As cocktails go beyond the boundaries of mixing and stirring and enter the sphere of mixology and molecular drinks, Shrabasti Mallik and Riya Sharma talk to some of the specialists who say the Delhi cocktail culture is steadily rising. They further explore emerging trends
At a time when food festivals in the capital were gaining momentum, many connoisseurs in the world of cocktails took the major step of curating events solely dedicated to the concoction. Though the risk of making it a success was a huge responsibility, many of these curated sessions managed to grab eyeballs, where patrons not only wanted to know about the drinks they were being offered but also learnt about the history and cultural roots of the drink. We spoke to some of the specialists in the field who told us about the growth of the cocktail culture in the city, which is slowly growing, and about the next big thing that people can expect from the aesthetics of bartending — which has ventured beyond stirring and mixing different drinks.
Sandy Verma, owner of Sandys cocktails and Kitchen, Gurgaon, shared with us that the cocktail culture has always been there but with the introduction of many festivals, it has come out of its conventional shell.
“It has existed in high segment societies for almost two decades but now it has come out of its conventional shell. The reasons are awareness, affordability, availability and expertise. With travelling and global connectivity, people are more aware, and demand to know about what they are drinking. They want what is available universally. The excise laws have encouraged the various brands to come on the shelf at an affordable price,” he said.
He added that the global brands available locally have been active in making the products available off the shell. “They have actively been organising training sessions for professionals as well as consumers. Not only this, bar academies like Institute of Bar Operations and Management and Barwizard are conducting professional classes for bartenders, and consumer classes for enthusiasts since 1996. Hence the quality of bartending has improved over the years,” he pointed out.
But, what we surely have noticed is that consumers may order fancy drinks but seldom know about what it contains. Reason being, the gap about the recipes (which is even sourced from the Internet). And nobody is teaching the correct techniques to make it. He said, “There are many crash courses available to learn the same. Sandys Cocktails & Kitchen, Smokeys and Speakeasy conducts cocktail classes for the consumers. The trend is catching up.”
Verma further elaborated that it is an era of Renaissance for beverages. “The entire profession is undergoing a revolution. Molecular mixology came a decade ago and is actively being practiced in a lot of bars today. I personally am working on home delivery of beverages which will commence in three weeks from now. I am also making home made bitters and tinctures for cocktails. My next level is to produce sachets of cocktails after dehydrating the same and would also like to learn homeopathy, oriental herbs to make drinks for spa effects,” he shared.
On the other hand, Raghuvender Singh, head bartender at Polo lounge, Hyatt Regency, Delhi, shared that gone are the days when guests would opt for their regular drinks as they are now moving towards innovation, mixology and experimentation. “This is the reason why it has become an important criteria for us to keep updating and introducing new cocktail promotions. Also, creating and updating of any cocktail depends upon the needs of the guest and environmental surrounding,” he said.
He, however, did not completely agree with us and said that their guests are always curious to know what their drink is all about. Talking about the growth of the profession in the city, he shared, “Shaking, stirring and mixing drink is what a bartender is known to do. However, with the rise of these professional masterclasses, we learn the art of mixing, science, and new age techniques accompanied by the social outlook, history of ingredients. All these add to the flair of the real skills of a professional bartender, and that is encouraging.”
Along with this, the head bartender also thinks that it is now the time to explore, and the next thing would be to pair food with rum, whiskey and wine. “This is really catching up and it is important to know what goes best with your food,” he added.
People in Delhi, and largely in India, do not know exactly what they are drinking. They have a general idea of the spirit they are ordering. Zac Abbott, beverage specialist at ITC hotels told us that India is mostly a whiskey dominated country. And it is a bartender’s job to make the clients explore beyond a generic drink. “A lot of people would come to the bar and order a neat whiskey or a vodka. People might have a general idea of the spirit they want to drink and most of the times, they come in for just beer or wine. And that’s where the bartender’s job really begins,” he shared.
However, he said that drinking is heavily embedded in the culture of a society and it hasn’t been much part of the culture in the country. “India, particularly Delhi, does not have a developed drinking culture like say, Moscow or St Petersburg. It is mainly in this generation that we are seeing where majorly young Indian boys and girls go out and hit Hauz Khas hard on the weekends. It is only when people start accepting things like this (drinking culture) that really pushes the boundaries. On the flip side, when you make drinking illegal, it spikes up the interest. That’s where the scene is in Delhi right now,” quipped Abbott.
So, what next can we expect from the specialist of molecular mixologyIJ “My speciality is molecular mixology and it is futuristic and that’s where we would be going. I think next, we would be breathing our cocktails. It is not about what the bartender can do but what the guests can handle,” he shared.
Nitin Tewari, in-house mixologist at Ek Bar gave us a bit of the history of how people were not aware of bartending when he started. “Twelve years ago, when I came into the profession, people did not know about bartending. The bartenders were referred to as polished servers, who had a little knowledge about beverages. There were no schools or teachers from where one could learn the ropes.
As time went by, people like Sandy Verma and Yangdup lama taught people about the profession and the bar culture. It was no longer about mixing juices and drinks but was also about presentation and style. There were three phases of evolution — in the first there was nothing — absolute no knowledge of drinks or cocktails. Then slowly there was a demand for drinks but even at that time, the demand for cocktail was less because people preferred whiskey. But what changed during that time was flair bartending which was basically the art of mixing a drink, and increasing the visual appeal, where bartenders shook and threw bottles around. It was because of this, that cocktails started to become popular,” he elaborated.
He added, “In India, you cannot promote a cocktail. So what companies like Bacardi and others did was — they popularised a cocktail in the form of a drink. like Bacardi promoted the mojito, and that was how awareness increased.”
He also told us that he was the first person to start molecular mixology in India at Rick’s at Taj Mahal Hotel a few years ago. “It is an old trend of making a cocktail using science and is now in its revival stage. But I think that the use of Indian ingredients is what is going to change the game in the coming days. I was in london a few days ago and they have already started using it. Ingredients like mango-ginger and turmeric can easily be used,” he shared while discussing about the trends that we can expect in bartending.
Mohit Handa, manager at Rick’s from Taj Mahal Hotel also echoed the same response when he said that there is a distinct evolution that is being witnessed in tastes and preferences of cocktail lovers in the city. “It is a slow growth but cocktail culture in Delhi is definitely looking up. People today are open to experimenting and trying distinct cocktails. I think it has also to do with educating the people and to develop the culture,” he explained.
Handa thinks that it is the duty of the bartender as well as customers to know what is being served to them. He shared, “As a bartender, you always have to guide your customers about the drink. I see a lot of customers who are extremely expressive about what they drink, eat and how it’s made.”
But, he agrees with the fact that it is a competitive industry which requires innovation everyday. “There is a lot more to come. I think the influx of specialty ingredients from Asia and Middle East would play a vital role in the future and bars will be focussing on adopting to create their own bitters, syrups and vinegars on a vast level. There is also going to be more emphasis on presentation. Collaborating with chefs to create pairing menus is also another aspect that would be thoroughly looked upon,” he suggested.