Rhodo Collins
Ingredients
>> 15 ml lemon juice >> 15 ml simple syrup >> 45 ml gin 
>> 60 to 80 ml rhododendron leaf tea-infused water 

Method
Shake these ingredients with a lemon wedge and pour in a tall glass filled with ice. Top up with rhododendron leaf tea-infused water (infused for at least an hour). Stir and serve.

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Curiosity is key
Ami Shroff, the flair bartender-juggler, who founded a cocktail mixer brand called Mixed during the lockdown, shares that her first brush with the world of mixology was back in 2003, when she was all of 17. “It was a part-time job to earn some money. Flair fascinated me and pulled me towards the profession,” she reminisces. Her tip for budding bartenders: “Experiment and be curious.”

Chowpatty
Ingredients
>> 50 ml Kettle One Vodka
>>50 ml bora (Indian jujube) juice, cold-pressed >> 60 ml pineapple juice, cold-pressed >> 40 ml mango-chilli-honey >> 30 ml starfruit juice, cold-pressed >> Rim mix of salt  >>A puri with a spoon full of mango-chilli-honey and peppermint leaf

Method
For the mango-chilli-honey: Purée the mango. Brew 100 ml water with 10 g red chillies on a low flame for 15 to 20 minutes. Allow it to cool. Mix 200 ml mango purée with 100 ml honey, and refrigerate.
For salt mix: Add 5 g salt mixed with 5 g pani puri spice, 3 g red chilli powder, 6 g jaggery powder and 15 g dehydrated coconut. 

Now, rim the glass with the salt mix. Tip in vodka with bora, pineapple and star fruit juices into a shaker. Add mango-chilli-honey, ice cubes and an ice ball. Shake well and strain over fresh ice. Add a mango cube and bamboo straw. Garnish with a puri with two bar spoons of mango-chilli-honey and dehydrated coconut with a peppermint leaf. Spray with Kettle One infusion (fennel and peppermint) on the top.

Cool school 
Looking back on his journey from a fresher  to a mixologist who has set up over a dozen bars across India, Nilesh Patel, Beverage Head (West), Impresario Handmade Restaurants, shares it’s been a great journey. “Experiencing different trends and cultures have taught me a lot more than any book could have.”

Lockdown high-ball
Ingredients
>> 45 ml blended scotch whiskey >> 50 ml Rooh Afza infused with tulsi and lemon zest 
>>Soda to top >> Tulsi sprig and edible flower for garnish

Method
Take a highball glass filled with ice. Pour the blended scotch whiskey and add the Rooh Afza mix. Top it with soda. Stir well; garnish with tulsi sprig and edible flower, and serve.

My science lab 
Known as India’s first woman bartender, Shatbhi Basu, who is also a consultant and mentor, shares that working behind the bar has taught her everything the classroom couldn’t — from geography and history to culture, heritage, art and psychology. “It taught me to use science practically. It made me who I am — a strong, independent person. It’s a super skilled profession.”

Grape sour 
Ingredients
>> 60ml Paul John Edited single malt >> 6 seedless black grapes >> 3/4 lime (extract the juice) >> 2 tsp powdered sugar >> Bitters (optional) >>Black grapes/mint sprig for garnish

Method
Crush grapes in the cocktail shaker to extract its juices. Add lime juice, sugar and stir. Fill the shaker with ice cubes, pour in the whisky and shake for 20 seconds. Finely strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Splash a few drops of bitters and garnish it.

Leese’s tips 
>> Buy a good cocktail book that also details what you need to set up a home bar.
>> More alcohol doesn’t mean better drinks; balance is vital.
>> Start with small, equal measures of sweet and sour.