Heaven's Door rye, rum liqueur, Solerno & lemon pepper bitters — Spice Affair BH
A Fine Balance is the title of Rohinton Mistry's 1995 novel — one of the defining works of Indian literature, set against the backdrop of Indira Gandhi's Emergency in 1970s Mumbai. Spice Affair named their cocktail after it, and the symmetry holds: rye whiskey's assertive grain character balanced against rum liqueur's sweetness, Solerno's bitter blood orange against the lemon pepper bitters' heat and acid. Everything in tension, everything in balance. Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan's rye whiskey) is the base — American grain spirit meeting the flavour traditions of the subcontinent's literature and its most literary cocktail bar.
Solerno is a premium Sicilian blood orange liqueur — Cointreau is a suitable substitute though less citrus-forward. Heaven's Door rye is named for the Bob Dylan album; Bulleit or Rittenhouse are more widely available substitutes with similar spice profiles. The lemon pepper bitters are the drink's signature — don't skip them.
Add a rinse of Islay Scotch to the glass before building for a smoky finish.
Spice Affair brings South Asian flavour to the heart of Beverly Hills with a cocktail programme that is as polished as its address demands. The bar uses Indian spices — saffron, chai masala, tamarind — as primary flavour drivers rather than garnishes, and pairs them with premium spirits to create drinks that are unapologetically luxurious.
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