It's December, winters are officially here, and so is Christmas. The year is wrapping up like a glittery gift, and we are sure all of you are looking for that perfect way to toast the festive frenzy. Well, your hunt ends here as JW Marriott Sahar’s iconic and lovely lounge AUTM has just launched ‘Sip Of The Season.’ It is a winter cocktail menu that is basically winter and Christmas in a highball glass with festive sparkles. We at unsobered scored the golden ticket to taste-test this fabulously festive menu and also chat with the mixology wizard who crafted this menu.
AUTM - JW Lounge at JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar is a premier luxury lounge that seamlessly transforms from a chic cafe during the day into a sophisticated, vibrant bar during the evening.
This space has elegantly designed interiors with plush seating, with natural sunlight covering the place during the day. Its inviting layout makes it the perfect spot for post-work unwinding, festive sips, and business meets too. Walk into the lounge and a wave of warmth and relaxation hugs you, offering an indulgent escape from the outer world.
The showstopper of this lounge is its elegant and sleek bar. The bar looks like a visual magnet, making it a social hotspot. The setup is so good that it allows bartenders to craft, perform, and serve cocktails or mocktails in a way that every drink’s making feels like a mesmerising show.
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AUTM - JW Lounge launched “Sip Of The Season,” a cosy six-drink winter cocktail menu which offers festive flavors and warmth. Each cocktail on this menu is crafted with love and utmost precision in order to bring the best of flavors and concoctions without missing the festive vibes for the guests. All of these cocktails have their own bold individuality, offering a unique flavor that celebrates the excitement of Christmas and the cosiness of winter.
1. Snickerdoodle Sour
This sweet-sour cocktail is made using the sweetness from snickerdoodle, creaminess from buttered rum, zestiness of lemon, and frothy silkiness of egg white, making it a must-try if you are a Christmas cookie fan.
2. Mistletoe Royale
This lovely wine cocktail is pure magic, created with the piney flavor of rosemary, the juiciness of raspberry, and the bubbly nature of the sparkling wine, making you fall in love from the first sip.
3. Fireside Fig
This spice-flavoured cocktail uses the oak from reposado tequila to blend with the heat from chili, while the depth of fig and spiciness from clove with bitters to offer a very unique flavor profile.
4. North Star Old Fashioned
This cocktail is an amazing take on the old classic cocktail with rich caramel from bourbon, fruitiness from cherry, velvet silkiness from cocoa, and bitters.
5. Gingerbread Midnight Martini
This expressive cocktail is crafted using espresso, which fuses well with the boldness of vodka and creaminess of Kahlua, beautifully spiced by gingerbread, offering caffeinated cookie magic in a glass.
6. Peppermint Snowdrift
This cocktail is a complete surprise packet offering the crisp botanicals of gin melting into the richness of white chocolate with cream and peppermint, a cool offering of a snowy, indulgent drink.
Dates:5 December to 31st December, 2025
Timings: 11 am to 1:30 am
Cost: All the cocktails on this menu are priced at INR 1250 plus taxes.
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We started with one of the most attractive and Christmasy names on the menu, Mistletoe Royale. Just one sip and you are teleported to a winter wonderland which offers you the warmth and wow of the season. The bubbliness of wine beautifully complements the piney flavor of rosemary and the fruitiness of the berry, offering a feeling so good that it's hard to find the right adjectives to describe it.
The cocktails served here are served with Nachani chips and some nuts that elevate your experience. We paired it with some crispy yet tender Truffle Fries and Vegan Risotto, after all, when it's wine, there has to be Risotto. The Risotto was perfectly creamy and flavoured, while the Truffle Fries were crispy and earthy.
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We, at unsobered not only got to taste the amazing newly launched seasonal cocktail menu, but also got to chat with Omkar Krishna Patkar, the bartender behind this fun, festive menu.
He called crafting this menu a real challenge because many ingredients were very different from his culture, like Snickerdoodle cookies, which he had never really tried before. But he also mentioned that he loves challenges as they help a person grow beyond their comfort zone.
Talking about the challenges he faced while crafting this menu, he mentioned how he sat back and brainstormed over the offerings to bring the best of the season for the guests.
We asked him about that one cocktail that he personally likes, and why, to which Omkar spoke about crafting Fireside Fig, one of the cocktails on the menu.
He told us how there were many errors and rectifications, but he finally managed to achieve the balance. The reason behind the errors was to play with fig as an ingredient because it is very important to find the right consistency.
Omkar informed us that the bitters used in these cocktails are all made in-house by him using the sous vide technique. When we asked him to suggest a pairing for Mistletoe Royale, he suggested that Croque Monsieur would be the best one. This is because anything white, cheesy, or creamy would always go well with sparkling wine.
The cocktails on the menu are all named by the Director of Food and Beverage at the Lounge, as Omkar crafted the cocktails and left the “aesthetically pleasing” work to the director.
While crafting the cocktail menu, the key is to understand the place they are serving at, the clientele, and what might suit their mood and palate. Their bar here is whisky-heavy because the clientele and in India as a whole, whisky is the go-to drink.
When asked to pick one spirit that shines in every season, Omkar crowns vodka as the king. Its neutral canvas lets one play by infusing flavors to match one’s moods and cravings.
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Last but not least, we were served two desserts to end our day on the sweetest note. The first dessert was Biscoff, and trust us, it was simply delicious with the right amount of crunch and richness paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, making every bite a wholesome experience.
The next dessert was Jasmine Rice Pudding. It was a unique dessert with jasmine rice as its base, with gelato, basil, and mango jelly offering a unique coconut-dominant flavor profile.
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AUTM - JW Lounge
Address: JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, 4V3G+6XR, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Int'l Airport Rd, Navpada, Sahar Village, Andheri East, Mumbai
Timings: 9 am to 1:30 am
