This article was curated by Priyanka Blah, Founder & Editor at The Dram Attic. The Dram Attic spotlights outstanding bars and talented professionals within the alcohol industry and has also recently expanded its coverage to include top-tier dining and hospitality destinations.
It’s always dangerous to make blanket statements about Indian cities as multifaceted and diverse as Bengaluru. It’s a cultural hotspot filled with a rich history across historical landmarks and heritage sites, the beating heart of India’s tech and startup revolution, and a teeming metropolis filled with individuals who come from all walks of life and professions.
Its lifestyle and hospitality experiences have come to reflect the multitudes of tastes and preferences that cohabit its urban sprawl. Each restaurant, cafe, speakeasy and food stall you visit invokes a different facet of the city's ambitious spirit and penchant for adventure, excitement, and creative experimentation.
Bengaluru’s bespoke cocktails and the artisanal establishments that forge them in the fires of mixological mastery, channel this very spirit into every recipe that they covet. Their nuanced pallets, local ingredients and flavours, and ingenuitive combinations have allowed them to carve out a distinct niche for themselves across the Indian craft cocktail landscape.
The question, as always, is not, “Which one is the ‘best’?” but rather: “Where do I start?”
To help you out, here’s a homegrown guide to the best cocktails in Bengaluru:
Located in Indranagar, what we love about Soka is the playful and tongue-in-cheek charm of their cocktails. From ‘hair growth’ cocktails like the ‘Dr Batra’s Martini’ to the almost translucent ‘Birthday Suit’, there’s a quintessentially Bengalurean wit embedded in everything they do. Despite their ostensibly unserious facade, there’s no joking around when it comes to their attention to detail and the level of refinement that goes into every drink they make.
The 'Soka Batanga' is a homegrown interpretation of a classic Mexican tequila and coke.
If you’re looking for something that’s both sophisticated and regal, then it doesn't get much better than ZLB 23. Every square inch of this Leela Palace speakeasy is dedicated to elevating your cocktail experience. The space works in perfect tandem with flavour profiles that pay tribute to Prohibition era and oriental mixology traditions and ingredients; meddling traditional recipes and combinations with uniquely modern twists and interpretations.
The 'Yuzu Picante' is ZLB’s take on a classic picante and uses Japanese pickling artistry and Mexican zest.
Muro focuses on blending their cocktail artistry with social experiences and aims to create a space where conversation and laughter can accompany the unmistakable euphoria of sipping on the perfect drink after a long day. They aim to turn every night out into an unforgettable sensorial journey that tantalizes and delights. The bar draws on its distinctly Thai influences to give you liquid confluences of herbs, fruits, spices, aromatics, and the classic spirits you know and love.
The 'Heat of the Moment' is a signature tequila and Naga chilli cocktail that teases your sense of smell with a ball of steel wool and grated Cuban cigar.
On the opposite end of the cocktail bar spectrum is Spirit Forward, a bar that is refreshingly no-frills and completely focused on the cocktails themselves. Spirit Forward fancies itself as a ‘neighbourhood cocktail dive bar’ and brings an unpretentious earnestness to every single one of their drinks. I’m also very taken by the swagger through which they approach the art of their bar takeovers. They’ve left their mark on watering holes across the country; from Goa to Delhi have done so with an unmistakable aplomb. We daresay a lot of that liquid courage comes right from their cocktails.
The 'Southern Star' is a tequila-based cocktail with fermented plum and guava.
The bar’s bold proclamation that it’s where “Bengaluru comes to play” does make me think of my caution against blanket statements at the start of this article, but in Copita’s case, I can definitely see how it could be true. The bar offers its patrons a taste of the good life through its decadent craft cocktails, with each one telling a unique story. That, plus a host of some of the most aesthetically pleasing signature concoctions we’ve seen in a while makes it the perfect place to kick back, switch off, and indulge your senses through the art of elite mixology.
'The Banana Leaf' is a tequila-based drink that blends ripe bananas and sushi ginger; perfect for sultry summer days and nights.
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