As we make our way into the Opium Den at the Hilton Towers, Mumbai, we are greeted by the ever vibrant team, including the relentless Cocktail Maestro himself, Srikant Peri, the Executive Assistant Food and Beverage Manager. With a view of the vast Arabian Sea ahead, in the middle of a sweltering afternoon in June, the Daiquiri session seemed like the best way to quench our thirst. �Daiquiris can be enjoyed at luncheons or anytime of the day� quips Srikant, lighting up a cigarette before we begin chatting about his favourite cocktail.

We deliberately chose the time of the day that would find the bar empty. We wanted to have the run of the place during our tasting ceremony.

The interiors of this lounge bar, situated just above India Jones the Pan Asian restaurant, exudes a cool vibrance. The glass-top long bar, the off-white couches, tall bar tables, create an aura of calmness. The wooden flooring infuses the necessary warmth.

Just ahead of us on the bar, is a host of decanters with some colourful and interesting infusions. �The infusion uses white or dark rum depending on the strength of the ingredient. Like vanilla pods, themselves have a very strong flavour, so we use dark rum to bring out the best in it�, explains Srikant. The orange peels have been slow dried over the oven before infusing in the white rum, to get the right feel in the final Daiquiri. �It�s important for the flavour and colours of the ingredient to emerge, so warming the rum prior to infusion is a good idea. The warmth also brings out the oils of toasted nuts like hazelnuts,� Srikant enlightens. The Daiquiri experts do not recommend the addition of fruit purees to cocktails as it hampers the subtlety of flavour and aroma. We had to agree that the choice of infusions was indeed exotic and blended in with the oriental feel. Banana and strawberry remain the eternal flavours, but with the emergence of colours and funk in culinary ingredients, vanilla, pineapple, Kaffir lime, mint, dried orange peels, roasted nuts and coffee beans lent the perfect zing to the Classic Daiquiri. They are indeed evocative and pleasurable drinks that variate with the tastes of different cocktail aficionados.

The Daiquiri has surely globe trotted its way from the village and iron mines of Daiquiri, near Santiago, Cuba, to the tall fluted glasses which form a part of socialite brunches and pre-dinner sessions with friends all over the world. These icy concoctions have struck the right chord with cocktail connoisseurs and fans. President John. F. Kennedy as well as Ernest Hemingway � the Nobel Prize winner, loved this delightful creation.

The basic cocktail is a m�lange of rum, lime juice and sugar. Originally it was served in a tall glass packed with crushed ice on which was sprinkled a teaspoon of sugar and juice of two limes. A dash of rum was the finishing touch. Many stories entail the origin of this classic cocktail. The most widely traced one is of American troops who landed in the beach region of the Daiquiri area of Cuba, to intervene in the war between Cuba, Spain and the United States. It was not long before inveterate gourmets discovered the Cuban drink of rum, lime juice and sugar. After tasting, they felt one ingredient was lacking so they added it � it was ice! This was the birth of the Natural Daiquiri.

Srikant Peri comes across as a quiet genius as he guides us through the tasting session of Daiquiris. After a session of cocktail shaking, behind the bar, the team lined up frosted glasses filled with kaleidoscopic icy creations of the cocktail.

Daiquiris have always been popular with writers and filmmakers. There is a Canadian electro-punk rock metal band called Daiquiri. The fever continues in Godfather 2, where Fredo Corleone orders a banana daiquiri. In the book The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath Esther Greenwood drinks several Daiquiris on a night out with friends. The drink makes a cameo mention in the movie Wedding Crashers when Christopher Walken�s character initiates a break after the football game.

Rum making process - fermentation, distillation and ageing and blending

Fermentation:
Cuba offers an outstanding combination of privileged climate and soil to produce some of the best sugarcane in the world or �mieles� (literally called �honey� in Cuba).
A blend of molasses, yeast and the purest of water is left to ferment for several days.

Distillation:
The fermented mixture is distilled in columns to produce the clear and fiery liquid, carrying the promise of rum to be. Some producers work in batches using pot stills. A pot still is a type of still used in distilling spirits like Whisky or Cognac. Heat is applied directly to the pot which uses the mash (Whisky) or wine (Cognac). Most rum production is done using column still distillation. Column Stills or Coffee Stills were created by Irishman Aeneas Coffey. They consist of two columns. The first is the analyser, having steam rising and wash descending through several levels. The second column called rectifier carries alcohol from the wash where it circulates until it can condense at the required strength. Column stills act like a series of single pot stills , except in a long vertical tube. Pot still output contains more congeners than the output from column stills and thus produces a fuller-tasting rum.

