A mood cocktail, please

Elderflower Spritzer, Moscow Mule, Gin & Tea and Mint Julep was whipped up as our mood cocktail. Pics/Sneha Kharabe

Tomorrow u00c2u0080u00c2u0088night, if you land up at Ellipsis, you'll encounter a kitschy wooden dial-pad at the entrance. A white door will swing open to let you in only if you are able to punch in the right pass-code in the contraption. Why the drama, you may ask. Well, that's because the swish Colaba restaurant is housing a privileged guest, who has flown down especially from Delhi to add to the booze-ing nightlife. PCO, India's first speakeasy bar makes its debut with a 10-day pop-up.

Earl grey in my cocktail
Fashioned around the speakeasy bars from the American prohibition era of the 1920s, the bar was launched in Vasant Vihar in 2012 by brother-sister duo, Rakshay and Radhika Dhariwal. "At that time, there wasn't a single bar in Delhi where you could enjoy a drink without screaming. Having experienced the speakeasy culture in New York where you can enjoy a cocktail over (Frank) Sinatra, we wanted to try something similar here. When we started, we had only six cocktails on the menu. Now, we have about 90," informs Radhika.

Spring Rolls

Offering PCO's 15 popular cocktails - including their bestselling Elderflower Spritzer, Whiskey Sour and Mood Cocktails (more on that later) - the team will fly down three senior bartenders from the flagship outpost to whip them up. We loved Gin & Tea, a refreshing concoction infused with homemade Earl Grey iced tea, mint sprigs and lime juice. Meanwhile, Elderflower Spritzer packed a punch with sweet notes from the flower blended well into vodka.

Moody high
The mood cocktails are a PCO innovation where the bartender makes a surprise concoction based on your preference (whiskey, gin, rum and vodka) along with an addition of ingredients of your choice. "We once had a guest who ordered 40 mood cocktails. His only brief: all of them should have a gin base and each should be different from the other!" exclaims Radhika.

LAâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Tacos - Carnitas

We picked dark rum as our base and requested a hint of sweetness. After an eager 10-minute wait, a chilled bourbon-based Mint Julep appeared on our table. Though safe, it was a potent concoction but we added a note to self: add wacky to the brief too.

Ellipsis chef Phuong Tran has curated a special bar bites menu to match the pop-up. "The idea is to be playful. I've created fuss-free bar bites which you can eat with hands while juggling two glasses of cocktails," he laughs. The menu features innovations like falafel sliders, dim sums, spring rolls and LA-style mini tacos among other eats.

Chilli Butter Prawns Roll

Food play
We tried Chilli Butter Prawns Rolls ('250), with the mildly-spiced tender prawns packed in brioche bread. "I was inspired by Trishna's butter prawns but I wanted to make a lighter version. So, I added green chillies," says Tran. A burst of flavours greeted us when we tried the two varieties of LA Tacos - Carnitas ('250) with a smoky pulled pork stuffing, and Fish ('200), featuring crunchy fried basa laid over a bed of mayo salad on a mini tortilla. The steamed Spring Rolls ('300), including shrimp and rice vermicelli complemented the Mint Julep. We wouldn't mind if this guest overstayed its welcome.