What's in your drink?
Credit: iStock Photo
It is an evening in late January and the bar at Muro, a popular restaurant in Bengaluru’s Museum Road, is teeming with people. Regular programming for a Friday, really.
However, there is something new happening this particular evening. Atsushi Suzuki from The Bellwood in Tokyo is behind the counter serving up a special one-night-only menu of his signature cocktails. Suzuki has flown in from Japan for a bar takeover at Muro, and he is also scheduled to attend the annual India Cocktail Week the same weekend.
The most ordered drink seems to be the Tokyo Kissa — Don Julio reposado, banana caramelised sake lees, milk brew coffee and cacao miso. It is an odd combination of flavours. Some may even gag at the thought of sake lees (the fermented rice paste left after making sake) flavoured with caramelised banana and paired with tequila, cacao, miso and coffee brewed through a lesser-known method. (Milk brew coffee is made by steeping freshly ground coffee beans with cold milk at room temperature for hours). And even if the flavours work well together, how visually appealing could such a drink truly be? I have my answer when I see a whisky tumbler holding a drink the colour of golden amber making its way to my table.
It is a clarified concoction. And the flavours? They are nicely balanced and seamless.
Innovation and bold experimentation as seen in this one tequila drink are indicative of the larger trends in India’s and probably the global cocktail scene. Consequently, cocktail menus and bar takeovers have become the main draw at many of Bengaluru’s upscale restaurants. The same story plays out in other metro cities in India. Often, the food takes a backseat. One could argue that cocktails have for close to a decade been about pushing the boundaries, but mixologists believe they have arrived at the sweet spot between innovation and refinement in flavour. Currently, the cocktail space is seeing two major trends — maximalism and minimalism. But the common factor is letting the ingredients shine, says Sahil Essani, bar manager at Muro.
Suzuki started his career 20 years ago in Tokyo, before moving to New York and back to Tokyo. He has seen the space transforming over two decades and across two continents. “Craft cocktails are popular, sure, but there’s still an audience for classic cocktails. In Tokyo, there are bars specialising in classics, and they are very popular. I’m sure it’s the same across the world,” he says.
At his bar, Suzuki is partial to clarification, chef’s techniques and aged spirits. “Ageing naturally brings out complex flavours that cannot be artificially replicated,” he explains.
Celebs in their own right
When India Cocktail Week (ICW) was first held five years ago, people were curious about a whole festival dedicated to cocktails, recalls Sharan Behl, founder of ICW. “The second year, we sold out by 8 pm and had to shut the gates,” he says. At the fifth edition held in February, the organisers introduced masterclasses and workshops. “People want to learn more, they want to make drinks at home, they want to know what exactly is going into their drink,” Behl explains.
He adds that mixologists have become celebrities in their own right. The ICW team often fields questions from customers about the mixologists who will be part of the event. “They decide if they want to come to the festival depending on the mixologists who will be in attendance. It’s almost like they are music artistes,” he states.
In addition, Indian consumers have a preference for premiumisation — they do not mind spending 30 per cent more on a more premium brand of liquor, he notes.
High on craftsmanship
Jones Elish Kasturi, beverage head at Social, says, “The craftsmanship in mixology is growing at a rapid rate.” The attention given to the ingredients has never been this high. “House-made syrups are preferred over store-bought options,” he points out. (see box) Also on the rise are prebatched cocktails, which save time. “Bartenders generally keep the concoction ready. When an order comes in, they add the spirit and it’s ready to go. This also helps maintain consistency,” Kasturi explains.
An ice cube can make or break a drink, he notes. The shape, size and clarity are considered carefully before conceptualising a drink. “Most bartenders prefer clear ice. This melts slowly and maintains the body of the cocktail,” he says.
What’s in a glass?
The glassware has become important in the last few years, offers Magandeep Singh, sommelier and beverage expert. “Largely influenced by Japanese aesthetics, the glassware of choice is delicate and minimal. Mixologists take into consideration how the drink is delivered to your mouth,” he shares. The part of your mouth the drink touches first varies with the wideness of the glass’ rim, and thus the taste changes accordingly.
