Starting today Delhi will witness its first-ever Cocktail Week at over 30 leading bars. Here guests will get to taste a variety of cocktails including some new blends, apart from being a part of the week-long bar activations, masterclasses, brunches, pop-ups, workshops and cocktail crawls. Organised by PassCode Hospitality, Owner Rakshay Dhariwal in collaboration with event management firm WMS, the event will culminate into a Cocktail Village at 1AQ, Mehrauli. on November 16-17.
Dhariwal, 35, says, “Internationally, such events are being organised on a huge scale. But it’s a new concept for the city. When I launched PCO seven years ago, people didn’t know that cocktails are beyond margaritas and mojitos. But now we’ve come a long way. Every player in the market is doing cool cocktail menus. So, I thought it was the time to make people try s o m e n e w flavours.”
Special cocktail menus will be available at bars, including Auro, Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy, Dragonfly Experience, Delhi Club House, Ek Bar, Fio, Foxtrot, Guppy, Jamun, Monkey Bar, Olly, One8 Commune, Pa Pa Ya, PCO, Playground, Plate, Plum by Bent Chair, Public Affair, Rooh, SAZ, Serai, Sidecar, Sly Granny, Whiskey Samba and The Wine Company on all eight days.
Dhariwal, who owns PCO, ATM, Pings, PDA, Jamun and La Latina, says, “Since I am from Delhi, I have a fair idea about which places are serious about their cocktails.
We zeroed in on some and asked them to work on new cocktails for the event. Each have come up with five-six concoctions on an average.” While there will be a cocktail-making class at The Piano Man in SDA, a cocktail crawl will happen at all outlets in Khan Market.
“The highlight will be pop-ups of international bars. Singapore-based Atlas will have a pop-up at PCO and Manhattan from Hong Kong at Sidecar on November 14, Coupette from London will be at Playground on November 9 and Havana Social from Bangkok will be at Ek Bar and The Pontiac will be at Public Affair on November 15,” adds Dhariwal.
Apart from this, the Carnival Village will feature brand showcases, entertainment, secret bars, restaurant pop-ups and much more. Tickets available at insider. in. About the comparison drawn between the cocktail scene in India and abroad, he says, “The scene here is nascent but we have the potential. A little creativity and imagination, and India could be the next Singapore.”