A clear winner in terms of homegrown and traditional beverages

Today we know liquor as mostly imported, or derived from imported names and sources. However, there has always been a flourishing tradition of liquor in India that has been made from natural resources. One such example is Mahua, or as some call it Mahura, that is essentially made from flowers that have fallen off the tree of the same name name. Remember, the flowers are never plucked — only what good Mother nature throws down is used.

Why Mahura is a clear winner among homegrown beverages

Mahura goes down very well especially with Indian food. Whether you are having dry or curried dishes, this makes for a lovely summer afternoon drink, had straight on ice or used to make a Bloody Mary or even a Margarita. There are no restrictions on its usage, and they make a good base for any cocktail that uses white or clear spirits.

We started off with Ker Sangri Galauti Shaami kebabs. Made with dried Ker berries and Sangri beans ground to a super fine paste, the rich taste was well complemented by the slightly sweet taste of the Mahura. The next course was fantastic in itself – a Saltwater café chicken liver pâté. Now we are more partial to foie gras, but for some reason, this particular delicacy is banned in India and hence we had to settle for chicken. It was quite tasty, nevertheless and we had this paired with a Tribal Negroni. This consisted of the Six Brothers’ distillery Mahura, with Campari, Vetiver bitters and sweet vermouth. This was again an incredibly smooth cocktail, with the bittersweet notes of the Campari elevating the velvety texture of the pâté.

Next on our menu was the Butter garlic prawn toast. Needless to say the prawns were very fresh and the butter garlic sauce gave it a creamy texture that went don very well with toast. We paired this with Phool me twice, an excellent concoction of Mahura with Elederflower and tonic. Now as you are aware Elderflower and tonic are ideally suited to leisurely afternoons bonding with nature, so here the addition of Mahura elevated the humble mixes into something very unique. The sweet and floral notes of the Mahura combined with elderflower to give a divine push to the taste profile and putting you on a higher level.

Our final dish was the cleverly crafted. It consisted of Kabul ki dal, a 14-hour slow cooked dal made with 70 per cent less oil or butter, but is garnished with a dollop of healthy white butter. Tabrizi chicken on the same plate was basically chicken cooked with saffron, onion, garlic, turmeric, paprika, cumin, salt, and sumac powder. All of this was backed up by Bakhumaas – a bread that is an Afghani word where you cover the dough for four hours in muslin cloth. Bakhu means sour, and it went very well with the chicken and dal. This time we did not do a cocktail, but went with plain Mahura over ice, with a splash of water. Again, a very refreshing drink that also worked as a digestif.

Mahura as a spirit is being revived once again in a major manner by South Seas Distilleries, with their product Six Brothers Mahura. Once famously banned by the British, this liquor rich in Indian traditions is now making a comeback competing with the likes of premium Gin and Vodka. Given its taste profile, we expect that Mahura will be a clear liquor of choice for many of us.

Priced at INR 2,492.