A Cocktail Wave Sweeping Across the Country
Head Bartender-Together at 12
Nitin feels that new age cocktails give bartenders a free hand to play around with flavours, glassware & garnish techniques, and help the bartenders think deeply about their story, connect or concept. Hence, new age cocktails are winning the race.
The cocktail scene in India is evolving at a very fast pace with many cocktail focused bars opening across all metro cities of the country. “Bartenders
are focusing on cocktails and breaking the boundaries of cocktail innovations,” observes Nitin Tewari, Mixologist. Owners too have realised the importance of good cocktail selections just like a specialised food menu. The focus lies in selling and promoting cocktails which allow the bars to stand out.
Even the different awards of the hospitality sector these days have different categories for Bars & Cocktail Bars; giving the recognition to the cocktail that it deserves. Among the liquor companies too, brands promote their spirits via cocktails as they see liking towards cocktails. All these coupled with awareness among guests have started a cocktail wave across the country.
Innovative cocktails
When asked about the comparison between new age cocktails and classical cocktails, he says: “Classics will always remain classics, since they have a very strong connect with people but India is a country where maximum people who drink alcoholic beverage are young and they love to experiment with new flavours. Every bar serves classic drinks but what interests most of the guests in current times is the innovative or new age cocktails that bartenders are curating,” elaborates Nitin.
Guests these days want to be served bespoke products. “Customised & bespoke are the ‘in-trend’ words to go by,” he adds. Now, it is all up to the
bartender and his/her expertise to understand the guests’ likeness and fix a drink which he or she will like, he points out.
Nitin goes on to explain that new age cocktails give bartenders a free hand to play around with flavours, glassware & garnish techniques and hence it facilitates them to create something path breaking or something which the guest is not expecting in a glass. “For creating innovative new age cocktails, they take time to research their ingredients, hunt for the perfect glassware, even customise some, play with their ice program & try out colourful garnishes. For new age cocktails, bartenders think deeply about their story, connect or concept. Hence, new age cocktails are winning the race,” he articulates.
