palatable. Share your preference with the bartender and let him make something off the menu. Remember, spirit-forward drinks will get you high sooner. Every cocktail is made using 60 ml of spirit. If you can't taste it, it doesn't mean it is not there. A martini will get you buzzing sooner. The ones to look out for are milk punches - you won't feel the alcohol on your palate, but it will hit you alright.

Vidal

If Mumbai was a cocktail, what would it be?
SS: The city is extremely vibrant and dynamic, always buzzing and never stopping. Chai keeps everyone going. I am from Mangalore, but I had worked in Mumbai before moving to Goa in the lockdown. So, chai was my constant. Recently, I made a vodka cocktail, Aamchi Mumbai, that won at a competition. I made a syrup using chai masala and clubbed it with milk clarified Assam tea to make a soda. This drink sums up the flavour of Mumbai for me.

On: January 25; 9.30 pm onwards (one day only)
At: Bandra Born, Rose Minar, Chapel Road, Annexe, Reclamation, Bandra West.
Call: 8657738778
Cost: Rs 800 per drink