A Cocktail of Ideas

ON A COOL, BREEZY evening in Japonico, a Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar, which opened in Delhi-NCR a couple of months ago, we find ourselves taken in by the cocktail menu and its storytelling. The illustrated tome, with 3D images and paper crafting techniques, narrates the restaurant’s cocktail programme through the eyes of Kaito, a fictitious character who, through his various travelling escapades, ends up knowing about handcrafted cocktails. The drinks here are unusual not only in taste but also in presentation: The Smoky Moon, for instance, is a delightful concoction of Irish whisky, ginger, lapsang tea, and other ingredients and is served in a very pretty blue pottery bowl. Then there is The Legacy, a sophisticated mix of gin and vodka, fat-washed with truffle, infused with wasabi and passion fruit, and garnished with tobiko caviar, pickled radish, and olive.

A short distance from Japonico is Banng, another fine-dining outpost launched in December 2024 as a collaboration between Michelin-star chef Garima Arora and seasoned entrepreneur Riyaaz Amlani. Served here are cocktails divided as ‘flyweight’, ‘middleweight’, and ‘heavyweight’, depending on how spirit-forward the cocktail is. Our top pick here: Buakao Bua Loi, a tequila number using coconut foam, passion fruit, white wine, and white chocolate that is taken in big gulps for the flavours to tantalise the taste buds.

Recently, Taj Mahal in New Delhi had an interesting event showcasing the best of the cocktails with Indian ingredients featuring turmeric-infused gin, tequila with tamarind chutney, guava-pureed gin, and coriander-flavoured tequila. A few kilometres away from Taj Mahal, in Nehru Place’s newly opened restaurant Qavalli, drinks come on polished brass trays and glasses that are a throwback to the Mughal era. There’s no denying that the razzmatazz of cocktail presentation and consumption is undergoing a quiet revolution. Served in blue pottery, reclaimed wood, brass trays and décor shelves, customised glass holders and trays resembling iconic monuments and buildings of cities, the art of cocktails has never been so opulent and glamorous.

THE YEAR OF COCKTAILS

Those in the business reckon that 2025 is the year of cocktails. “We’ve moved past just serving great drinks. Now, we’re telling stories, creating immersive experiences, and pushing the boundaries of mixology,” says Tarun Sibal, a chef-entrepreneur who runs award-winning restaurants and bar establishments such as Khi Khi and Titlie, among others. According to him, the biggest shift in cocktail consumption is the way people approach drinking. To that effect, mixologists are applying techniques of infusing, fermenting, clarifying, and creating works of art that blur the lines between food and beverage.

“Drinks are catching up to the innovation we’ve seen in food,” says Sibal. “People don’t just want a drink, they want a spectacle.” Given the Instagram era, presentation matters. “Over-the-top cocktails, dramatic presentations, and interactive elements create a moment, and that’s what people remember and come back for,” Sibal adds. In Khi Khi, for instance, a cocktail is served in a miniature Gucci bag.

THE COCKTAIL STIR

Hyper-local ingredients, unusual pairings, and dramatic presentation of cocktails are upping the drinking game in the Indian F&B sector. Fuelled by a more experimental consumer base, increased exposure to global trends, and social media, which has made cocktails a visual as well as a sensory statement, is leading people to “experience” cocktails and not just to drink. “One of the biggest changes in the consumer demography is the increase of female consumers. Most of them would likely be under 35, and keen to explore classics and innovative concoctions alike,” observes Lam Chi Mun, director, Diageo Bar Academy, Asia Pacific.

Most experts reckon that an increasing trend of bar takeovers and guest mixologists coming from all over the world to India is also fuelling an interest and allowing mixologists to further partake in the changing nature of cocktails.

HERO-ING INGREDIENTS

At the debut edition of India Bartender Week in February, a forum that invited various stakeholders from the alcoholic beverage (alcobev) industry, a report titled ‘What India Is Drinking’ noted that consumers are growing adventurous with their tastes and the craft cocktail movement is continuing to thrive. It quoted another report by International Wine and Spirits Record that with an expected annual growth rate of 4 per cent, India is the fastest growing alcohol market among the largest economies in the world. In 2023, the size of the alcobev market was about $55 billion in India against $52.4 billion in 2021.

Yangdup Lama, co-founder, India Bartender Week, also a celebrated mixologist who built the cocktail programme in the world-ranking bar Sidecar in New Delhi, couldn’t agree more when asked about cocktails going dramatic and over the top. He recently came across an elaborate drink number that had a multi-layered infusion of Indian spices, clarified milk punch techniques, and a final presentation that included a hand-smoked cloche revealing an aroma that complemented the drink. Added to that, he’s seen some interesting pairings, including miso and rum, black garlic with whisky, and even curry leaves infused in tequila. “Indian ingredients like kokum, gondhoraj lime, and jaggery are being reimagined in cocktails in ways we wouldn’t have thought of a decade ago,” says Lama.

