Drinking across India isn’t homogeneous. The drinking culture changes with every city you visit – probably every 30 kilometers. We can safely say that it probably has dozens, or maybe more. Couple that with state excise laws, dry days, family attitudes, and local food traditions, and each city has written its own rulebook. Here are only seven of them.
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The Mecca of Money in India, Mumbai rarely drinks alone. You get to choose from a range of venues to drink in - old permit rooms, Irani cafés with cold beer and bun maska, loyal dive bars, and the newer cocktail rooms. These formats usually run on a communal table and a steady stream of food. In a city that gives you very little time, a drink is how you hold onto your people.
Delhi's real drinking happens before and beyond the bar: at house parties, farmhouse gatherings, terrace evenings, the all-important pre-drinks and the after-parties. Whisky and the "peg" are the language of hospitality. A real party would mean a full bar and an insistent host. The public scene, from Connaught Place to Hauz Khas to Gurgaon, exists, but it's the private pour that tells you how Delhi socialises. Never refuse a second round, else that turns into a negotiation.
Bengaluru is famous for its pubs and microbreweries. Daytime drinking is the norm, and founders and VCs talk investments over pints. Craft spirits and serious cocktail programmes are an add-on, though the baseline stays casual and conversational. The city feels like it is getting drinks between two meetings – chances are that it is. The laptop bag is an acceptable accessory at a bar hop in Bengaluru.
Also Read: Exploring Mumbai's Historic Beer Cafes And Irani Cafe Culture
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You cannot separate the adda from Kolkata’s drinking culture. To the uninitiated, the adda is famously a long, meandering, opinionated conversation. If you are drinking in the famous bars of Park Street, old-school clubs or a neighbourhood watering hole, you better have an opinion to defend. It could be about anything ranging from politics to cinema to football, not to forget literature. The drink supports the argument, and no one is in a hurry to leave till they have won at least one argument.
Susegad is another word in Konkani for slow and easy, and that’s how Goa likes to drink – slow, outdoors, cheap. Beach shacks, village taverns, and bars have invited people who love the slow life and a slow drink with lots of seafood as accompaniment. Though there are many upscale bars now, with cocktails you will probably mispronounce, the spirit continues to be of a relaxed pace. Feni, the local cashew and coconut spirit, carries real heritage and is finally getting its due in the state and beyond, and is a poster child of the ‘susegad’ life.
Chennai drinking is private. Most of the drinking scenes are in state-run retail, hotel bars, members' clubs, and restaurant bars, which carry much of the scene. The city's real social currency still runs on filter coffee and long family meals. Even though pubs and cocktail rooms have found their audience, particularly among younger crowds, the culture stays more reserved than in the northern metros. Drinking here is rarely a spectacle. It is something you do well, quietly, and without making a fuss about it.
As with everything in Punjab, the hospitality shapes the drinking culture. This means large portions, loud toasts, and food that never stops arriving. The social streak of the city is in contrast with an otherwise planned and orderly city. Drink at sector-based lounges and clubs, dhaba-style stops, and be part of a lively nightlife that is confident and celebratory no matter what the season or occasion. Here, an empty glass is treated as a host's failure.
Also Read: Where To Experience Old-School Kolkata Drinking Culture? 7 Bars And Pubs To Know
Put the cities side by side, and the pattern is clear. Mumbai drinks for belonging, Delhi for hospitality, Bengaluru for ease, Kolkata for conversation, Goa for leisure, Chennai for discretion, and Chandigarh for celebration. The liquid barely matters. This is the lens we probably need to use for trend reports – find out what each city drinks for – rather than measure them up on what they are drinking. The patterns also tell us not only about the spirits they drink but the spirit of the cities!
