Fresh and tangy

“Though I’m not a big fan of cocktails, I love shaking them up for my guests”, says Jayanta Deb, the 23-year-old F&B Assistant at Aqua, the hip poolside lounge at The Park, Kolkata. So what does he prefer? “I like straight drinks — Jack Daniel’s with Coke is a favourite”, he grins.

Deb has been behind the bar at Aqua since he joined The Park as an F&B trainee in May 2007. After graduating from the Meridien School of Hotel Management at Salt Lake, Kolkata, he joined the Taj Residency at Nashik. He worked there as a steward for six months before he joined Aqua.

“I realised that I wanted to be a bartender when I was very young. I would always mix drinks for my friends,” says Deb. And having served celebrities such as Shoaib Akhtar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Riya and Raima Sen, he’s on top of the world.

Here are three cocktails that he recommends this season.

Goosebumps

Glass: Whisky or Old Fashioned

Ingredients: 60ml Grey Goose vodka 2 kiwis, sliced A dash of lime juice Crushed ice

Method: Muddle the kiwi slices and lemon juice together. Then, add the vodka and stir. Top this up with crushed ice and garnish with a slice of kiwi.

Cucumber and Chilli Margarita

Glass: Margarita

Ingredients: 60ml white tequila 30ml Cointreau A dash of lime juice 4 slices of cucumber 3 chillies

Method: Muddle three slices of cucumber and two chillies with lime juice. Then, add the tequila and the Cointreau and shake well. Garnish with a slice of cucumber and a chilly and serve.

The Pink

Glass: Martini

Ingredients: 60ml pink vodka 30ml Cointreau A quarter of a pomegranate A dash of lime juice

Method: Muddle the pomegranate with lime juice. Then, add the vodka and Cointreau. Shake well and serve.


The Personal Telegraph