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"LATELY, there’s obviously some pride associated with being behind a bar. This sense was something that was missing around a decade ago in the industry,” reasons Anand Virmani, co-founder and master distiller at Nao Spirits & Beverages, attempting to pinpoint the “bar community’s fascination with pop-ups and takeovers.”
Virmani and his team are riding this rising wave of curiosity and commerce with their second edition of Bars From Far by Greater Than Gin. Over two nights in Bengaluru, a selection of the country’s top bars will take over WeWork Galaxy to showcase their signature cocktails, experimental bartenders and spot-on hospitality. In short, there’s no need for city-hopping to wet one’s whistle anymore. He sees this kind of event working because craft cocktail bars across the country have “quite unique concepts; work with different flavour profiles; incorporate local, seasonal produce; and the exploration” within their drinking programmes seems to have just begun. “While, with us [Indians], travelling for food has always been a thing,” Virmani hazards, in the past five years, this attitude might have swung towards swigging on cocktails too. “Bar pop-ups, takeovers and residencies become the medium through which the aficionado can experience the drinks made by some of the top bars from across the country and world at one’s neighbourhood joint,” he adds.
Shaken and stirred
This newfound pride in bartending and mixology has also seen a growing respect for specialisation in skillsets. “When we partner with a visiting bar for a guest shift at Muro, we look at the possibility for learning within this exchange,” says Niharika Rawal, co-founder of this Bengaluru-based cocktail bar. “We like to work with bars that are doing things slightly differently from Muro’s own approach. It could be the visiting bar’s use of ingredients, the techniques employed in executing a cocktail, or the storytelling used to build their menus – this is the thinking that drives our collaboration,” she adds. “These interactions allow for our team of mixologists to get exposed to fresh ideas and techniques.”
While providing guests with "something fresh and unexpected” is a big part of this recent trend in the cocktail bar industry. Karan Upmanyu, chef and partner at ParTTwo, adds, “For visiting brands, it’s a chance to connect with a new audience and city.” But ultimately for him, the success of this concept goes beyond a full house, “it is reflected in the energy of the night, the stories shared and the connections forged, fostering life-long friendships, threads for future collaborations and a long-lasting sense of inspiration.”
Bar Forward, Not Brand Forward
Nikhil Chittiappa, managing partner at Silverback Foods, the Bengaluru accomplices in AD Singh’s Siren Cocktail Bar, speaks to the business advantages. “Bar takeovers are a creative way to court attention, drive sales and create a buzz that benefits both the host and guest bar,” he underscores. “These events bring a sense of novelty and collaboration; they spark cross promotion, inform storytelling and build community within the industry players and among the guests,” he adds. Virmani echoes this sentiment. “With people travelling to cities across the country with their list of bars to check out, these exchanges help build familiarity with the person behind the bar and a newer catchment of guests. For example, if you or a cousin is travelling to Jaipur, Delhi or Mumbai, now you know a bar where you can get good, crafted cocktails and a great vibe,” he says, colouring in the vision.
Two years ago, while planning the inaugural edition of Bars From Far (BFF) – also in Bengaluru, Virmani wanted to launch a platform for cocktail bars and mixologists to represent themselves and their drinking programmes. “We’ve seen bar & cocktail festivals where beverage brands are being showcased – these are great for the industry, and we love to participate in them as well. At BFF, we invite nine really exciting and interesting cocktail bars, one from each city, and bring them under one roof. The idea being that guests who walk in get to experience these bars and what they bring.”
For the discerning customers, it is the horn of plenty, but Rawal accents this trend of bar takeovers with the thrust of knowledge sharing. “Last month, the Buenos Aires-based Floreria Atlantico flew into our bar for one night. They’re known for applying the techniques of perfumery to crafting their cocktails; our team at the bar were exposed to this unique philosophy. We might not be able to take our entire team to Argentina or Japan, but we [at Muro] got to spend three days absorbing this bar’s thought process and observing their techniques. This sharing is priceless for us,” she punctuates.
Bars From Far by Greater Than Gin takes place on October 10th & 11th from 6 pm onwards at WeWork Galaxy, 43, Residency Road, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru. Cocktails priced at Rs 600 & food pop-ups Rs 300-500.
