Cocktails are great summer coolers. With temperatures on the rise, UpperCrust presents nine refreshing recipes to beat the heat. The best of vodka- shaken and stirred to perfection!

With an average of thirty-five degrees under the sun, Mumbai is guaranteed with bright sunshine, gentle wafting breezes and hot weather through the summer. Combine that with a cool, fresh cocktail you have the most blissful experience one can get. And of all the thirst quenchers, it�s said, nothing pleases better than a vodka cocktail- shaken and stirred to perfection! �It�s true, vodka just satisfies the soul completely,� smiles Karan Khiani, Food and Beverages Manager at the Inter Continental situated on Mumbai�s Marine Drive road.

We are chatting in the relaxed and cool confines of the Czar Bar on the ground level of the hotel. It is almost cavernous actually, with bottles and casks lining the shelves in the dim but elaborately done interior. Nearby, a few tourists have taken a table, hot and tired and ask for few cocktails. Perhaps they have the right idea!

A cocktail, it is said, must be had with largesse, with good company and a sense of jollity. And the barman, Vishal Thakur at the Czar Bar is just as gregarious. �Why don�t you try the Lollipopular,� he suggests. With a dash of Mandarin Vodka, strawberry syrup and apple juice, it seems just the thing. It is perhaps the best looking drink we have seen, a hint of apple green colour and wispy apple slices floating on the top. �When it comes to mixed drinks, there�s no end to what you can do with vodka. I have the recipes for about a thousand vodka drinks in my head,� adds Vishal.

All spirit loving aficionados will agree that, to order a cocktail is to enter another world; it�s evocative and subtle and a beverage to be consumed at any hour and at any level in society. And there cannot be a more pleasurable hiatus from the bristling heat of the summer than a vodka based-cocktail. It is in this season that the markets are full of all sorts of fruit and potential ingredients- from the humble, green apples to juicy melons. With a bottle of clear spirit-like vodka it�s possible to produce a huge range of fruity concoctions (with the help of a bit of sugar syrup) that are devilishly simple to make.

In the days of yore, when all people drank was liquor, in bars and lounges, they consumed a variety of spirits. They combined these alcoholic beverages into some amazing concoctions, creating visual masterpieces and of course some delightful drinks. The range and inventiveness of these recipes is both astounding and inspiring.

As a summer cooler, vodka is a classic, as it can be added to just about any other beverage (juice, soda, tonic, cola, etc) and, if one is not too overly generous in one�s pour, it can almost go unnoticed!

We break off and decide to try the Cranpiroshka, which the barman was eager we try. It is a fusion of Finlandia Cranberry soda, Ocean Spray Cranberry juice accompanied by a few lime chunks, mint leaves and some demerara sugar. Smooth and subtly sweet, Cranpiroshka seems to reach down to the edge of our parched throat and wash a cold wave through it. �You know, people�s taste in vodka is changing over the years. They are adventurous and willing to try different stuff,� reveals Karan. �Up until seven or eight years ago, everyone�s personal brand was Smirnoff. Romanov, White Mischief - bars were stocked with these Indian vodkas,� he adds.

It was probably with the entry of Absolut - the Swedish vodka, that people went easy on Smirnoff. This was followed by Belvedere, Grey Goose and Stolichnaya, which completely changed the choices of the people. It meant a transition from a neutral taste to citrus, apple, pepper, cranberry, mandarin and chocolate flavours. Now, there�s just so much for the Indian consumer.

The Czar Bar, itself has about fifty-two varieties in stock and claims to be the biggest vodka bar in the city! You will get Van Gogh Vodka, Double Espresso Vodka Martini, Wild Appel and Jean Marc XO Vodka, which is distilled nine times. Quite popular among ladies, is the Pink Fusion Vodka with a hint of passion fruit and mango, otherwise known as X-Rated Pink Fusion. �Russky from Russia is a smooth, luxury vodka designed to be drunk lightly chilled or at room temperature. It is just coming in to the city. But we procured the Russky Platinum, Russky Standard, as well as Russky Imperial almost five months ago from a distributor in Delhi,� informs Karan. Except for various types of flavourings, vodka consists of water and alcohol (ethanol). It usually has an alcohol content ranging from 35% to 50% by volume. The classic Russian and Polish vodka is 40%. It is made by fermenting and then distilling the simple sugars from a mash of pale grain or vegetative matter. The fact that it is such a simple drink makes one wonder, what its origins are. Believed to have originated from either Poland or Russia (some say Persia also), the birth date of Vodka has been estimated around the beginning of the twelfth century. It was from the beginning of the seventeenth century that it became customary for Vodka to be served at Russian imperial banquets. All formal meals began with bread and Vodka. Vodka was also drunk ceremonially at religious festivals and in church rituals, and refusal to partake could be considered impious.

