Opened last month, The Stables is the Mumbai outpost of the popular karaoke and live venue bar on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road. Styled much like a British gentleman’s club, it is situated on the ground level at Peninsula Redpine Hotel in the busy neighbourhood of Marol, which straddles the commercial with the residential.
It’s pretty much mandatory to go thirsty to a cocktail tasting, especially one that requires you to stir, shake, and get down to the dirty. We are at The Stables to attend a masterclass conducted by the bar’s mixologists. The bar/pub is is all done up in dark wood, and antique style with eye-catching chandeliers. Photographs of famous horses like The Secretariat dot the walls along with trivia, some examples of which are: “Did you know the Seattle Slew had a habit of tiptoeing before a race, a move that came to be known as the war dance”, and “The Secretariat had a heart, two-and-a-half-times the size of a normal horse”.
Mixologist James Birch, who has come from the bar’s Dubai outpost, begins the workshop with two cocktails. The first one is Wind Suck (₹400), a vodka-based drink, with fresh cucumber, lemon juice, honey, orange juice and lemonade. It is cool, refreshing and has a prominent kick (pun-intended). “Wind Suck is so named as it is what the horse does when it is happy. It sucks in wind,” he says, taking another empty glass to stir Stables Grog (₹300), a drink named after Franky, a famous jockey. “He is an ex-Godolphine club member, one of the biggest derby clubs in the world, owned by the Sheikh of Dubai. He once requested for a rum-based drink, which he grogged in under two minutes!” exclaims Birch.
Play on the palate
Next up is mixologist Stephan Jovanovic who whips up the Oscar sangria named after yet another award-winning derby horse. The bright blue drink has a mash-up of Merlot martini, brandy, gin and orange curaçao. While the backstory and ingredients sound promising, we don’t like the drink for its jumbled mess it creates on our palate, it’s just too dry and sour. We pay keener attention to the last drink, Cribber Ascot (₹450) made with white rum, dark rum, orange curaçao, orange juice, lemon juice, grenadine syrup — all of which has a smoother play on the palate.
Experts Birch and Jovanovic are done showing us their skills and it is time for us to try our hand at making Stables Grog. It isn’t easy as it looks — we throw in Jamaican rums, pineapple juice, lemon juice, passion syrup and Angostura bitters, topping up the mixing glass with crushed ice and give it a good shake.
But shaking cocktails is hard work and we discover that we need some sustenance, which comes in the form of the perennially busy popcorn machine; Loaded Nachos (₹300), guacamole, sour cream, beans and cheese, and crisp potato skins (₹300) topped with cheesy. The Portobello Mushroom Burger (₹325) has marinated button mushrooms and tangy tomatoes sans a patty with freshly baked bun. Highway 55 (₹400) is a wholesome, cheesy baguette sandwich with pork loin, with onions and mushrooms. The BBQ chicken pizza (₹450) has juicy strips of grilled chicken and sweetened red onions.
Since we are not indulging in a full menu tasting, and are concentrating on the drinks, we must mention the Smooth Mouth (₹700), which looks like a cold coffee. We are not fans of milk-based drinks, solely because a shoddy rendition can ruin the night. We eye this one with contempt, though one sip and we claim it a stunner: it’s loaded with vodka, Amaretto, Baileys, Kahlua, brandy, orange curaçao, milk and fresh cream. The comfort of Amaretto, the citrus punch from orange and the creamy Bailey makes it a comforting drink likely to get repeat orders. Dessert is a wholesome brownie (₹399), drizzled with a thick, caramelised toffee sauce, with a vanilla scoop melting alongside its warm companions.
The Stables, Peninsula Redpine Hotel, Andheri East; 40912345
