Father's Day special: Mixologists share DIY-friendly cocktail recipes you can share with your dad

All this indoor time has made us a lot more resourceful and creative in the kitchen and the bar. But since cocktail culture took a big hit with gastro clubs closing their doors amid the Covid-19 crisis, millennials have been taking it upon themselves to re-create their go-to cocktails at home. While bar syrups like Grenadine or flavoured vermouths may have been particularly hard to source amid the lockdown, there are certain easy cocktails which can be made using pantry ingredients. 

Interestingly, many young drinkers are making their own syrups and purees for their cocktails, and this summer they are leaning towards hassle-free, fruity flavours which are easy to re-create without professional help or even without a shopping trip. If you plan to share a homemade cocktail with your dad this Father’s Day, you should focus on tropical, refreshing picks which can act as a great pick-me-up and are also repeatable. 

We got mixologists Saikat Dey (Kolkata-based pub and brewery Motor Works & Brewing Company) and Anirban Sarkar (Hyatt Regency Delhi) and Amitava Chandra, the General Manager of Kolkata gastropub The Brewhive to share some summer-friendly recipes of great cocktails which you can create in your own bar. Interestingly, these cocktails have a focus on citrusy tropical flavours and herb-based bitters which are ideal because they are really refreshing.

You’ll also notice that all of the ingredients used in the recipes are readily available in your kitchen or can be made from scratch in your home, be it fresh pineapple juice or simple sugar syrup. Here are three DIY-friendly cocktails which you can share with your dad this Father’s Day:

Red Smash (by Amitava Chandra, GM, The Brewhive)

Ingredients:

JW White Walker - 60 ml

Red Wine - 60 ml

Pineapple Juice - 30 ml

Lemon Juice - 15 ml

Egg White - 1 no

Burnt Cloves (for garnish)

Method

- Shake all the ingredients with ice

- Pour it in an old fashioned tumbler-style glass

- Garnish with the burnt cloves in a glass enclosure to keep the smoke and flavour it for 2 min.

- Serve

Bourbon Bucks (by Saikat Dey of Motor Works & Brewing Company)

Ingredients

1 /2 fresh orange juice

1.5tbsp lemon juice

1tbsp sugar syrup

60ml Wild Turkey Bourbon

60ml ginger beer

2 dashes angostura bitters

2tsp pomegranate for garnish

ice

Method

- Muddle fresh orange, lemon juice, syrup in a cocktail glass shaker. 

- Add bourbon, bitters and ice. 

- Shake and strain into a mug. Top with ginger beer, garnish with pomegranate and serve chilled. 

High End (by Anirban Sarkar, Hyatt Regency Delhi) 

Ingredients:

- 15ml - Lime juice

- 15ml - Simple syrup

- 1 bar spoon - Orange marmalade

- 40 ml – Whisky

- lager beer

Method

- Add all the ingredients except for the beer into a shaker, shake vigorously. 

- Fine strain into a pilsner glass add some ice then top it up with the lager beer.