How do London’s top bartenders approach a new spirit?
As India's Six Brothers Distilleries prepares to launch its mahura spirit in the UK — a category never seen in the market before — Eloise Feilden asks top London mixologists how they plan to make the perfect mahura cocktail. The post How do London’s top bartenders approach a new spirit? appeared first on The Drinks Business.
As India's Six Brothers Distilleries prepares to launch its mahura spirit in the UK — a category never seen in the market before — Eloise Feilden asks top London mixologists how they plan to make the perfect mahura cocktail.
Banned in India under British colonial rule for a century, South Seas Distilleries is reviving the country's mahura spirit for the first time, and has chosen the UK as its first export market.
To mark the occasion the distillery launched a cocktail competition for 17 London bartenders and mixologists who would battle it out to create the best mahura-based cocktail.
Rupi Chinoy, director at South Seas Distilleries & Breweries, said of the competition: “The fact that Mahura is an entirely new spirits category means that the cocktails entered in The Six Brothers Mahura Masters will uncover inspiring ways to use the spirit, creating serves that showcase its versatility and could become synonymous with Six Brothers as a brand, and how Mahura is experienced and enjoyed as a category.”
Competition entrants were among the first to craft serves using a yet-unreleased spirit.
We asked some of the London bartenders involved in the competition about their approach to a new spirits category like mahura. Here's what they said:
Pierpaolo Schirru, head mixologist and beverage development at The Londoner
"When exploring a new spirit like mahura, my first step is always to taste the liquid on its own. Since mahura is an entirely new category, my palate instinctively looks for something familiar to latch onto. With mahura, I found myself thinking of agricole rum or shochu, but with a lighter, more delicate viscosity. "The fact that it’s a flower-based distillation filtered through platinum gives it a beautifully refined quality that sets it apart. When crafting cocktails, I focus on keeping the spirit at the forefront. Drinks like a Highball, Gimlet, or Martini work perfectly, allowing mahura to shine. The key is to pair it with modifiers that enhance, rather than overwhelm. My personal favourite way to serve it is straight from the freezer, either stirred or poured over ice."
Timotei Bodolan, bartender at Bar LUUM
"At LUUM, we thrive on creativity and innovation, which is why working with a new spirit like Mahura is so exciting for us. Its natural sweetness offers a unique foundation for crafting great cocktails. We focus on exploring its versatility by pairing it with interesting ingredients to create fresh, innovative flavour profiles. For us, it is all about pushing the boundaries of taste and providing our guests with a one-of-a-kind experience."
Marina Juszczyk, head bartender at SOMA
"The most crucial thing to me is to research and understand its origins and the flavour profile. It's about accentuating them, find ingredients that will compliment all the flavour nuances. In the end, it's a trial and error process, to find a perfect match for something so new and unknown, but once you get it right - the results are incomparable."
Luca Parimbelli, head bartender at The Cadogan
"Working with a new brand is always a nice and intriguing opportunity, it gives you the chance to discover new flavours and new pairing that you would never have thought about. As a professional Bartender we are always seeking for new challenges, new products and different flavours to incorporate in our creations. "Discovering and working with such a unique spirit as Mahua gave us the opportunity to experience and feel all the love and passion behind this creation, bringing cultural history and craftsmanship all together in a unique and pleasant product."
Bilal Tekec, mixologist and bar manager at Chiave
"Before creating a cocktail, my first approach tends to be understanding the history and flavors of the spirit, the origin of its country, the emotions it evokes, and the overall mood I want to create. From there, I experiment with different flavors, seeking innovative pairings while staying rooted in tradition. With Mahura, I took the same approach, understanding its cultural significance and what it represents, then blending different flavors to craft a cocktail that stands out with a unique and distinctive taste profile."
Daniel French, head bartender at Ham Yard Hotel
"My approach is to understand the history of the spirit. Like with creating any cocktail, it’s important to understand the origin of an ingredient to be able to create a drink that honours it. With Mahura, there is much to learn about this exciting new category."
Alex Rajan-Iyer, bartender at Spitalfields Bar
"Whenever I taste something new, my first port of call is always memory. Have I tasted something similar before? Does it dredge anything up from my subconscious? From there, it's a fun journey slotting everything together to make a drink."