With a growing number of people becoming more conscious about their alcohol intake, the demand for low-ABV (Alcohol By Volume) cocktails is also seeing an uptick. As sustainability remains a hot topic, bartenders are perfecting zero-waste drinks, where every part of every ingredient is used.
Natural, fresh ingredients, low sugar, air foam over cream foam, and a preference for umami and savoury notes are some of the other trends that Kasturi has noticed.
Following India’s gin revival, which began roughly eight years ago, botanicals have become popular, notes Kasturi. People are now slowly shifting to tequila and mezcal.
In the last two years, craft rum has seen a resurgence. “When gin was in ascendance, a lot of gin bars sprung up. Now we are seeing other spirit-driven bars mushrooming across the country,” says Vikram Achanta, Co-Founder of 30BestBarsIndia & India Bartender Week. He cites the example of Outrigger, a rum bar in Goa.
Storytelling has become integral to menus too. Achanta was recently at Native, a bar in Jaipur, which has introduced a menu inspired by multiple iconic personalities, like Coco Chanel, Stanley Tucci and Maharaja Hari Singh. “The drinks under each section are in some way connected to the personality and the coaster the drink is served with ties into the theme too,” he shares.
Another such bar with an old-world charm is Bob’s Bar in Bengaluru, which recently won the People’s Choice Award at the 30 Best Bars India 2025. It positions itself as your friendly neighbourhood go-to spot. The newest outlet on Wood Street, for instance, is a repurposed bungalow originally built in 1945 with the theme of its food as well as its cocktails created around ‘Bengaluru nostalgia’ — a deep yearning for a city that was laidback, naturally inclusive and knew how to enjoy an evening out with friends. At Bob’s, the focus is not on experimentation but more on bringing forth classic cocktails paired with Anglo-Indian and coastal favourites such as Gunpowder Potatoes and mutton cutlets.
Sidecar, a popular bar in New Delhi, has a menu inspired by the travels of its mixologists. “There are about 13-14 cocktails linked to different countries, and the menu is designed like a comic book,” Achanta says.
Going hyperlocal
Avinash Kapoli, mixologist and partner at Soka, was taken by the cosy 20-30 seater bars he’d seen on his travels across Southeast Asia. “I wanted to set up something similar in Bengaluru,” he says.
At Soka, located on Old Airport Road in Bengaluru, the focus is on hyper-local ingredients that are typically not used in cocktails. I Blame Jasmine, for instance, uses jasmine flowers that have been stewed. The extract is combined with gin for a unique drink. Similarly, the Pi Pi Martini brings together pickled elche hannu (jujube) and raw totapuri, gin and dry vermouth. “Growing up in Bengaluru, we all have memories of eating elche hannu and raw mango from a cart outside our school gate with salt and chilli powder,” Kapoli reminisces. “People drink for the flavours. They have stopped drinking simply to get drunk,” he adds.
Although the level of experimentation is at an all-time high, experts are predicting that classic cocktails will be ‘back with a vengeance’ this year. But could palates that evolved and adjusted to complex flavours go back to enjoying simpler and familiar drinks? Achanta thinks so. There’s always room for classics, after all.
Not too syrupy, please!
Why is a good syrup important, you may ask. The answer is simple. Good, artisanal syrups are made with natural ingredients (fresh herbs, seasonal fruits) instead of artificial flavouring and preservatives. And since they are produced in small batches, they bring nuance to the flavouring. For instance, an artisanal syrup created with freshly grated ginger and a slow-steeped technique produces an aromatic depth unmatched by mass-produced versions. No wonder then, many bartenders and bars now prefer to use such natural syrups.
"Artisanal syrups provide viscosity while cheap syrups are high on sugar, can be overly thin, and thus disrupt a drink's balance," says Vaishali Mehta, founder of one such artisanal syrup company that emerged through the crisis of the pandemic and pivoted to creating over 70 flavours from hyperlocal ingredients — everything from guava and litchi to kokum and pepper. The focus with such syrups is to provide the right mouthfeel for a drink while avoiding that cloying sweetness and artificial aftertaste that all of us are familiar with, she explains.