Meet The Restaurateur Who Is Keeping Our Spirits High

Rakshay Dhariwal is the man of all seasons in the F&B space. Let’s decode the personality behind Pistola Agavepura, India Cocktail Week, and several popular restaurants

- PRIYANKO SARKAR

At the first Mumbai edition of India Cocktail Week ICW) held earlier this month, one beaming face stood out from the rest. Rakshay Dhariwal, the man behind the cocktail festival, had good reason to smile after a memorable year that not just saw him rise from the ashes literally) but also expand his restaurant business under the Passcode Hospitality banner, and launch new editions of Maya Pistola Agavepura, the spirit brand that marked his foray into the alcobev space last year.

Dhariwal’s journey as a restaurateur closed in on a decade in 2022 but he shows no signs of stopping, having found the secret of success in diversification. Be it his now crowdfavourite restaurants or ICW which sees cocktails, food and performances by some of the biggest names and brands under one roof what connects all the pieces together is the crown jewel in his portfolio: Pistola.

The origin story of this agave drink’s latest expressions is as compelling as the spirit itself. A tragic fire on Christmas Eve last year burned his distillery to the ground, along with much of the stock. But Dhariwal and his team managed to recoup their losses and bounce back. Rakshay being Rakshay said, Let’s do it again,” observes brand ambassador Kimberly Pereira, who was incidentally scheduled for an interview on the same day the fire broke out.

The estimated loss from the fire that sank the launch of Pistola’s original variant, Reposado, was a whopping Rs. 2.5 crore. Dhariwal, however, decided to reboot and even go a mile further with three additional expressions in the form of Rosa, Afiejo and Blanco, which have recently launched in Goa and Mumbai and are set to enter other markets soon.