A sudden rise in the health focused drinks brought a revolution in the industry to brought some cool drinks.
We speak to many a Mixologist and bar managers, who are continuously working to prepare some great drinks. They have moved to kombucha and other fermented beverages to prepare them.
Fermented Citrus Garibaldi, Bar Americano, Australia
When making Negronis at scale, a lot of zestless oranges are left hanging around. Matthew Bax, owner and head bartender of Bar Americano in Melbourne, put those naked oranges to good use in his Fermented Citrus Garibaldi. “Fermentation is a great way to bring a new life to discarded produce,” says Bax. A kombucha SCOBY is fed with orange juice, sugar and a house blend of Italian vermouth. When the batch is ready, it’s strained, chilled and combined with Campari, Aperol and orange bitters. “Good oranges don’t need much more help than Campari and Aperol,” says Bax. The drink is then batched in single-serve Garibaldi-branded soda bottles and poured into a double Old-Fashioned glass over a large ice cube, along with a splash of fresh orange juice.
Kwant, London
One of the famous bar person, Erik Lorincz, mixes a lapsang souchong tea kombucha with aged rum, buckwheat cordial and pimento dram in his Barquisimeto cocktail.
Lorincz is using a scoby to ferment the bar’s own green tea kombucha, which he is planning to use on his next menu;
Lyaness, London
Another famous bar, At Lyaness, Meredith and his team explored the various extraction techniques in the development of their “Tea-mooth,” an experimental take on a vermouth. Using their custom Mr Lyan tea, curated by Henrietta Lovell (the owner of Rare Tea Company), Lyaness’ Tea-mooth is created via a blend of housemade kombucha;
Bartender Derek explores his love for fermentation through this gin-based cocktail that’s loosely inspired by a traditional Indian mango lassi. Kefir, a fermentable yogurt, takes on a strong herbal, piney expression when muddled with juniper berries, reflecting one of the primary characteristics of the gin. The pronounced dried fruit of the verjus plays off honey infused with angelica root, a binding agent that connects flavors and suffuses the drink with earthy notes and floral aromatics. Another fermented ingredient, mango kombucha, lends fizzy texture and complex tropical fruit notes.
Here is the recipe for this one:
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 parts Bombay Sapphire gin
3/4 parts Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Ambrato vermouth
3/4 parts kefir yogurt with juniper berries
1/2 parts Minus 8 verjus
1/2 parts angelica root honey
1 1/2 parts Mango kombucha (we prefer homemade)
Garnish: sugar–angelica root powder mixed in 2/3 sugar to 1/3 angelica powder ratio, plus a pinch of salt.
DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients except the mango kombucha into a shake and fill with ice. Throw seven times from tin to tin to get dilution, chill and aeration.
Pour into stemmed wine glass over a sphere ice cube for minimal dilution and add mango kombucha.
Mix with a spoon slightly, just enough to blend the kombucha with the rest of the ingredients.
Garnish the rim with sugar–angelica root powder blend.