Butterfly pea gin, elderflower, lime & tonic — Rasa Burlingame
Maharani means 'great queen' in Sanskrit — the female counterpart to Maharaja. The cocktail earns the name through its spectacle: butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea), a flowering plant native to South and Southeast Asia, infuses the gin with a deep indigo-blue colour. When lime juice is added, the pH change causes the drink to shift instantly from blue to purple or violet. It is the colour-change drink that bartenders love and Instagram loves even more. Rasa's Maharani pairs this visual trick with elder flower (St-Germain) for floral depth and Indian tonic for quinine bitterness — the structure of a perfect gin and tonic, wearing the most dramatic dress in the room.
Dried butterfly pea flowers are widely available on Amazon and at Asian grocery stores. The colour-change is caused by anthocyanin pigments reacting to pH — the drink turns purple with regular lime and pink with more lime. Don't over-steep the flowers (more than 2 hours) as it can make the gin taste vegetal. Empress 1908 gin is pre-infused with butterfly pea — a convenient alternative.
Add a splash of coconut water for a lighter, tropical Maharani.
Rasa in Burlingame has built one of the most accomplished Indian cocktail programmes in the Bay Area. The bar draws from the restaurant's coastal Indian kitchen — kokum, raw mango, fresh turmeric, curry leaf — and creates drinks that feel like a natural extension of the tasting menu. An essential stop for anyone exploring modern Indian hospitality in the South Bay.
Visit rasaburlingame.com