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Layered with pronounced flavours and refreshing, herbal, spiced notes, savoury cocktails have been the hottest tickets across some of the most chic and modern bars for quite some time. Bring these cocktails to your home bar at the next summer party you host to pack the drinks roster with mixes which carry robust notes. Savoury cocktails lean on ingredients like herbs, tomatoes, celery, spices and citruses, making them intelligent options in summer as they provide good taste without an overpowering sweet or dense quality. And many of these cocktails can actually be prepared very easily at the bar.
Naturally Fresh
Ingredients like mint, cucumber, tomato juice and citruses like lemon juice and tamarind, coupled with condiments such as red chilli powder, black pepper and whole spices all go into the making of diverse savoury cocktails. These elements work really well in the summer weather because when served chilled, they naturally bring a vivacity, fragrance and freshness into the spiced cocktail, turning it into a drink-cum-appetiser, befitting the theme of the season.
Recommended Drink: A spiced jaljeera spritz is an organic fit because it brims with bright sour and spicy flavours, that are brought forth better when blended with a neutral spirit like vodka. Garnish the jaljeera spritz with spicy boondi for the chaat-like effect.
Pronounced Spice And Tang
When it comes to savoury cocktails like the trending rasam cocktail or the classic bloody mary, what works is a tangy, spiced, acidic quality which makes them easier to sip on during a long evening. Such a drink offers more in terms of balance at a warm summer gathering where tangy cocktails flavoured with spices and herbs are much smoother on the palate than creamier blends.
Recommended Drink: Make a classic bloody mary complete with vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and serve it chilled with a celery stalk garnish. The spicy tang of the cool drink can be quite pleasing in warm climes.
Food Pairing Variety
Savoury cocktails, for all their quirky takes on mixology, are actually quite easy to pair with different appetisers and mains served at a party. For instance, a cool gin cocktail infused with peppery notes goes really well with appetisers like grilled chicken or roasted meats and even fresh ones such as a bruschetta layered with basil and tomatoes. Savoury cocktails tend to offer better opportunities for experimenting with food and drink pairings.
Recommended Drink: Bring together cucumbers, crushed peppers and gin with tonic water in a classic cucumber and mint gin cooler, garnished with the sharp, cooling leaves. This cocktail can complement a lot of different spicy, smoky and cheesy flavours that are highlighted in multiple summer-friendly appetisers.
Flavour Complexity
Umami-rich layers, spicy flavours and an assortment of herbs all go into making savoury drinks. Interestingly, this creates a lot of complex tasting notes in the cocktails that makes for a very layered mixology experience.
Recommended Drink: Prepare a fusion cocktail such as a masala buttermilk cooler that is salty and refreshing but layered with a bright touch that comes from the buttermilk and a subtly tart, savoury and peppery quality which is the result of the tequila added to the drink. These flavours are tied together with a cumin powder garnish that lends the cocktail an umami lift.
Creative Garnishes
In summer weather, citrus fruits and fresh herbs are among some of the most common garnishes seen atop cocktails. Savoury drinks open up more opportunities to get creative with these adornments that infuse a lipsmacking brightness and additional flavour components into cocktails. Think cucumber ribbons over chilled gin drinks or a tamarind chutney over a bloody mary or a spiced gooseberry over a chilli-lime margarita as some options.
Recommended Drink: Craft a tomato and basil spritz featuring tangy tomato juice and muddled basil, coupled with the neutral palate that vodka brings into a mix. This drink can be adorned with a pickled onion wheel to lend it a spiced but chic finish.
