Trip to peru

The cocktail mixed with tonic water (left) and in a glass with ice

There is a certain sense of intrigue that a dish or drink takes on once you attach a story to it. The tale behind Perry Road peru - purportedly India's first distilled cocktail - goes something like this. The folks behind city eatery The Bombay Canteen and gin makers Stranger and Sons, who joined hands for this collaborative effort, were looking for the perfect guavas to make this cocktail with. They searched high and low for the best version of the fruit, scouring bazaars and upending produce stalls in Mumbai, but to no avail.

Then, finally, they chanced upon a vendor who sells just one cart of guavas every morning, setting his stall up next to a famous blue-coloured house in Bandra's Perry Road, from where his fruits disappear even before most people's alarm clocks have started ringing. They sourced this vital ingredient from him, ferrying it in batches to a distillery in Goa where they are macerated into gin while at the peak of their ripeness. And that's how the eventual distilled cocktail got its name - 'Perry Road' because that's where the vendor was stationed, and 'peru' since that's the term for a guava in Marathi.

Perry Road peru is purportedly India's first distilled cocktail

The drink itself lives up to this nomenclature. You get what's on the label. We tried it neat on the rocks first, and each sip retained the distinct fragrance of guavas. But it's when we tried the cocktail with tonic water that the gin suddenly burst into the forefront, hogging the limelight from the fruit. But be warned. This isn't a weak drink. It's strong enough to make even a famous drunkard like Charles Bukowski feel light-headed after a few glasses. So, our advice would be to take it easy, and while at it, tip your hat to that humble vendor from Perry Road, the fruits of whose labour literally made this drink a reality.

Log on to hungering.in/perry-road-peru (pre-bookings have begun)
Cost Rs 2,999 for 750 ml

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