Walk into some of India’s most in vogue bars today, and you might find cocktails infused with kokum, nannari root, Himalayan juniper, jaggery, curry leaves, or even wild forest herbs. Otherwise, firmly belonging to regional kitchens rather than behind the bar, hyper-local ingredients are setting the bar very high (quite literally) for creative, never-heard-of cocktails in the Indian bar scene. Across the country, bartenders are increasingly turning to hyper-local produce and indigenous spirits, reshaping cocktail menus that were otherwise full of your average, run-of-the-mill cocktails. And yes, we’re very excited.
The shift is closely tied to the rise of India’s craft spirits and speciality cocktail culture, which has grown rapidly over the past decade. Distillers and bartenders alike are embracing locally sourced botanicals, grains, and fruits to create drinks that speak to a sense of place—much like the concept of terroir in wine. These liquors and cocktails, then, also become representative of India’s diverse landscapes and culinary traditions, which is now evident not just in food but also in beverages. From gins infused with Himalayan juniper and Indian spices to cocktails built around ingredients like tamarind, mahua, and vetiver, Indian mixology is becoming increasingly rooted in regional identity. Now that’s a trend worth loving!
For bartenders, this move towards hyper-local ingredients is about much more than novelty. The use of hyper-local ingredients and Indian-produced liquors is storytelling, sustainability, and even the rediscovery of the depth of our culinary heritage. By working closely with farmers, foragers, and local producers, bars are experimenting with flavours that feel both familiar and, at the same time, entirely new. The result? A cocktail culture that’s distinctly Indian, where every drink carries a hint of where it comes from.
The Spirit of Hyperlocal in the Indian Bar Scene
At some of our favourite bars across Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, and Bengaluru, mixologists and bartenders are pushing the idea of hyper-local cocktails even further, using ingredients you probably didn’t imagine could be found in a cocktail. This includes daily produce, masalas, curry flavours, and even everyday pantry staples as the centrepiece of their drinks. In fact, for many bartenders, the goal is no longer just to recreate classic cocktails but to curate special and distinct menus that reflect the landscapes, ingredients, and food cultures around them.
At Sidecar in GK-2, Delhi, mixologist Yangdup Lama has long championed terroir-driven drinks. Lama frequently draws inspiration from his home region of Darjeeling and the broader Himalayan belt, incorporating ingredients like pinewood-smoked Himalayan tea, Himachali apple cider vinegar, and mountain herbs into his cocktails. This includes favourites like Kawachan, a butter tea-inspired cocktail featuring whiskey and yak cheese, and Don Lelay, a tequila-based, milk-washed drink with Sham Valley apricots, chilli, and churpi yak cheese. By using such ingredients, Lama creates cocktails that not only taste unlike anything you’ve ever had before, but also carry a brilliant sense of geography.
A similar approach shapes the bar programme at Ekaa in Mumbai, where mixologist Jishnu AJ has built a cocktail menu rooted in India’s ayurveda. His much-acclaimed “Dwadash” menu—a twelve-drink programme—spotlights lesser-known indigenous ingredients associated with traditional medicine and Ayurveda. Cocktails feature botanicals such as Kapur Kachri (an Indian agave spirit mixed with ginger lily), Jatamansi (an Ayurvedic herb), and Himalayan fir, ingredients rarely seen in mainstream mixology.
In Goa’s The Lab, led by the world-famous mixologist Pankaj Balachandran, cocktails are often inspired by the flavours of Indian cooking and local produce. Ingredients such as tambdi bhaji (red amaranth), tropical fruits, and spice-forward flavours make the drinks strangely but fascinatingly taste like regional curries in a glass. Some unique drinks on their menu include the Main Chick, made with Dukshiri Feni (a local Goan spirit), chikoo, cacao nibs, vermouth, ginger water, and CO2; and Grandmom’s Curry, a popular cocktail at The Lab that’s made to taste exactly like Goan fish curry.
Meanwhile, in New Delhi, Jeet Rana at Barbet & Pals is known for pushing the boundaries between food and cocktails as well. In the basement of the larger restaurant lies a space called The Cavity, which serves Rana’s special 9-course cocktail menu for connoisseurs and beginners alike, featuring some of the most unusual cocktail variations. One instance is the “Tooyamalli Rice” cocktail, which blends clarified rasam, whiskey, and rice foam, finished with curry leaf and aromatic oil. The drink draws inspiration from South Indian flavours, and is a savoury, Indian cocktail at its best.
Perhaps the most literal interpretation of the hyper-local concept in drinks can be found at HyLo, led by mixologist Razvan Zamfirescu. The bar’s name, HyLo, stands for ‘HyperLocal,’ and the cocktails are built around neighbourhood-specific ingredients and regional flavours. A good example is the Musk-eeter, which blends vermouth and melon with salted lassi foam, combining the structure of a classic cocktail with the comforting taste of the Punjabi summer drink.
Instead of looking outward for inspiration, these bars and mixologists are increasingly turning inward—towards local farms, forests, markets, and kitchens. The result, of course, is cocktails that feel not just contemporary and new, but close to India’s own ingredients and culinary traditions.
On Locally-Produced Liquors
This cocktail renaissance has also been powered by a growing number of homegrown spirits that bring local ingredients and regional traditions of the country to the forefront. In recent years, distillers have increasingly turned to indigenous raw materials—such as flowers, fruits, sugarcane, and agave grown on Indian soil—to create spirits that feel close to home. These bottles even give bartenders a distinctly Indian canvas to work with, allowing the bar scene to reflect agricultural diversity with each sip.
Mahua
Renowned as one of India’s oldest traditional spirits, mahua is made from the flowers of the mahua tree, which grows across central and eastern India. For generations, Indigenous communities in states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have fermented and distilled these flowers to produce a spirit with a floral sweetness as well as earthy undertones. Historically consumed locally, mahua has long been a very important part of tribal culture, rituals, and celebrations. In recent years, brands such as Six Brothers Mahura have helped bring the spirit into the modern craft liquor space, distilled from wild mahua flowers sourced from tribal regions.
Feni
Few spirits are as closely tied to a place as Feni is to Goa. Traditionally distilled from fermented cashew apples—the fruit attached to the cashew nut—feni has been produced in the region for centuries, using small pot stills. The process begins with crushing the fruit to extract its juice, which ferments naturally before being distilled into a strong, aromatic spirit with fruity notes.
While feni has long been a staple of Goan households and taverns, premium producers such as Cazulo and Goenchi have brought renewed attention to the spirit, making it as sought-after and loved across India as it is among locals in Goa.
Camikara Rum
Another example of hyper-local distilling in the country is Camikara Rum, produced in Haryana. The name “Camikara” comes from Sanskrit and translates to “liquid gold,” hinting at India’s long history of sugarcane cultivation. Unlike most rums around the world—which are made using molasses, a by-product of sugar production—Camikara is the by-product of fresh sugarcane juice.
Maya Pistola Agavepura
Maya Pistola Agavepura takes inspiration from tequila and stands out as one of India’s most interesting spirits. It is made in Rajasthan using agave plants that grow well in the region’s dry climate. Since tequila can only be made in Mexico, the makers introduced a new category called “Agavepura.” This name shows that the spirit is distilled from Indian agave and made in a style all its own.
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