Desi Daru stars at Steak and Company
British-Indian vodka Desi Daru has secured a spot on Steak and Company’s cocktail menu as the star of the Forbidden Orchard serve.
The Forbidden Orchard cocktail was created by Tony Araujo, UK beverage director for Noble Restaurant Group, owner of Steak and Company.
The serve is built around Desi Daru Alphonso Mango Vodka, made from English winter wheat and distilled mangoes from Ratnagiri.
For the signature cocktail, Alphonso Mango Vodka is paired with Japanese umeshu, Midori liqueur, bitters, lemon, and London Essence Blood Orange & Elderflower tonic.
The resulting serve showcases mango flavour, while the umeshu and citrus components provide freshness and balance.
Araujo commented: “The first time I tried Desi Daru Mango Vodka, I was really impressed by how accurately it captured the flavour of Alphonso mango while still keeping the clean finish you’d expect from a premium vodka. That was the starting point for Forbidden Orchard.
“I wanted to create a cocktail that let the spirit shine, so I paired it with umeshu, Midori and Blood Orange & Elderflower tonic to add freshness and balance. The result is a light, vibrant and easy-drinking cocktail with influences from different cultures, which is exactly what makes London’s drinks scene so exciting.
“We’re proud to feature Forbidden Orchard across all four Steak and Company restaurants, where it’s been a great addition to the menu.”
Forbidden Orchard is now available in all Steak and Company London locations: Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Gloucester Road, and Covent Garden.
Mohit Singh, co-founder of Desi Daru, added: “Seeing Forbidden Orchard land across all four Steak and Company restaurants is brilliant for us. Tony has built something that does exactly what we hoped our Alphonso Mango would do in the right hands – lead the drink rather than hide in it.
“It’s a proper cross-cultural serve: Indian mango, Japanese umeshu and a London tonic, poured in a London steakhouse. Inspired in India, born in Britain, and very much at home on a menu like this.”
Earlier this month, Desi Daru secured spots on two London bar menus: at Bandra Bhai, it was chosen as the spirit of choice for the Mango Specials cocktail menu, and at Vesper Bar, Alphonso Mango Vodka was used as the base for the Saturn cocktail.
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