With Food: Pairing Spicy Indian Food With Whisky Cocktails

The spice and sizzle of Indian food paired with vibrant whisky cocktails is an extremely enticing combination for venues to consider for food and cocktail moments. An unlikely mix for some, more and more restobars are expanding cocktail menus to be enjoyed along with an evening meal – it helps the appetite remain high, touches more areas of the palette, and can also increase profit.

You associate the traditional curry house with heavier drinks such as beer, but the Soho Tavern, based in the heart of Birmingham’s Asian community, introduced complementary cocktails to their food menu to leave customers with the feeling of indulgence, satisfaction, and flavoursome experience.

Established in 2014, the Soho Tavern is a family run bar and grill, building its popularity through Punjabi twists on popular cuisine – the mixed grill is revamped with tandoori chicken, lamb and kebabs, triple-cooked chips are given a new lease of life by being marinated in a hot chilli sauce and an Indo-Chinese influence gives a fresh take on battered prawns. The modest pricing ensures tables are packed with families, students and friend groups throughout the week and they now boast four venues across the Midlands – with plans to branch out further into the country. We caught up with Head Bartender Natty to see how Soho Tavern’s creativity could enhance the food and cocktail moment.

No Label

The perfect marriage between sophisticated and fun, the ‘No Label’ is a drink fit for a food connoisseur. The ginger ale provides a refreshing taste after the smoky flavours of the tandoori mixed grill, leaving you wanting more.

Ingredients:

50ml Johnnie Walker Black Label

25ml Lime Cordial

25ml Pomegranate Syrup

25ml Kiwi Syrup

200ml Ginger Ale

Ice:

Cubed

Garnish:

Lemon wheel

Method:

Stir

This recipe contains 16g of alcohol

New Fashion

The Old Fashioned is a zesty, smoky blend of flavour that oozes class. Staying classy, the New Fashion builds upon the zesty flavour with Bourbon-influenced honey undertones, as well as fruity syrups that help to calm the palette after a sizzling starter!

Ingredients:

50ml Bulleit Bourbon

25ml Lime Cordial

25ml Sugar Cane Syrup

25ml Passionfruit Syrup

25ml Blood Orange Syrup

200ml Ginger Beer

Ice:

Cubed

Garnish:

Dried Strawberries

Method:

Stir

This recipe contains 18g of alcohol

Citrus Blue

They say you eat with your eyes, so feast your eyes upon the cocktail equivalent of the Indian seaside! Is will appease every one of the senses to the point you can visualise and taste the ocean – cooling the palette down after a spicy curry!

Ingredients:

50ml Haig Club

25ml Blue Curacao

25ml Passionfruit Syrup

25ml Almond Syrup

100ml Orange Juice

Dash of Lemon Juice

Ice:

None

Garnish:

Orange slice and wheel

Method:

Shake and strain

This recipe contains 21g of alcohol

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