Another blazing summer is here and we find ourselves hot and bothered again. Well, if you are a bit proactive about it, respite from the sweltering heat is not hard to find. Pray, where, you ask? LBB traces the pubs and bars across the city that are serving up fanciful summer cocktails that help you escape the heat and keep cool.
LBB’s loving
The Black Rabbit
Readers’ vote
Smoke House Deli
Spice-infused, herb-sprinkled, fruity cocktails greet you here. Do try their vodka-based drinks with flavours combinations like kiwi, melon, and jasmine, also, Californian plum, star anise and lily. Their martinis available in smoked melon, pineapple and watermelon versions are sure to provide solace to that parched throat of yours.
When: 9am-11pm
Price: INR 400 onwards
At this grand old watering hole, you’ll find a bunch of cocktails coolers that’ll quench your thirst. The Polo Club Specials list includes gems like the Genie in a Bottle, that brims over with the freshness of kaffir lime, lime, mint, galangal and lemon. There’s also the Frozen Raw Mango Margarita that mixes up tequila, Cointreau, raw mango and rock salt to give you a mouth-watering drink.
When: Sunday-Thursday, 10.45am-11pm, Friday-Saturday, 10.45am-1am
Price: INR 825 onwards
If a glass of chilled beer from their brewery doesn’t keep you cool, then their cocktails sure will. You can try the Toit Passion, a concoction that includes vodka, tequila, litchi crush, peach, lime and apricot {yum!}. There’s also a no-fuss Watermelon Mojito that’s mixes in white rum, watermelon juice, lime and mint.
When: Sunday-Thursday from noon-11.30pm, Friday and Saturday from noon-1am
Price: INR 275 onwards
Their signature infusions are a lovely mishmash of flavours. There’s the Muskmelon Martini, where orange liqueur and muskmelon infused vodka meet. You can also try the Orange Rosemary Mojito, that’ll quell the heat.
When: Sunday-Thursday from noon-11.30pm, Friday and Saturday from noon-1am
Price: INR 375 onwards
While this place is all about breezy cocktails, we’re showing summer loving to the Desperate Housewife. Gin, chunks of apple, apple juice and some sweet ‘n’ sour mix and you’re sorted for the day or night. Not to promote alcohol {but we will}, order the 1 litre bucket!
When: Sunday-Thursday from noon-11.30pm, Friday and Saturday, noon-1am
Price: INR 250 for the glass or INR 650 for the litre.
Granted you go here for beer, but their Crown Prince will be great company for the coming months. Served in a coconut shell, it’s a cooling concoction of coconut water, a splash of lime juice, chunks of watermelon and litchi, with rum as a base. Need beer? Try Walk The Plank with OJ, ginger and passion fruit meeting the brew.
When: Sunday to Thursday, 12.30pm-11.30pm, Friday and Saturday 11.30am-1am.
Price: INR 325 upwards
Piyakad Nariyal is your best bet here. Gin, tender coconut water with lime and basil make up this drink, and we can sip on it all afternoon long. But for some serious summer drinking, pick the Cuban Goli – a drink carbonated in an old-school machine, right before your eyes. Rum is the base, and you can pick lime or blackberry flavours.
When: Sunday to Thursday 11am- 11.30pm and Friday to Saturday 11am-1am
Price: INR 350 upwards
We’re torn between the In-Glish Summer and The Monk Pop at this quirky place. The former is a heady mix of gin, pineapple, chilli and cilantro. The other, though made with dark rum, is mixed with cherry juice, cola and ice cream for that chilled effect.
When: noon-11:30pm
Price: INR 250 upwards
Two words: Sunny Lemonie. And it’s from their Naughty Section. We love that it has the lesser known Bacardi Razz {flavoured with Marion berries and raspberries}, Bacardi Orange, Malibu and Lime. Doesn’t get better, eh? The musk melon martini with a hint of pepper comes a close second.
Where: 770, Escape Square, 100-Feet Road, Indiranagar
Price: INR 345 upwards
It’s a toss-up between the two Caribbean cocktails on offer – the Caribbean Cooler {cranberry vodka and Blue Curacao in a coconut shell} and the Caribbean Zumba {gin infused with Elderflower, Rosemary and cucumber}. We suggest you try both!
When: 11am-11pm
Price: INR 1,500
With inputs from Aakanksha Singh Devi