An Interview with Minakshi Singh
DISCARD: Hi Minakshi! First things first, how did you first start in the bar industry?
M: I was pursuing hotel management, and like most college kids I was taking up odd jobs to make extra pocket money and I stumbled upon bartending for private events. In fact, working the bar was paying more than double and that itself was my reason to go for it! Once I started bartending at private events though, I realised that I truly enjoyed it. There was so much energy and excitement - the thrill of it and the adrenalin rush was massive. I went on to work fourteen hours without complaining, with few breaks, and used to look forward to these gigs. As I was inching towards graduating, I was more and more sure, that this is truly something I was passionate about. I wanted to learn more, see more and experience more of this side of the industry, which was fairly nascent at the time. Mind you this was seventeen years ago!
D: What made you choose to make hospitality your career?
M: Oh, I was instantaneously attracted to it! I was lucky to find my passion so early on. Right from the brands, to their stories, to production and mixology, it all intrigued me! The fact was that at that time bartending was illegal for women in India (believe it or not!), so I didn’t have an option to carry on, and hence chose to work for companies that worked closely with liquor brands - sales as well as marketing. I so badly wanted to be a part of it, that I chose to still be a part of it no matter what.
D: Is it right to say that, particularly as a woman, choosing a career in hospitality is not the norm in India? What challenges did this present?
M: Well, not really. We are very much part of the industry, but then there are male dominated roles and then there are others. For example, until a few years back, you wouldn’t see too many women chefs. Similarly, bars and bartending were (and are) firmly male dominated. It is also an industry with late night shifts and erratic hours, which doesn’t help. The safety and security of women is a huge issue in India, and the liability of it mostly falls on the employers, the small independent owners have a tough time managing that given the costs of transportation and strict rules.
D: Who inspired you - or was there anyone you looked up to when you started your career?
M: My biggest inspiration in the industry has been my current business partner, Yangdup Lama. He is a very well known mixologist and industry veteran, in fact it was him who first employed me to bartend at private events, and while working together over a period of time, we planned to open our own bar. This was back in 2005! I can proudly say that I learnt from the best. I also learnt a lot from my first employer at the time - Tulleeho - which was an online bar review and bar consultancy start-up. Being their first employee, I learnt a lot about building a team, entrepreneurship, but also organisation, and delegation. I can easily say that a lot of my work ethics were shaped in those early years!
D: How did you progress from bartender to bar owner?
M: For me bartending never could become a profession as such (as mentioned above!), and hence I moved to the sales and marketing of alcoholic beverages and joined an online start-up (if anyone remembers Y2K!!!). Tulleeho, which was a founded as a consultancy, bar review, and training website, was working closely with liquor brands. I was most excited to be working on that side of the job, as it was something entirely new to me! The job profile was fun, and at the time I got to travel a lot. That also gave me a unique perspective on how India was drinking, and what we could do to shape it. Working with giants like Diageo and Bacardi also gave me international exposure. From there, I moved to working with Pernod Ricard, in their trade marketing department, where the job involved me working directly with hotels, restaurants, and bars. Whilst I always had the dream to open my own bar someday, I think in retrospect those were my founding stones. I am an instinctive marketeer, with my ear firmly to the ground, and in some ways that has worked in our favour, with how I operate and function our bars. Now, since we were talking on and off for years about starting our own bar, I finally took the plunge, quit my job, put in all my savings, and started my first bar with Yangdup. This was 2012. Naive as we were, we had no clue how crazy tough it would be.
D: What’s the concept behind Cocktails and Dreams Speakeasy?
M: This is fun. So, we couldn’t afford the high street rental (obviously), and hence were looking for locations that still fitted our requirements (read budget), even if they were a bit away from our dream location. In doing so we ended up in a suburban town (Gurgaon, where we are located is twenty kilometres away from the main South Delhi action). Since we detest malls, we could only find the location where we are, and it was a ground and basement site, which was way way below the expected rent, (and had free parking!). We were most chuffed with how we cracked the deal, until a few months later when we realised that the location that we had chosen had NOTHING around it, we were the only bar or restaurant in a radius of three kilometres. We always wanted to make a cozy neighbourhood bar known for its cocktails and bartenders, so since we were in a basement, and a (tad) bit difficult to locate, we created it as a speakeasy. The name “Cocktails & Dreams” was my business partner’s company name, and we chose to keep that. We know its a mouthful, but soon I started calling it “Speaks” and that stuck! The bar has been created with images of gangsters, rumrunners, and bootleggers, and we have kept a very casual vibe. In fact we are still exactly the same as when we opened, and that is something we take a lot of pride in. We have a lot of regulars who have become close friends and are like family!
