Foreword

 

Cocktails are on everyone’s lips, so to speak, in the second decade of the twenty-first century. They are trendy, hip, in vogue and there’s no better sign that you’re a success in life than being known to the bartenders in a good cocktail bar. Cocktails, and people’s love for them, is where it’s at.

This phenomenon, though, is a very recent thing. Even in London and New York, the cocktail revolution didn’t really get off the ground until less than a decade ago. And in India, the cocktail trend is even newer than that. How does something like this get traction, you might wonder. How come one day we’re all happy sipping a gin and tonic or perhaps a nice old-fashioned whiskey cocktail and the next day our bartenders are handing us menus filled with drinks calling for tea-infused Tequila that are topped off with an asparagus foam?

I’ll tell you how these things start: They start slowly and they start with passion. They start with people such as Yangdup Lama ~ a friend and kindred spirit. Yangdup has made his mark on the global cocktail culture and he continues to push the envelope in India, bringing new ideas to the party and encouraging other bartenders to bring more passion into their craft. Passion is what drives him, and it’s what drives this fabulous business of being of service to our guests.

I’m thrilled that Yangdup teamed up with Gitanjali Chaturvedi to bring us this book. It will serve to detail the role of Indian bartenders to the global bartending community and, years from now, people in the service industry will no doubt be poring over its pages to see how the cocktail revolution took off in India.

When you use this book to make drinks for yourself and your loved ones, please remember what the authors advise: If you make the drink with love in your heart, your guest will literally taste that love in the drink. There’s a good reason that you think your grandmother was the best cook in the world, you know, and it has nothing to do with her culinary skills.

I’ll hand you over to Yangdup and Gitanjali now and they’ll show you how to make great cocktails and dream fabulous dreams.

Gary Regan