A quick look at some of the leading bars in India shows how mixologists are ‘hero-ing’ indigenous ingredients and drinks such as mahua, feni, toddy, which are making their mark, particularly in pockets of cocktail culture. “We’re seeing cocktails incorporating Goan feni and spotlighting dukhsiri, and spaces like Mahua Bar by Bandra Born are bringing forgotten spirits into the mainstream,” says Vikram Achanta, founder and CEO of Tulleeho, a pioneering drinks education, training, and consulting firm.

In the newly opened Arts Room in New Delhi, we sip on Two Fridas, a cocktail inspired by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s painting by the same name—a double self-portrait that the artist created in 1939. What comes to us then is a cocktail that is split into two and served in two glasses, even the colours of the cocktail matching the colour palette of the painting. In Bengaluru’s Dali and Gala, another newly opened bar and restaurant, the complex story of Salvador Dali and his muse and wife Gala Dali is reimagined in cocktails with visual graphics of the surrealist’s artworks created on edible paper.

Neeraj Kumar, senior mixologist at CAMO Modern Cookhouse, a newly opened restaurant in Delhi-NCR, says, “A cocktail is more than just booze in a glass, it’s a story in liquid form.” In his view, a strong cocktail programme needs identity, philosophy, and a point of view. “When a drink has a story—whether it’s inspired by a city, a cultural moment, or a childhood memory—it sticks with people. They don’t just remember how it tasted; they remember why it mattered,” says Kumar.

If nostalgia had to be collected in glassware, AMPM, one of Kolkata’s well-known coffee and cocktail bars, recently did it with élan where every tipple resonated with memories of the city. One of the cocktails, Line 25 to Yesterday, was inspired by the rattle of Kolkata’s trams, the mode of public transport having stopped after 150 years of existence.

Another drink was an ode to chalchitra, the indigenous folk art that emerged in Kolkata. Called the Gully Fall Sour, it was prepared with Monkey 47, Campari, crème de cacao (chocolate liqueur), rhubarb, lemon and egg white with the garnish showing petty chalchitra art on rice paper. Grace Muivah, brand lead at AMPM, says, “Storytelling adds depth and context to a cocktail, making it more engaging. It connects the drink to a place, tradition, or experience, transforming it from just a beverage into something personal and immersive. A well-crafted story can evoke emotions, spark curiosity, and enhance the overall appreciation of the drink.”

EXPERIMENTS IN CREATION

Vikram Ku, head of World Class India and HNI Advocacy, Diageo India, still remembers having a cocktail that was a combination of aged rum, smoked spices, and a unique presentation style. “The drink was served inside a glass globe, which was then filled with smoke and sealed before being presented to the guest. As the smoke cleared, the aroma of the spices combined with the rich rum created an unforgettable sensory experience. This cocktail was visually stunning and complex in flavour—combining the best of both worlds in terms of spirit and presentation,” says Ku.

The creations are getting increasingly complex: mixologist Manish Chauhan created Saffron Sunset at Bo Tai that features saffron-infused gin, mixed with rose syrup, lemon juice, and a splash of soda water. The drink is garnished with a saffron thread and edible gold dust, making it a truly luxurious experience.

Not everyone is convinced that cocktails going over the top with just the dramatic interludes can be successful. Nora Furst, bar consultant for The Mission Bay, a restaurant that opened last year in New Delhi, who has worked a whole swath of molecular and experimental mediums, finds herself always returning to the classic. “It’s really hard to beat the OGs,” she says, explaining that cocktails shouldn’t confuse or distract. Mixologist Neil Alexander warns of cocktail experiments with hazardous materials to make a theatrical performance. “It can go wrong,” he says. “I take safety very seriously and would rather focus more on the quality of the cocktail with subtle theatrics.”

While gin and tequila-based cocktails have been around, a shift is getting increasingly noticed in mezcal, agave spirits, aged rum-based cocktails along with a firm nod to indigenous ingredients and local flavours getting infused to create a tantalising dance on the tastebuds. In fact, in 2025, many feel that the subtle shift will happen to include savoury, spicy cocktails with the aforementioned spirits. Additionally, there is an increasing preference for healthier and lighter options too. Experts in the game are working like scientists and artists to create a movement in the cocktail glass. Alexander, for instance, has been working on a “vapour cocktail” that guests can sip and inhale. Now, that’ll be one hookah of a cocktail.

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