All in a glass

Siddharth Saha, the affable 35-year old bartender at the Kenilworth Hotel’s The Big Ben, is tuned to the pulse of the city. With new and experimental music bands doing a gig at The Big Ben every now and then, he stays clued in to the demands of the young crowd as they relax in the bar’s old pub atmosphere.

Saha started his career at the Holiday Inn, Surat way back in 1993 as a trainee in the service department. Gujarat being a dry state, the action unleashed at private parties where the good things in life flowed in abundance and took all the attention of the hospitality staff. This became the grooming ground for the budding barman.

In 2001 Saha moved back to Kolkata and joined Ffort Radisson in Raichak. Later, he worked with mixologist Irfan Ahmed and after a stint at Orko’s and Copper Chimney, he went on to work with Ahmed at Soho, the club with which Ahmed was formerly associated.

In June 2009, Saha joined The Kenilworth Hotels and has been shaking things up ever since at The Big Ben. He shares three recipes — a summery mango-based spicy drink to beat the heat, a refreshing watermelon, green apple based drink to go with the mellow monsoon mood and a third, a coffee-based drink that serves perfectly as a dessert cocktail.

Oasis

Glass: Hurricane cyclone

Ingredients: 60ml green apple vodka, 20ml lemon juice, 20ml peach syrup, 20ml water melon syrup, 5ml anise syrup, 90ml cranberry juice, Green apple slices and mint leaves for garnish

Method: Put all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with four cubes of ice and shake well. Put few cubes of ice in a glass and pour the mixed ingredients over the ice cubes. Garnish with sliced apple and mint leaves

Spicy mango with tequila

Glass: Margarita

Ingredients: 60ml tequila silver, 2tsp raw mango paste, 20ml lemon juice, A pinch or two of black salt, A pinch or two of chaat masala, ½tsp crushed green chilli, ½tsp chopped coriander leaves, Finely chopped ginger and raw mango for garnish

Method: Put all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and pour into a rimmed glass. Garnish with chopped ginger and green mango slices

Sweet coffin

Glass: Martini

Ingredients: 20ml Kahlua, 20ml Sambuca, 15ml Baileys Irish Cream, 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream, 5ml chocolate syrup, 5ml butter scotch syrup, ½tsp coffee powder, Roasted coffee beans and coffee powder for garnish

Method: Put the ice cream, Baileys, chocolate syrup, butterscotch syrup and coffee powder in a cocktail shaker and mix well. Pour Sambuca and Kahlua in a chilled glass. Pour the ice cream and Baileys mix over this using a spoon to make a layer on top. Garnish with three/four coffee beans and sprinkle some coffee powder on top.


The Personal Telegraph