D: What’s the concept behind Sidecar? How is it different to your first bar?
M: Sidecar is a total dream bar. We did everything that we had ever dreamt of. Yangdup got a MASSIVE bar, with a big liquor inventory and all the fancy equipment to go with it, and I got my bookstore, curated tea and coffee and food menu, and a beautiful location in our initial dream location of South Delhi! It was the classic cocktail Sidecar that we used as our muse. In our brief we chose really classic and a tad European look and feel, and have kept it really timeless and elegant. Just like the classic Sidecar.
It is different and yet very similar to our first bar. While the scale of the bars is different, in both the venues the BAR is our central and focal point. That is where all the action is, and the bartenders and service are our key deliverables. We have also kept the programming of events the same; we do weekly and seasonal special menus, along with live bands, quizzes, book readings, tastings, trivia nights, and many other fun events. In fact, that is something I enjoy most about running our bars - we meet so many like-minded people who are looking to get away from the mundane and routine.
D: Do you still bartend, or are you more behind the scenes?
M: Not really! I have been really busy doing everything else I guess (accounting to manpower management), and I am happy about that. I have always enjoyed being behind the scenes.
D: How has the bar industry in India changed over the past decade?
M: It has changed massively! We started Speaks eight years ago, and at that time it was tough to get guests to try an Old Fashioned or a Whisky Sour. It has taken us all good four or five years to get to now, where restaurants and bars are focusing on their beverage menu, bartenders, and training. It has been a very gratifying change as well - we have seen chefs become celebrities and now it’s time for bartenders to get the same adulation. While we have been lucky to see such great growth, we still need lots of support to make a difference. Indian liquor laws and policies are archaic, and are tough to manoeuvre. We are left busy managing the paperwork and bureaucratic issues, and have no time left to be creative! It also takes very deep pockets to run businesses in India, and hence hospitality folk rarely own bars and restaurants, and they are mostly run by investors who are chasing numbers. We need to break that, and get more hospitality folks involved in running the show. It is gradually happening, and I see a very bright future for us all!
D: How has COVID affected your businesses? Are things improving with the vaccination plans?
M: Big time. We were shut for six months from mid-March through September, and post re-opening we have been operating with many restrictions. Also, since we run bars, we have never really ventured into home delivery or food innovation, so the pandemic hit us hard. For most of the time we have been trying to innovate and make money (#pivoting) to keep our heads above water. I am still very happy that we could pay our salaries and rent along with the excise fees and other dues, and that we are still here. We are hoping (and praying) that the worst is behind us, and that finally we can breathe easy. It has been mentally challenging like hell, which I am sure you know.
While we are positive about the vaccine, we still have a few months (hopefully) before we can breathe easy!
D: Where do you look for inspiration, what are your favourite bars in India and around the world?
M: I love to travel, and have been lucky to have experienced some great bars in India as well internationally. In Delhi I love going to Home, (especially their terrace), Hoots, in Perch for their awesome barkeeps. Just before the pandemic I visited Bombay and quite enjoyed the drinks at O Pedro, and Arbor Brewing company in Bangalore are doing some great stuff with their brews overall. Around the world there are some amazing bars that we have been inspired by, but Milk & Honey (the OG), The Dead Rabbit, The Artesian: these have been our icons. They have shaped the new age of cocktails for all of us. Closer to Asia, I am dying to visit Manhattan, Native, Coa, The Pontiac, Wise King, and many many others!
D: What are your ambitions for the future?
M: You mean my global domination plans? Well, run very many bars, make my own spirit, go international, write a book - the list is endless! Most of all though, I want to make a difference in the industry for the better.