Madras Mule brings kick of Indian spice

Few of the city’s Indian restaurants have liquor licenses. But Hariharan Karmegam is having fun with his bar at Thanal Indian Tavern in Logan Square, especially with his cocktail list, where virtually every mixed drink brings an aromatic souvenir of his Southern Indian roots. Fennel syrup flavors the Collins. Cardamom bitters and mint tint the Green Revolution. A turmeric-infused gin tangles with orange bitters and maple syrup for the Cocktail Doctor, and coconut water, with fresh thyme-infused Cointreau, is surprisingly harmonious with whisky for Scotch de Coco.

No drink, though, was quite as refreshing against Thanal’s fully spiced South Indian cooking as the Madras Mule. Its gingery lime citrus snap answers with its own spice of a vodka that Karmegam infuses with fresh wax peppers. It simultaneously quenched and harmonized with the capsaicin-forward pakoras, biryanis, and Chettinad curries on our table. And don’t let that pretty edible flower floating atop the mule’s frosty metal cup fool you. The drink’s sneaky, swelling heat packed a kick.

— Craig LaBan

Madras Mule, $12, Thanal Indian Tavern, 1939 Arch St., 215-515-2511; thanalphilly.com