Koch El Mezcal, house matcha tea syrup & amaretto — Colonel Saab Holborn
Mr. Puri is named as a character in the Colonel Saab universe — 'when north meets east, leads to addictive smoky, sour and nutty notes.' Koch El Mezcal is an affordable, expressive mezcal from Oaxaca with strong green and earthy smoke. Matcha tea (from Japan, now grown in small quantities in South India's Nilgiris) adds a green, vegetal, slightly bitter sweetness. Amaretto (Disaronno Amaretto, which is actually made from apricot pits, not almonds, despite the name) provides the nutty sweetness that rounds the edges of the smoky mezcal and bitter matcha. The drink makes no geographic sense — Mexico, Japan, Italy — but the flavour logic is impeccable: smoke, earth, bitter green, sweet almond.
Ceremonial matcha (brighter green, sweeter, less bitter) makes a more beautiful drink than culinary matcha. Use warm (not boiling) water to dissolve it. Koch El Mezcal is the bar's spec and is more affordable than Wahaka or El Silencio; Del Maguey Vida is a more aromatic, complex substitute. The sour component (lemon juice) is essential to prevent the drink becoming too sweet.
Add a rinse of Islay Scotch (half-tsp in the empty glass) for additional smoke that echoes the mezcal.
An elegant homage to the era of the Indian Army officer — refined North and Central Indian cuisine in a handsome Holborn dining room. Colonel Saab's bar programme is built on house-spiced spirits and techniques drawn from both the subcontinent and the British raj era, producing some of London's most inventive Indian cocktails.
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