“For every vice, there exists a cocktail”, said our invite to The Cocktail Story‘s very first invite-only event in Mumbai – Cards of Vice. And boy, are we glad we accepted! Hosted at Vice – Global Tapas Bar in Juhu, the event promised to give cocktails the attention they deserve.
To begin with, our charming hostess for the night and founder of The Cocktail Story – Vidhi Puri – led us straight to the bar (just how we like it). The bar displayed bowls holding cards with the most millenial vices written on them. From being addicted to vacations to shopping till you drop, we related and how. The card we picked would choose our first cocktails for the night and lo and behold – Shopaholic & Social Media Junkie were our vices. This meant we got to try the Highballin’ and Social Sour by expert bartender Umang Kochar first.
Highballin’ was a delicious start with the smokey flavour of Woodburns Whisky and hints of strawberry and rosemary cordial, topped off with Sepoy & Co. tonic.
The Social Sour, another Woodburns Whisky-based drink, was the stuff of every Sour lover’s dream. Keeping it simple with citrus, sugar, egg white and bitters and garnished with an orange peel stamped with #ThisIsWoodBurns – never have we ever gulped down a drink so fast. This drink would soon become the drink of the night as we kept heading to the bar and asking for more.
Not to be thwarted by the cards we were dealt, we ordered the Call Me An Alcoholic next. And when we say this was a fancy drink – we mean it. Umang definitely outdid himself with this one as he made the delicious espresso, rose water syrup from scratch! Whisky, bitters and a rose petal garnish rounded this drink off. The flavours were strong but mixed together perfectly to make another favourite of the night.
As the event crescendoed, Vidhi & Umang teamed up to serve up some shaker action and delicious shooters. We all love a bit of flair and charm to our bartending, don’t we? It truly started to feel like a group of friends truly appreciate the art of cocktail making, which was Vidhi’s aim to begin with.
We decided to end the night with the two Kingfisher-based cocktails and we were not disappointed.
The Hakuna Mimosa with beer, orange and orange juice was the perfect light cocktail for those who prefer the fruit to overpower the liquor in a cocktail. As simple as it was, it still seemed to be flying off of the bar.
The beer truly came through in the FOMO Rager – a heady mix with passion fruit puree and bitters yet again. A true treat for beer enthusiasts, we’re glad this is what we chose to end the night with.
All in all, it was a wonderful night where people came together to applaud the people behind the bar and savour cocktails that were definitely sinful. If this is just the beginning for The Cocktail Story’s stint in Mumbai, we can’t wait for what they do next.
