Guides

Short, practical guides for the Indian home host. Each one picks the drinks for one bottle, one occasion or one crowd.

• What to make with Old Monk at homeOld Monk at home? 18 drinks written for dark rum: sours, smashes, shakes, warm mugs and jugs, with exact measures, kitchen swaps and how far a bottle goes.
• Whisky cocktails with what's already in an Indian kitchenWhisky drinks made with nimbu, pudina, gur, adrak, imli, chai and honey from your own kitchen. 15 recipes with exact measures, swaps and no special bottles.
• Vodka drinks for a house partyVodka for a house party: jugs to mix before guests arrive, easy long drinks and a few shots. 22 recipes, plus how much vodka and mixer to buy for 10 guests.
• Gin cocktails beyond G&TBought gin for G&Ts? 22 more ways to use it: fizzes, smashes, sours and Indian twists with kokum, curry leaf and jaljeera. Exact measures and simple swaps.
• Easy mocktails for DiwaliNo-alcohol Diwali drinks that feel festive: thandai, kesar sharbat, kesar doodh and fruit punch. 19 easy recipes, with amounts for 12 and what to do ahead.
• Mocktails for a kids' birthdayBirthday drinks for children with no alcohol, no raw egg, no tea or coffee: shakes, lassis, sharbats and fizz. 24 recipes, with amounts for a party of 12 kids.
• Drinks for card nightTeen patti or rummy at home? 22 drinks that keep you at the table: quick highballs, jugs to mix ahead and no-alcohol options, with amounts for a group of eight.
• Nimbu pudina: 20 drinks from one bunch of mintNimbu and pudina make all of these: Mojito, Shikanji, Southside, Whisky Smash and 16 more, with and without alcohol. Leaf counts and how to keep mint fresh.
• Cocktails with Indian spices (chai, masala, jaljeera, kala khatta)Chai, chaat masala, jaljeera and kala khatta in cocktails: 23 recipes with whisky, rum, gin, vodka, beer and bubbly, and what to use if a syrup is missing.
• New Year's Eve drinks for 10 people (jug recipes)22 jug recipes for New Year's Eve, with the maths done: each jug serves 4, so 10 people need 3 per round. Sangria, punches, sparkling jugs and no-alcohol ones.
• Winter warmers (toddies, kesar doodh, chai cocktails)Hot drinks for cold nights: whisky and rum toddies, chai cocktails, mulled wine, Irish coffee and kesar doodh. 22 recipes, three of them with no alcohol.
• Beer cocktails and shandies for summerCold beer, stretched and sharpened for hot days: shandies, radlers, micheladas, jaljeera and kokum coolers. 17 recipes, plus how far one 650 ml bottle goes.
• Wine and bubbly cocktails (sangria, spritz, mimosa)Sangria, spritz and mimosa with Indian twists like mosambi, kokum, aam panna and saffron. 22 wine and bubbly recipes, with bottle counts and what to do ahead.
• Zero-alcohol drinks that still feel like a cocktailNot drinking tonight? 24 grown-up drinks with no alcohol: tonic spritzes, a No-groni, a Virgin Mary and Mojito, each with something bitter, sour or spicy.
• Two-ingredient drinks: bottle + mixer, no bar toolsJust a bottle, a mixer and ice: 23 two-ingredient drinks with whisky, rum, vodka, gin, beer and wine. No shaker, no muddling. How to measure without a jigger.