A brandy good time

Slow-cooked spiced sangria

The overcast sky and the constant splatter often paint the city in a gloomy grey overtone, leaving us feeling the blues. An instant pick-me-up for such drippy days is a warm, slow-cooked, spiced sangria, shares Sonali Mullick, head of operations and mixologist at Bayroute and Hitchki. "Drinking this sangria is comforting, like the vibe during Christmas. It's a perfect combination of cinnamon and clove, along with brandy. The spirit forms an integral part of the recipe as it's produced by distilling wines that add on to the flavour, making the sangria a bit more potent," Mullick elaborates, adding that the cocktail works for both parties as well as quiet evenings.

Ingredients

• 750 ml red wine (Merlot/Zinfandel)
• 2 cups apple cider
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 orange (zested and juiced)
• 5 cloves (whole)
• 4 green cardamoms
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 anise (whole)
• ¼ cup brandy

Method

Tip in the wine, cider, honey, orange zest and orange juice to a pan on a low flame. Now, add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and star anise to the liquid. Cook the mixture on a simmer. Then, stir in the brandy. Ladle the drink into an Irish coffee mug or a wine goblet, and garnish with an orange slice and a cinnamon stick.

Pro tip: The classic way to enjoy a well-aged brandy is in a snifter at room temperature. The drinker should hold the bowl of the snifter in their palm to gently warm up the brandy and release all the aromas. Brandies are typically served in this fashion as a post-dinner drink.

Brande epices

If you're feeling slightly under the weather, or just want to get rid of that cool dampness in the air, nothing works better than a hot toddy. "While toddy is best known for its healing properties, the hot toddy is heralded as a cure-all and beats other hot drinks," says Noel Mendes, restaurant manager, Lake View Café, Renaissance Mumbai and Lakeside Chalet - Mumbai, Marriott Executive Apartments, recommending the cocktail that he calls brande epices.

Ingredients

• 45 ml Hennessy X.O
• 15 ml Ron Zacapa Solero 23
• 20 ml secret spice tincture
• 10 ml honey
• 90 ml hot water

For the secret spice tincture:

• 4 pods of cloves
• 4 chunks of ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 black pepper balls
• 1 aniseed

Soak all the spices in a neutral spirit or in honey for at least a month.

Method

Muddle all the ingredients in a cocktail tin and add Hennessy X.O and Ron Zacapa Solero 23 to it. Then, stir in the honey and mix it gently. Pour in a brandy balloon glass and top it with hot water. Garnish with lemon shavings.

Pro tip: Try creating your own spice tincture at home. You can also add canned apple juice to your toddy to calm the effect of the spices.

Good to know

The difference between brandy and cognac, Mullick explains, is that the former refers to a spirit which has been distilled from wine or any other fermented fruit juice. Cognac is a variety of brandy that's made in the western region of France following specific rules to guarantee its quality.

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