1 week ago
Veteran Mixologist Urges Indian Bartenders to Embrace Local Flavours
Shatbhi Basu is an experienced bartender from India.
She says India has many special ingredients, such as turmeric, tamarind, kokum, curry leaves and regional fruits.
She believes bartenders should use these ingredients more often in cocktails.
International ideas can be useful, but they should be adapted for Indian customers.
Basu says bartenders should understand why they use a technique instead of copying a trend.
She is especially cautious about clarifying drinks when it changes their flavour or texture without improving them.
She also says customers mainly want drinks that taste good.
Finally, she wants bartenders to become better at talking with customers and understanding what they want.
Shatbhi Basu says Indian bartenders should draw more heavily on local ingredients and food traditions.
She argues cocktails should reflect Indian customers’ palates rather than simply copy Western trends.
Basu supports international techniques but says bartenders must understand their purpose and adapt them locally.
She cautions against using clarification and pre-batching merely because they are fashionable.
Basu says communication skills and customer understanding need greater emphasis in bartending education.
- Who
- Veteran Indian mixologist Shatbhi Basu and the country’s bartending community.
- What
- Basu discussed the development of Indian bartending and urged greater use of local ingredients, customer-focused service and purposeful techniques.
- Where
- In India’s cocktail bars and bartending schools.
- When
- Her observations followed her judging of Bar Maestro 2026.
- Why
- She believes Indian bartending should reflect local food culture and customers’ palates instead of merely reproducing Western trends.
Local, Customer-Focused Bartending
Internationally Influenced Bartending
Ingredient and flavour choices
Local, Customer-Focused Bartending
Basu says bartenders should begin with Indian customers, local ingredients and the food being served, combining Indian and international flavours where appropriate.
Internationally Influenced Bartending
International ingredients, techniques and ideas have helped shape India’s rapidly developing cocktail culture and remain useful when adapted thoughtfully.
Use of Cocktail Techniques
Local, Customer-Focused Bartending
Basu argues that techniques such as clarification should be used only when they improve the drink, because filtering can alter texture and remove flavour compounds.
Internationally Influenced Bartending
Clarification and other elaborate techniques can be technically impressive and are part of the international cocktail trends influencing Indian bars.
Definition of Progress
Local, Customer-Focused Bartending
Indian bartending should build confidence in its own food culture and recognise that India has lessons to teach bartenders from abroad.
Internationally Influenced Bartending
Some young bartenders and returning professionals seek international standards, techniques and ingredients to keep pace with global cocktail culture.
Key facts
- Speaker
- Shatbhi Basu, a veteran mixologist and one of India’s first women bartenders.
- Event
- Basu’s comments came after judging Bar Maestro 2026.
- Competition format
- Bar Maestro 2026 had 16 finalists interpreting earth, fire, air, water and space through cocktails.
- Local ingredients
- Basu highlighted turmeric, kokum, tamarind, curry leaves, spices, regional fruits and herbs.
- Main concern
- She said some bartenders become overly focused on Western trends and techniques.
- Training concern
- Basu said India has many bartending schools but that some may not teach the profession fully from an Indian perspective.
- Customer priority
- She said customers primarily want cocktails with great flavour.
Quotes
Shatbhi Basu
Veteran Indian mixologist discussing differences between Indian and Western tastes.
“The kind of palate that we have as Indians is not the same palate as you have as the Europeans, or the Americans or anyone from the West; their palate is different, because their food and culture is different.”
firstpost.com
“People don't care whether you clarify your drinks or not. They want drinks with great flavour. That's all they want.”
firstpost.com
Sources
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