A Hyperlocal Renaissance

In 2025, India's luxury spirits scene looks less like a European bar manual and more like a cultural archive, with inspiration spanning from smoked pork to toddy-vinegar pickles

- By Anushka Manik

India's luxury drinking culture is having a hyperlocal moment. And no, it's not the kind of token sprinkling of masala we've seen the West fetishize. This is something deeper. Think of it as a bartender zesting a gondhoraj lime in Mumbai, or a chef in Jaipur slow-cooking Laal Maas with Mathania chillies. A distiller in Delhi coaxing Himalayan juniper into a gin that smells like mountain rain. These are not isolated acts of culinary nostalgia. They are the blueprint of India's new luxury drinking economy; one that's proudly, profitably and powerfully hyperlocal.

Bars and spirit brands across the country are looking into their own grandmother kitchens, coastal fish markets, tribal spice trails and centuries-old ingredient maps, and are pairing cocktails not with foie gras and caviar, but with toddy-vinegar pickles from Kerala, smoked pork from the North East, and chawal ke pakwan from Sindh.

In 2025, India's luxury spirits scene looks less like a European bar manual and more like a cultural archive. This is the hyperlocal renaissance.

Brands are tweaking their mixology not to make India more “global”, but to make global luxury more Indian. Restaurants are building tasting menus that spotlight single estate cacao, A2 ghee washed infusions, Himalayan citrus, and Gond art spice blends – each cocktail and dish sitting like a memory, on a table that finally dares to celebrate its own.

From Heritage to Highball