People becoming discerning about drinks: first woman bartender

India's first woman bartender Shatbhi Basu says globalisation has made people more discerning about their choice of drinks.
Speaking to reporters at the launch of a gastro-pub here, She said while decades back people were not discerning about drinks, now globalisation has introduced them to new drinks.
Gastro-pub is a pub which specialises in serving high-quality food.
Shatbhi, who joined the profession at the age of 21 in Mumbai, said, "While customers were not adventurous in the past and we did not have access to ingredients, these days people have choices."
She regrets that in India women bartendes are still very few in numbers.

"It is about our society and culture. It is about parents being educated. We must remember women are part of society. If we evolve, society has to evolve," she said.

On the safety of women bartenders, she said, ""Bartenders are better than bouncers."
"In fact, your personality will dictate people's behaviour to you. Though I live in Mumbai, I have travelled throughout the country. Nowhere did I encounter any kind of negative reaction," she said.
Going back to the days when she was a novice in the profession, Shatbhi recalled, "I had initially wished to be a Chinese cuisine chef but that was not happening. Then one day, I was asked to step in the shoes of a bartender at a Mumbai restaurant and my manager asked me to prepare drinks for customers one day."

"As I was asked to prepare Martini cocktail without any previous experience, I did it on my instinct and from my knowledge about books on how to mix drinks. And once the customer asked for the second serving I knew it clicked."
Shatbhi has designed a number of bars in India and abroad including Singapore, Lima and New York.