Vodka-making was then established over the next few centuries. Although vodka began as a rye-based liquor, it became more popular with the masses, the potato became the ingredient of choice. The potato was much more common and was much easier to distill from than the grains.

Today potato-based vodkas have acquired a reputation for themselves. �Chopin, a potato-based vodka was launched in India around six months ago. �It has become extremely popular and is actually the most expensive of all vodkas, the Jean Marc XO going for as much as Rs 700 for a single small shot,� says Karan. It�s not cheap!

With its quadruple distilling and frosted glass bottle, the premium spirit has a card dangling from its neck claiming it to be �the world�s only luxury potato vodka�. We don�t know about that but it sure looks sexy! Long Live Vodka!

How Vodka is made
The basic steps in vodka-making are:

1. Fermentation
2. Distillation and rectification
3. Filtration and purification
4. Dilution and bottling

Fermentation
A wort* is made from the grain or potatoes crushed up and heated to convert their starches into fermentable sugars. This is then fermented to produce what is known as a wash. (*Wort is unfermented or fermenting malt)

Distillation and rectification
The next step is to distill the wash to produce a high-proof spirit. Distillation is the process of obtaining a high-alcohol mixture from the wash, rectification is the process of removing undesirable components such as methanol from this distillate. Higher purity and alcohol content can be obtained by multiple distillations. Many vodkas are triple distilled. Filtration and purification
The distillate is then filtered, usually through charcoal. Other materials, such as river sand, have been used in the past, but charcoal is superior. Sometimes coagulants are used to bind impurities so that they can be filtered easily.

Dilution and bottling
The spirit after purification is at a very high proof, often 190 proof or so (95% alcohol). This is diluted, usually to about 80 proof (40% alcohol) for bottling. The water that is used for this dilutionhas to be properly purified. While distilled water can be used, it is cheaper to de-ionize and filter the water. This is also considered to produce better flavoured vodka.

Other flavourings
Most vodka will be sold as plain vodka, but you can also get vodkas that are flavoured with citrus, pepper, or fruits.

Ingredients:
1 � oz Mandarin Vodka
� oz Citrus Vodka
Monin Candid Strawberry Syrup
Apple juice
Apple slice for garnish

Method:

1. Fill the glass with crushed ice & pour the vodkas.
2. Build up with strawberry syrup and apple juice
3. Garnish with a slice of apple

Ingredients:
2 oz Van Gogh Wild Apple Vodka
� oz Vermouth
Green apple slices

Method:

1. Pour the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice cubes
2. Stir well.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
4. Garnish with slices of green apple

Ingredients:
1 � oz Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka
� oz sweet vermouth

Method:

1. Pour the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice cubes
2. Stir well.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
4. Garnish with a rind of lime and coffee beans

Ingredients:
2 oz Finlandia cranberry vodka, 10-12 lime chunks
Mint leaves, Demerara sugar, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice

Method:

1. Crush the sugar and the mint with the lime chunks, with a mullet
2. Place the mixture in an old fashioned glass
3. Cover with crushed ice. Fill the vodka, cranberry juice and serve

Ingredients:
1 � oz Belvedere Cytrus Vodka, � oz Grand Marnier
Juice of two limes, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice
Lemon Rind and Maraschino Cherry for garnish

Method:

1. Pour the ingredients into a shaker with ice cubes
2. Shake well and strain in a cocktail glass
3. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and lemon rind

Ingredients:
1/12 oz orange vodka
� oz peach liqueur
Sparkling wine, Maraschino cherry

Method:

1. Pour the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice
2. Pour into a champagne tulip
3. Top with sparkling wine
4. Garnish with the Maraschino cherry

Ingredients:
1 � oz vodka, � oz peach liqueur
1 oz Orange juice, Grenadine Syrup

Method:

1. Pour the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake well
2. Strain and pour into a shooter glass
3. Layer the bottom with grenadine syrup

Ingredients:
2 oz vodka, 5 oz Orange juice
� oz Galliano, Grenadine syrup
Orange slice and Maraschino
cherry for garnish

Method:

1. Fill the pilsner glass with ice and pour vodka
2. Fill the balance of glass with orange juice
3. Float with Galliano & layer bottom with grenadine
4. Garnish with orange slice and Maraschino cherry on the straw

Ingredients:
1 oz vodka, � oz Peach Liqueur
� oz amaretto, Cranberry & Orange juice

Method:

1. Put ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice
2. Shake well
3. Strain into a shot glass