Although drinking has always been a rich tradition in Kolkata, it has evolved beyond simply relaxing in a corner and quietly sipping a well-known beverage. Bars are changing along with the city. Inspired by global centres like London and New York City, a new wave of cocktail bars is changing the way people enjoy a night out. Drinkers in Kolkata are returning with expectations of something more than the typical, something more engaging, intellectual, and thrilling in the glass as they travel more and become more conscious of worldwide trends.
At the same time, by using unconventional ingredients and experimenting with cutting-edge methods, cocktail bars in the city are pushing the limits of flavour profiles. Unexpected flavours like smoke, herbs, spices, and even edible flowers are being added to drinks by mixologists. Molecular mixology is becoming more and more popular as an approach that uses scientific techniques to produce novel textures and presentations. Drinks with foams, gels, and smoke components are becoming more and more popular since they give visitors an interesting multimodal experience.
Cocktail bars can differentiate themselves and appeal to their customers' daring palates by experimenting with novel flavours and methods. India's food and beverage industry has experienced a dramatic transformation, which is highlighted by the growing popularity of cocktail culture. India's preference for tea and other regional drinks was well known in the past, but this has also permeated Kolkata, where a newly discovered and rapidly growing love for cocktail bars is being embraced.
Image Credit: Conversation Room, Kolkata
Is Kolkata Spearheading The Cocktail Bar Revolution?
Once exclusive to five-star hotels and upscale restaurants, mixology has become a part of the local drinking scene. Expert mixologists are creating drinks that are full of distinctive flavours and visually appealing. These professionals are artists who bring originality and creativity to their work; they are more than just bartenders.
Their impact has been crucial in improving the city’s cocktail culture. Rituparna Banerjee, Co-founder, Nutcase Etc, tells Slurrp, “My observation is Kolkata drinkers had their feel of nostalgia-coated drinks and are now ready for futuristic, technique-forward cocktails. In fact, what they like the most is being surprised in a glass. Let's say a drink from our menu called Good Luck, which is made with housemade pandan liquor, Grey Goose, cashew orgeat and topped with coconut cream foam. Here, the guests take a first sip and are immediately surprised; 'it tastes so much like kheer or payesh.'”
Image Credit: Nutcase Etc, Kolkata
She goes on to tell us how this change is not only rooted within the young crowd but also in other demographics. Her team at Nutcase has seen a good amount of both, and it is difficult to focus on just one type of audience. People between the ages of 25 and 60 can be seen enjoying special beverages and an evening of adda at a bar.
Putting Cocktails And Its Ingredients At The Centre Of A Foodaholic Community
Abhimanyu M, owner of Yokocho and Conversation Room, adds to this, saying, “What surprised us even more was the guest response. A martini is usually a drink that arrives much later in a city’s drinking evolution because it requires a certain maturity of palate. Yet within a year of opening, our martini, ‘Olive You Too’, became one of our highest-selling cocktails, and palo santo is one of the defining aromatic elements in it.”
Experimentation took a different turn at Yokocho, their more recent cocktail bar. They attempted to translate the sensation of a dry lager into a cocktail in an attempt to replicate the laid-back drinking culture of Asian street bars. They created a drink called Beer First, Whisky Later by infusing hops into whisky. It carries the dryness and freshness of a lager while still being unmistakably a whisky drink, and Kolkata just fell in love with it. At the end of the day, it’s a city where things are not slowing down, rather blooming through art, food and of course cocktails.
Image Credit: AMPM, Kolkata
Sushil Pant of AMPM, Head Mixologist and Beverage Manager, tells Slurrp, “It’s honestly a mix of both. Global trends definitely inspire us — we see what bars in cities like London or New York City are doing. But what really excites us now is rediscovering local flavours. Ingredients we grew up with — spices, seasonal fruits, regional herbs — are coming back into cocktails in a modern way. So the technique might be global, but the soul is very local.”
When it came to ingredients that spearheaded the trend, Sushil said matcha caught him off guard. “Matcha really surprised me. When we introduced it at AMPM, we weren’t sure how guests would react. But people loved it — both in alcoholic and zero-ABV drinks. It’s earthy, balanced, and feels premium. It also fits perfectly with the growing health-conscious mindset of today’s drinkers.”
Kolkata is going through a shift right now. The city is now truly intrigued and has gone beyond simple admiration. Drinkers are becoming more receptive to experimentation, new methods, and more avant-garde cocktail styles. Therefore, there isn't really a choice between futurism and nostalgia. This shift is also changing how bartenders approach their craft. It’s no longer just about serving a drink; it’s about showing what goes into it, telling a story, and creating an experience. The growing demand for cocktail bars isn’t sudden so much as it is a natural extension of what the city already loves; storytelling, craft, and expression.