Heady cocktails of fire, ice and colour
The Icy Hot, prepared by bartender Luke Whearty at Outrage of Modesty, the Cape Town CBD's newest trendy hangout, contains green apple, honey, vinegar, coconut and lavender. It gets its punch from tequila.
"The idea is to choose a drink based on flavours you enjoy, not a preconceived idea of what gin or whisky taste like," said Whearty. "The Icy Hot is a two-layered cocktail: one icy cold; the other warm and frothy."
Dom de Lorenzo, named South Africa's best bartender in this year's "World Class" showdown, serves The Hex of La Lorana at his mobile Molecular Bars. It includes Ron Zacapa 23-year-old rum, coffee, orgeat (almond) syrup, pineapple purée and a dash of grapefruit juice.
"It is a bit out there due to its flaming garnish, which is a granadilla half-filled with absinthe and set on fire and dusted with cinnamon," said De Lorenzo.
The Deep Blue cocktail served at Cafè Manhattan in De Waterkant, Cape Town, is an orange and pineapple drink topped with a twisted Long Island mix: vodka, gin, tequila, rum, blue curaçao and triple sec.
Manager Taswell Heubner said: "Stick to one drink and have a bottle of still or sparkling water accompany you for in between. Go on your barman's recommendations as he knows what works."
The Old Fashioned prepared by bartender David Simon White is the most popular cocktail at Tjing Tjing rooftop bar in Longmarket Street, Cape Town, according to manager Faye Winters. A double shot of bourbon goes into a glass with ice, Angostura bitters and a dash of sugar syrup.
"Four to five rinds are cut off an orange and then squeezed over the glass to release their natural oils," said Winters. "While squeezing the rinds David holds a lighter flame close to the rind, and the oils ignite. This adds a smoky, citrus flavour to the drink."
For the aspirational Durbanite looking for a bit of escapism, The Chairman on the city's waterfront offers a drink worthy of its name. The Surrender Your Booty is a martini with a twist. It comes shaken with a mix of Gordon's gin, Cointreau, fresh ginger and extra-dry vermouth.
"This drink describes the idea we had for this area," said Mayo Ndlovu, The Chairman's manager. "There is a lot of energy here, but not the right kind of energy so we wanted to convert it, and Surrender Your Booty symbolises that."
For budding mixologists, The March Hare in Wynberg, Johannesburg, offers cocktailmaking classes that promise to turn the most amateur of mixers into pros in just five hours.
"People with bars at home and plenty of stock love this," said co-founder Alicia Bulter.
"We teach them how to mix their own cocktails, balance them and blend them with different flavours," she said.
"Then we go into the different methods like shaken or stirred, and even down to the type of glass you should use."
Source: Sunday Times