( ENSPIRE Business ) Andy Irukulla Makes a Colossal Difference in How People Perceive and Prefer Their Alcoholic Beverages
ENSPIRE Contributor: Shayne Watson
Speakeasy-style craft cocktails never fail to bring nostalgia and charm to an experienced palate, and Andy Irukulla has created the perfect ready-to-drink cocktail brand for any occasion: Le Coqtail.
With every ingredient handcrafted and overseen by Irukulla himself, the brand started with the well-known drinks: the Manhattan and Old Fashion.
Le Coqtail was created with the help of cocktail enthusiasts and mixologists to ensure consumers are getting the best mix of ingredients, quality, and techniques.
Irukulla’s background in hospitality as a bartender and degrees earned from the Institute of Culinary Education helped him become the founder and owner of Le Coqtail.
Irukulla took the time to answer our questions regarding her program:
Why did you want to create your own cocktail brand?
I used to travel for work a lot in the US, Europe, Asia, and South America. During layovers, I always try to relax with a drink or two or wanted to be able to have a cocktail on the plane. The drinks in the airports or the regular bars were always disappointing. The classic cocktails like Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Margarita, and Cosmo – are too sweet, or they use cheap, low-quality ingredients. These cocktails are made with very simple ingredients. This triggered me to do some research on the market to create classic drinks that are well-balanced and well made with consistency.
What was your inspiration behind the ingredients you use?
Being a food enthusiast and working in hospitality, I realized early on how the quality of ingredients can impact how a product can taste, look and smell. Classic cocktails are made with simple ingredients. I have enjoyed these cocktails in good craft cocktail bars, speakeasy-style bars, and regular bars. I see the difference in the taste of the drinks and the choices of ingredients and alcohol they choose to make those drinks with. Taking the experience of good bars and good drinks, I choose my ingredients carefully.
For example: in an Old Fashioned cocktail, instead of choosing simple white sugar syrup, I choose Demerara sugar. I could have chosen just cane sugar as well, but I decided to use Demerara sugar because of its flavor profile, its texture, and how the flavor enhances the experience of the drink on the pallet. These are the small details that matter. I use this sugar delicately just to bring out the flavors of the whiskey but not to make the drink sweet.
Similarly, for our Cosmo, we use lime juice and acerola berry juice powder instead of citric acid or ascorbic acid. Acerola berry is high in antioxidants and all-natural, which can substitute the flavor of lime juice.
We make our own Vermouth for our Manhattan Cocktail using New York native grape varietal from a winery in Upstate Pennsylvania. I could have purchased vermouth tasting extract from the flavor company that supplies it for a lot of brands out there, but it wouldn’t have created the flavor I wanted.
What exactly is in Le Coqtail?
Le Coqtail is a mixology company that likes to craft cocktails that are well balanced and use high-quality ingredients (no additives or artificial flavors). In other words, Le Coqtail is a speakeasy in a container that can be accessible anytime and anywhere for all occasions.
How did your experience traveling around the world contribute to the making of this cocktail?
In my experience, I was not able to get a decent-tasting basic cocktail often, unless I go to a craft cocktail bar. The price difference is not much, but the quality of the drink is. I started by questioning why people do not make ready-to-go cocktails. Is it regulations that stops them, or is it market demand? I did some research and understood that there are no red tapes.
I enjoy mixology and the process of making these drinks and it excited me about the adventure and the idea.
How would you describe the taste of this cocktail?
All of our cocktails are well balanced – spirit forward, but smooth and well-rounded. One would be able to enjoy the flavors of the spirit and the ingredients in it.
Old Fashioned: Spirit forward, aromatic, and refreshing orange and citrus smell. Taste of winter spice from Rye, and a little bit of stone fruit (apricots) in the cotton candy finish.
Manhattan: Spirit forward, very aromatic from the vermouth. It’s not too dry nor too sweet. It caters to all pallets with an easy and smooth, velvety body. Easy to drink. It also has winter spice from the rye. The finish has a smooth velvety flavor of figs and raisins.
Cosmo: It’s spirit forward yet very smooth. Citrusy from lime and acerola and orange liquor, a touch of tartness from cranberry and finishes off with candy cane.
With Le Coqtail, experienced enthusiasts vow to give customers the best collection of classics stirred to excellence.
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