Let's Make It Clear

Mixologists at bars in India and abroad are experimenting with a technique called clarification that allows them to play with a wider range of ingredients — specifically, fat-and milk-based ones. We spoke to them to understand what the process entails, and then, rounded up a few spots so you too can try a clarified cocktail in your city

- Sharan Sanil and Suman Mahfuz Quazi

Imagine sipping on a cocktail, laced with the sweet, bland and slightly sharp taste of milk, without having to deal with its stretchy texture. Or enjoying a tipple fortified with fats like bacon and peanut butter, but with no sight of the actual ingredients. That's what clarification helps mixologists achieve. Invented (supposedly) by playwright, Aphra Behn in the 17th century, this is now a widely used technique across bars in India and abroad.

The process essentially involves removing impurities and particles from a cocktail to create a clear drink, and often goes hand-in-hand with the technique of fat-washing a drink i.e., treating a spirit with fats to achieve more pronounced flavours. "The technique also results in a cleaner, more refined flavour profile. It allows the individual ingredients and their characteristics to shine through," shares Mayur Marne, head mixologist at Pune-based bar Cobbler & Crew. Explaining why clarification is having its moment in the sun, Sujan Shetty, bar manager at Slow Tide, Goa tells us, "By removing impurities and particulates, the flavours become more focused and distinct. A clarified cocktail tends to have a smoother mouthfeel and a cleaner taste. Of course, the obvious, we love to experiment, and it allows us to be creative."

Now, the folks behind the bar at establishments across the country are harnessing the inventive and wide canvas made possible by clarification to make everything from blended-whisky cocktails featuring milk to miso-infused rum-based tipples. Here are a few we found worthy of trying, after scouring for clarified cocktails in bars and restaurants all over India.

CLARIFIED PENICILLIN MILK PUNCH | ROBOTO, GOA