Lychee juice, grenadine, sugar & lime — Colonel Saab London
Lychee (lichu in Bengali, litchi in Hindi) arrived in India from China centuries ago and has been beloved across the subcontinent ever since — the orchards of Muzaffarpur in Bihar produce India's finest varieties. The Lychee Wine at Colonel Saab is their most elegant drink: the flavour is deeply floral, sweet without being cloying, with a grape-like quality that justifies the 'wine' in the name. The zero-proof version replaces gin and ratafia (a French almond-flower liqueur) with grenadine for colour and depth and lime for acidity. It is listed at £8.95 on the Trafalgar Square menu and is consistently one of the most ordered non-alcoholic options at the restaurant.
Canned lychee syrup (the liquid from the tin) is the ideal lychee juice here — it is sweeter and more concentrated than fresh or bottled lychee juice. Rubicon Lychee juice (available at Sainsbury's and Tesco) is the most widely available UK substitute. Adjust lime juice to taste — the drink should be sweet and floral with a clean acidic finish.
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.
Visit colonelsaab.co.uk