Kolkata's Nutcase Etc. Is A Euphoric Fever Dream Of Cocktail-Fueled Existential Angst

It's a postmodern shrine to poor life decisions, midlife crises, and the evergreen philosophical question: What if your dinner could get you hammered?
It's a postmodern shrine to poor life decisions, midlife crises, and the evergreen philosophical question: What if your dinner could get you hammered?Nutcase Etc.
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3 min read

If Salvador Dalí opened a bar in Kolkata after binging on instant ramen and a Gangs of Wasseypur marathon, one imagines it would look a lot like Nutcase Etc. This 650-square-foot fever-dream deep in the bowels of Kalighat isn't quite your neighbourhood watering hole (although it could certainly be that!). It's a postmodern shrine to poor life decisions, midlife crises, and the evergreen philosophical question: What if your dinner could get you hammered?

The Joker — Brandy, Plum Ratafia, Tonka Bean Bitters Nutcase Chocolate Bitters, Cold Brew Float.
The Joker — Brandy, Plum Ratafia, Tonka Bean Bitters Nutcase Chocolate Bitters, Cold Brew Float.Nutcase Etc

See, the truth is, Kolkata's drinking culture has always been a bit… bipolar. Until recently, you either nursed a dangerously sentimental relationship with Old Monk long past its prime or drank cheap whisky in a colonial-era pub that hasn't changed its serveware since the 90s. Of course, there was always Bangla Mawd — Bengal's own government-approved moonshine — and overpriced rooftop sangrias in Salt Lake only Sector-V tech-bros would pay for, but we have come a long way since then. Nutcase, Rituparna and Avinandan Banerjee's fever-dream project, is the cure to Kolkata's colonial hangover and contemporary identity crisis.

Located beneath Skinny Mo's Jazz Club in Kalighat and next to a boutique so cool it probably judges your dress sneakers, the bar's Bauhaus-gone-bonkers interiors play host to 35 people and at least 70 existential crises a night. But it's not the décor that'll make you double-take — it's the cocktails.

It's a postmodern shrine to poor life decisions, midlife crises, and the evergreen philosophical question: What if your dinner could get you hammered?
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The cocktails at Nutcase are less 'drinks' and more high-concept existential questions. There's Tangra Town, which tastes like you're drinking your favourite Indian-Chinese takeout — chicken broth, scallion, bell pepper, soy and all. There's Nutcase Brekkie, a breakfast cocktail made with cereal-infused whiskey and toasted milk, ideal for Bengali men who believe childhood trauma and alcoholism should be served in the same glass. And then there's Sushi?, a vegan seaweed-sake-Bombay Sapphire situationship that asks important questions like, "What if your drink judged you for eating things that have a mother?"

Sushi? captures the umami complexity of its namesake with a vegan mix of Bombay Sapphire, sake, nori, gari, and mirin.
Sushi? captures the umami complexity of its namesake with a vegan mix of Bombay Sapphire, sake, nori, gari, and mirin.Nutcase Etc

And if you get the munchies after all that, fret not. The nutties at Nutcase have you covered. There's five-spice smoked eggs with chili crisp, a Nutcase favourite, because nothing says "I'm thriving" like devilled eggs in a dimly lit bar at 11 PM. Then there's the butter garlic crab dip with mantau buns, which sounds like bait but tastes like a dream. And of course there are noodles too, because all great decisions are made over carbohydrates and confusion.

Open Tuesday through Sunday, 5 PM to midnight — because even absurdism needs a schedule — Nutcase isn't your average cocktail bar, nor does it want to be one. You don't come here for a casual drink. You come to confront your choices, flirt with chaos, and possibly drink a Negroni that probably has stronger opinions about Marxist-Leninist theory than you do. It's not the cocktail bar Kolkata needs — it's the cocktail bar Kolkata deserves.

You can follow Nutcase here.

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