Why classic cocktails will never go out of style
Summary
India’s discovery of inventive cocktails sidelined classics such as the Negroni and the Martini. Are they poised for a comeback?
If the fictional British spy James Bond were to seek a drink in India in 2025, he might find himself sipping an olive-oil washed, clarified Martini with a caviar-topped cracker as its edible garnish.
The sun is shining over the Indian bartend-ing community, with a slew of bars command-ing the attention of the international hospitality fraternity. As exciting as this is, the trade-off is a pronounced difficulty in finding timeless tipples aka classic cocktails dating back to pre-Prohibition era—such as Old Fashioned, Manhattan and Sidecar—defined by their simple use of ingredients and fundamental mixing techniques like shaking and stirring.
Unless you’re at Kolkata’s buzzy, new cocktail parlour, Nutcase. Most bars put their signature and experimental pours at the beginning of the menu. But Nutcase starts theirs with zero-proof drinks, followed by modern classics (drinks such as Negroni, Penicillin and Picante invented in the latter part of the 20th century, known for their innovative flavour combinations and mixing methods). Classics like the gimlet or daiquiri, bubbly-based originals like the French 75 and an entire section for Martinis find equal importance. That classics would need prominence became clear to co-owner and chef Rituparna Banerjee during trials. “We had people from our inner circle testing signatures, but a sour or Negroni would always be their point of reference or what they’d compare it to. So we thought: why not highlight the point of reference?" she says.
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A shift in India’s drink-scape became imminent about a decade ago with the appearance of early players such as Delhi’s speakeasy-style PCO (Passcode Only) Bar and Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy in Gurugram. This set the ball rolling for India’s cocktail culture, heralding a new generation of mixologists for whom the focus was artistic expression with creative libations. As these drinks, known as signatures, took centre stage, classic cocktails were overshadowed, helped along by practical challenges like difficulty in finding the right ingredients. But for many patrons, their enduring appeal and familiarity remained paramount—a realisation now driving the resurgence of classics.
Seconding this, Mumbai-based marketing professional and a home baker, Yeshi Chaudhary shares, “Most good restaurants now have a special cocktail menu, with fancy ingredients. And while I love those, I still can’t find a great pina colada or daiquiri."
One reason could be that India is limited when it comes to classic cocktails, points out Vipin Raman, co-owner of the bars Jamming Goat and Dali and Gala in Bengaluru, and Room One and Feri Bar in Goa. “There are 200-plus recipes for classic and modern classics together, but we can hardly replicate ten. Some of these require specific ingredients such as Plymouth or Jenever gin (used in gimlet, Negroni, Martinez, etc.) but they’re difficult to get a hold of here," he explains, adding that reasons range from high import duties to lack of demand and therefore, supply.
Banerjee echoes this when she outlines the challenges in sourcing bitters, spirits and liquors like Peychaud, a bitter used in the Sazerac cocktail, or the French herbal liqueur Chartreuse, required for popular modern classics like Naked and Famous or Last Word.
For Anirudh Singhal, co-founder of the bar design company SpeedX and a judge for The World’s 50 Best Bars, the mixologist’s expertise is equally important and could explain why some bars have moved away from classics. “If you’re making a Martini, you need to get the basics right—the perfect combination of spirits, the temperature of the glass, etc. You can get away without a lot of this with innovative cocktails because there’s fanfare and glamour around them," he reasons.
The value of skilled barkeep isn’t lost on the customer either. For Kolkata-based Asha Saha, a marketing professional and a cocktail enthusiast, drinks that seem “performative and pretentious" don’t usually cut it. “I don’t need glitter and rose petals in my drink. Bars like Nutcase and AM PM in the city have classics and then they have their twists—I like that. And if there’s a skilled bartender, they can make you pretty much anything. It’s not always on the menu, but you just have to ask," she says.
Pankaj Gussain, bar manager at Gurugram’s Thai restaurant and bar Banng, concurs that asking might be your best bet at getting a classic. “Even when a particular classic isn’t listed on the menu, our bar team is well-versed in preparing them when a guest asks for it." Despite having an innovative craft cocktail menu, Banng’s top-sellers include the Picante, Bloody Mary, Tommy’s margarita and whisky sour.
Singhal, who is exposed to the global bar industry via his work with World’s 50 Best, has observed a slow but steady resurgence of classics overseas. “We tend to look towards the West for inspiration, and internationally we’re seeing the best bars are now moving back to classics," he says.
Bars in India are already working to bring classics back, but with tweaks. Soka and Bar Spirit Forward in Bengaluru, for instance do a Martini-style drink and a version of the Old Fashioned, while Goa’s Boilermaker serves versions of the highball, and Rick’s at Delhi’s Taj Mahal Hotel has a new menu inspired by classics, he points out.
While it’s always going to be interesting to sample a truffle-based Negroni or lacto-fermented mandarin-based Bee’s Knees, on some days all one wants is a perfectly dry Martini—unadorned, save for possibly an additional olive.
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Suman Mahfuz Quazi is a food writer and the creator of The Soundboard, a community dedicated to gourmands in India.
