Cocktails for Indian engagement party

[Anonymous]

Having a smallish engagement party at our house, expecting 40-50 people, most of whom will drink. Menu is vegetarian, very heavy appetizers which should be enough to fill people up for dinner. Planning on having beer and wine, but wanted to have a couple cocktails too. Any ideas for a couple of interesting signature drinks? There will be a bartender/drinks server, but hoping that person can walk around and fill glasses and clean up empty glasses/bottles too and not just mix drinks the whole time — though maybe can just mix for the first hour or so?

[Anonymous]

Johnny Walker red straight or with soda in a tall glass if experience is any guide.

[Anonymous]

Ginger mint lemonade with alcoholic mixer of choice

[Anonymous]

Kir royales! Elegant and festive and I think the sweet/crisp goes nicely with Indian flavors.

For something fancier - Hemingway Daquiries. If you squeeze the limes and grapefruits ahead of time then the bartenders can whip them up quickly.

Cosmopolitians, despite being a bit of a cliche, are actually really yummy with cranberry juice, lime and vodka and easy to make. You could even give it a different name like “Cranberry Martini.”

Aperol spritz. Always a favorite, the bitter might go nicely with rich appetizers.

Lemon drops. Refreshing!

[Anonymous]

Tamarind margaritas. Can be made ahead. WaPo once had a good recipe for it. Google it.

My fave non-alchoholic drink? Layer Pom juice with a hint of lemon juice mixed in it, over a thick mango juice. Decorate with a sprig of mint.

If you can get your hands on raw green mangos you can make Aap Panna (NDTV has a recipe). Serve with garnish for a non-alchoholic drink, or add vodka for a great cocktail.

"Punjabi By Nature" restaurants usually have a good desi cocktail menu. They basically add vodka in everything. From gol gappas to gulab jamuns.

I am thinking - why not serve Thandai with a bit of bhaang?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tamarind margaritas. Can be made ahead. WaPo once had a good recipe for it. Google it.

My fave non-alchoholic drink? Layer Pom juice with a hint of lemon juice mixed in it, over a thick mango juice. Decorate with a sprig of mint.

If you can get your hands on raw green mangos you can make Aap Panna (NDTV has a recipe). Serve with garnish for a non-alchoholic drink, or add vodka for a great cocktail.

"Punjabi By Nature" restaurants usually have a good desi cocktail menu. They basically add vodka in everything. From gol gappas to gulab jamuns.

I am thinking - why not serve Thandai with a bit of bhaang?

tamarind margarita sounds delicious, low effort too.

[Anonymous]

Tamarind mojitos- I saw this recently on Padma Lakshmi’s Insta
Manga cocktail from Monkey Bar-recipe on the web
Boozy mango lassi
Jal jeera mojito

[Anonymous]

I’m Indian and pairing Indian food and cocktails is my thing!
If you tell me more about your menu, I’m happy to come up with more ideas.
Generally:
One sparkling cocktail, like Mango or Passion fruit Bellini. You can add a bit of ginger liqueur, like Domaine de Canton, to spice things up.
One sour, like a margarita riff or a vodka based one. Options: Jalapeño margarita, vodka with mint & lemon with a dash of orgeat to add richness.
One old-fashioned type drink for the lovers of more boozy drinks (ie all the uncles): Brown butter washed bourbon with gulab jamun syrup as a sweetener and scrappy’s cardamom bitters.
Definitely scotch for the scotch-only drinkers.

Congratulations!

[Anonymous]

Never been to an Indian party that only had heavy apps. We tend to be big on food.

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend having two people - one to walk the floor and another to mix drinks. Cut down on the booze budget if you must but make sure things flow smoothly. I don’t see that happening with just one bartender for 40-50 people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I highly recommend having two people - one to walk the floor and another to mix drinks. Cut down on the booze budget if you must but make sure things flow smoothly. I don’t see that happening with just one bartender for 40-50 people.

That said your party sounds fun and I love all these suggestions!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all these ideas!!! A lot of these sound great — and I’ll have a fun week testing them out.

We were going to do a heavy dinner but then the engaged couple decided they wanted more mingling and chatting so we switched it up.

Here’s the current menu, minus desserts:

- Paani Poori
- Bhajji Fondue w/ Pav bites
- Batata Bao Buns
- Paneer Shashlik
- Indian grazing boards (kachori, chakoli, nuts, biscuits, mini samosas, chutneys)
- Bhalla Papdi Chaat
- Watermelon chat
- Paneer Tikka Kathi Rolls (60pcs)
- Veg sliders (*60pcs*)
- Corn Bhel

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I highly recommend having two people - one to walk the floor and another to mix drinks. Cut down on the booze budget if you must but make sure things flow smoothly. I don’t see that happening with just one bartender for 40-50 people.

You definitely need two bartenders (at least), and someone to pick up glasses and replenish if someone else is not doing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m Indian and pairing Indian food and cocktails is my thing!
If you tell me more about your menu, I’m happy to come up with more ideas.
Generally:
One sparkling cocktail, like Mango or Passion fruit Bellini. You can add a bit of ginger liqueur, like Domaine de Canton, to spice things up.
One sour, like a margarita riff or a vodka based one. Options: Jalapeño margarita, vodka with mint & lemon with a dash of orgeat to add richness.
One old-fashioned type drink for the lovers of more boozy drinks (ie all the uncles): Brown butter washed bourbon with gulab jamun syrup as a sweetener and scrappy’s cardamom bitters.
Definitely scotch for the scotch-only drinkers.

Congratulations!

Np. These sound amazing. Please share where to source the old fashioned ingredients. Is that a type of bourbon, for example. And how can I make the syrup? I assume I can buy the bitters. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m Indian and pairing Indian food and cocktails is my thing!
If you tell me more about your menu, I’m happy to come up with more ideas.
Generally:
One sparkling cocktail, like Mango or Passion fruit Bellini. You can add a bit of ginger liqueur, like Domaine de Canton, to spice things up.
One sour, like a margarita riff or a vodka based one. Options: Jalapeño margarita, vodka with mint & lemon with a dash of orgeat to add richness.
One old-fashioned type drink for the lovers of more boozy drinks (ie all the uncles): Brown butter washed bourbon with gulab jamun syrup as a sweetener and scrappy’s cardamom bitters.
Definitely scotch for the scotch-only drinkers.

Congratulations!

Np. These sound amazing. Please share where to source the old fashioned ingredients. Is that a type of bourbon, for example. And how can I make the syrup? I assume I can buy the bitters. Thanks!

I'm the PP that suggested those. The brown butter bourbon is something you make yourself. It's a technique called fat-washing: https://www.whiskyadvocate.com/how-to-fat-wash-whisky/
The gulab jamun syrup is something I had leftover after Diwali. It's essentially the equivelent of a rich simple syrup in cocktail parlance, flavored with saffron, cardamom and rose water. You'd need to make that too.