It’s larger, spacious and has a tiny green space. The new outlet of Bootlegger, in Indira Nagar, is designed to accommodate more guests, unlike their first one that witnesses long waiting lines, perennially. While regulars may think the reason behind Bootlegger’s popularity is the affordable beer, we discovered something more at the new outlet.
It’s their whiskey-based cocktails that’s the most alluring. From Sazerac and Shamrock to Battle of Orleans and Black & Ton, the options make for an interesting menu that’s further amplified with over 100 authentic bitters, imported from the US, London and Singapore. Despite so much on offer, we chose to sample just a few drinks, considering it was a weekday when we dropped in for lunch.
Potent ideas
The Sazerac, a blend of Bourbon, castor sugar, Peychaud’s bitters and absinthe, turned out to be a potent combination. But what won us over was the subtle flavour of aniseed, thanks to the addition of absinthe. Our food tasting included small portions from all the sections in the menu.
We started with the Jalapeno cheese pops. Lightly fried, crisp and fiery, the spicy filling hits the palate with a vengeance. It’s good to be paired with a slightly sweet concoction, so the Sazerac was perfect. The Stuffed Mushroom was next on our platter — soft button mushrooms stuffed with a spicy molten filling, lightly fried to crunchy perfection. From the mocktails section, we tried their non-alcoholic version of the Shirley Temple. A mix of Grenadine orange juice, lime and soda, this one was a tad bit sour, so it’s best to try it with their Fish fingers and Yankee fries that were served next. The former, though deep-fried were light and crisp. Yankee fries is a version of regular fries, with grated parmesan cheese, garlic and parsley.
Filling in
For mains we sampled the Margarita pizza (they serve pizzas by the slice), Water melon and feta salad, and Cheese melt sandwich. Neither too big nor small, the slice of Margarita pizza was just perfect to satiate our appetite. The salad helped us feel less guilty with its share of roughage. But we felt like we overdid our lunch with the cheese melt sandwich, which could be avoided. We concluded our meal with the Bacardi-spiked truffle cake — a must-eat at Bootlegger. An innovative take on the regular truffle cake, this will leave you with a double high — both on chocolate and Bacardi. Bootlegger does what it does best, serve tested recipes with a new take, and that’s why they score above the others.
At 80 Feet Road, Indira Nagar, Rs 1200 for two. Details: 25200099