Ageing:
After distillation, these liquids go through the stages of ageing, blending and selection to become �madre� (�mother,� the rum base). This base is then blended with a fresh sugarcane distillate to create a liquid which is then successively aged and blended again until it is perfect for a chosen class of rum. This last act of blending is called the the final touch. Throughout, the choice of barrels is crucial, as the wood gives colour, aroma and complexity to the liquid. The Maestro chooses old white oak barrels to allow the rum to breathe, and younger barrels for their tannic properties. The art of ageing based on successive ageing and blending, is the essence of rum making proceeding with the greatest respect for Cuban tradition. Club young pale rums, to aged dark ones. There are various blends or grades of rum. The silver light sweet one is a base for cocktail and there is the golden or amber one aged in wooden barrels, quite different from the spiced ones with caramel infusions. The dark variety is usually derived from the golden bases whereas the over proof ones are high in alcohol content.

It is a kind of eternally popular drink characteristic of its density, texture and irreplaceable taste. It was born in the bar, El- Floridita, in Cuba, where Constante, the bartender, worked. After three trials he finally perfected the recipe with his fourth. This stellar concoction was nicknamed �La Cuna Del Daiquiri� or cradle of the Daiquiri before being christened Floridita. What�s amazing is that the bar still has a seat cordoned off with Ernest Hemmingway�s bronze bust. The man used to frequent the bar. So if you are a die-hard fan of the cocktail or Hemmingway, you know where to head.

Ingredients:
60 ml white rum, 10 ml sugar syrup
juice of 2 lemons, 5 ml cherry brandy

Method:
Blending:
Put the white rum, sugar syrup and squeeze the lemon juice with crushed ice in a blender. Finish it off with cherry brandy till it forms a wiggle with the ice stick.
Served: Martini glass

This one�s for coffee lovers, a fine blend of the empowering aromas of vanilla beans, infused with the freshness of coffee and the smoothness of rum.

Ingredients:
30 ml coffee infused rum, 30 ml vanilla infused rum
20 ml sugar syrup, 2 ml lemon juice
1 vanilla stick, � tsp raw sugar

Method:
Blending:
Blend the crushed ice, infused rums, dash of lemon juice and sugar syrup in a blender. Garnish with vanilla beans and raw sugar.
Served: Champagne Saucer
Garnish: Vanilla bean, Raw sugar

The Algae green colour of this cool, minty concoction can make for an interesting Daiquiri. One that looks as good as it tastes.

Ingredients:
60 ml White rum
30 ml cr�me de menthe
20 ml syrup
1 lemon slice
1 mint sprig

Method:
Blending:
Blend all the ingredients - sugar syrup, mint liqueur, rum and crushed ice together. Finish off with mint sprig and lemon slice as garnish.
Served: Old fashioned glass
Garnish: Lemon slice and mint sprig

Re-living the Pinnacolada experience through the perfect tropical combination of coconut and pineapple. Voila, here�s your Daiquiri with a Caribbean twist.

Ingredients:
30 ml pineapple infused rum
30 ml coconut infused rum
10 ml sugar syrup
1 pineapple wedge

Method:
Blending:
Blend all the ingredients together with crushed ice and garnish on top with a fine pineapple wedge.
Served: Old fashioned glass
Garnish: Pineapple wedge

A pale orange, almost peachy appearance this one�s for those with a taste for the citrus, tangy flavours emerging from the rum infusions.

Ingredients:
60 ml tangerine peel infused rum
20 ml sugar syrup
1 tangerine rind

Method:
Blending:
Blend together the Kaffir lime infused rum, sugar syrup, and ice in a blender and decorate with tangerine rind.
Served: Martini glass
Garnish: Tangerine rind twisty

This is a winner all the way with an amazing m�lange of coffee aromas and toasted hazelnuts; it�s like sipping a flavoured cappuccino but only with a dash of rum and that extra zing.

Ingredients:
30 ml coffee infused rum, 30 ml hazelnut infused rum
20 ml sugar syrup, 2 ml lemon juice
3 coffee beans, � tsp raw sugar

Method:
Blending:
Blend together the infused rums, sugar syrup and lemon juice in a blender. Garnish with coffee beans and raw sugar
Served: Champagne saucer
Garnish: Raw sugar and coffee beans

This unique blend of oriental flavours with Cuban rum lends the perfect fusion to a new age Daiquiri.

Ingredients:
60 ml kaffir lime infused rum
20 ml sugar syrup
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 lemon slice

Method:
Blending:
Blend Kaffir lime rum, the sugar syrup and crushed ice. Garnish with Kaffir lime leaves and lemon slices.
Served: Martini glass
Garnish: Kaffir lime and lemon slice