Sollasa Mumbai

Sollasa Mumbai is named after one of the earliest Indian cookery books and is an aperitif created to pair with food. While I agree that it would be a very fine drink to sip alongside a delicious chana masala, I don’t think one should hold back from enjoying it on food-free occasions as well. This is a finely blended aperitif with half the units of a typical G&T. Each drink contains one unit of alcohol, just enough to add a little kick without leaving the drinker feeling overloaded by alcohol. I’ve said it before: half typical strength spirits and aperitifs are exactly what a lot of people will be glad to discover they enjoy now they’re finally coming on to the market.

This is a delightful drink. The perfumed quality of the lychee and cardamom, beguiling and almost oily, floats to the nose on first sip while the zesty bitterness of mandarin peel and the sharp sure-footed work done by the lime balance and ground the drink, together with the delicate spicing from the coriander. The green mint sits somewhere in the middle, and a touch of salt offsets the sweetness from the fruits. The orange is perhaps the dominant flavour, but all the careful work with spices and herbs is well executed, and offers a very well-conceived and multi-layered drink. Please note the image shows the 20cl bottle but the review figures are for the standard 70cl bottle.