In every drink he stirs, Yangdup Lama carries a quiet inheritance from the hills of Darjeeling. He may have spent more years in Delhi than in his hometown, but he’ll tell you, “the heart and the soul are still very much a Darjeeling boy.” The warmth, the openness, the sense of community he grew up with seeps into the way he thinks about hospitality, his bars, and even the cocktails he creates.
Lama believes that our early environment marks us in ways we often don’t notice until much later. For him, the culture of Darjeeling; the intimacy of shared spaces, the easy camaraderie, the slower pace remains embedded in how he designs his bars: never loud imitations of the city, but rooms with heart, comfort, and a very personal vibe.
Bartending wasn’t a dream Lama carried with him to hotel school. It wasn’t even on his radar. Assigned to work the bar at Hyatt Regency, Delhi, he stumbled into the world of cocktails almost by accident. But the first time he crafted a drink, something clicked.
“The excitement was tremendous,” he recalls. “And with every day I spent behind the bar, I started to grow.” Soon, curiosity turned into passion: learning about spirits, studying cocktails, refining technique. What began as a chance evolved into a career spanning three decades and counting. Lama jokes that he’s still not bored. “Every day is a new journey,” he says. “It’s not just about drinks. It’s about people. About learning.”
When Lama first stepped behind the counter, bartending wasn’t yet seen as a serious profession in India. The food-and-drink scene was still dominated by hotels, and recognition for bartenders was rare. Today, things look dramatically different. With the rise of independent bars, the explosion of cocktail culture, and the global visibility of Indian hospitality, the craft is finally being seen for what it is: serious, skilled, and creative. Beyond Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy and Delhi’s award-winning Sidecar, Lama also runs The Brook, a mountain-inspired bar in Gurugram and The Old House in Kathmandu, all while shaping bar programs across the country.
“Hospitality has changed drastically,” Lama reflects. “Now you can specialise. You don’t need a hotel school background to be part of this industry. You can be a chef, a bartender, or a restaurateur. The horizon is wide open.”
And for bartenders, that openness has meant freedom to tell uniquely Indian stories. In Lama’s world, regional inspiration is the backbone of originality. Just as a French chef is best positioned to express French cuisine, Lama believes Indian bartenders have the depth and nuance to present flavours rooted in this soil, refracted through their own experiences.
In a world where whisky sours and martinis can be found in any corner of the globe, Lama sees a shift: guests now want cocktails that belong to a place. They might fall back on a classic later in the evening, but they begin by asking What’s the signature here? What’s different?
That demand has opened doors for Indian bartenders to draw from local traditions, spices, and seasonal produce. “Regional has become global,” Lama says simply. Whether it’s cocktails inspired by Ladakhi barley, Darjeeling tea, or Goan cashew fruit, the possibilities are endless.
Lama has always been a student of the world around him. Pop-ups, bar takeovers, collaborations with bartenders from Tokyo to London to Leh—all of these, he sees as opportunities for growth. “When we travel, we carry our spices and our flavours with us. People are zapped by ingredients they’ve never heard of. And when others come here, they bring us things that are new for us. It’s mutual learning. That’s the beauty.”
Lama’s bar, Brook, is part of a collaboration with Tsas by Dolkhar in Leh. What unfolded was less a bar menu and more a bridge between cultures, ingredients, and the timeless rhythm of the mountains.
Over the days that followed, Lama’s team walked barley fields, tasted chang straight from the village, crushed herbs in their palms. “Meeting the people who grow the ingredients, looking at their way of life and getting a first-hand experience, only helps to enhance the cocktail process,” Lama says. Tradition, too, found new expression in the glass. Chang and arak, both woven into Ladakh’s cultural memory, were reimagined, and Lama’s long-held dream came alive: butter tea as a cocktail.
“It’s always been a dream to bring and convert the butter tea into a cocktail,” Lama says. “And this time, I think we’ve cracked it. Purely because of the yak cheese, it’s delicious, and it pairs exceptionally well with the whisky.”
For him, such exchanges are necessary for pushing the industry forward. “Provided it’s done in a meaningful way,” he cautions. It’s about genuine connection, exposure, and learning for both bartenders and guests.
Thirty years in, Lama’s reputation is cemented: one of India’s most respected bartenders, co-owner of award-winning bars, mentor to a generation of young talent. Yet he remains rooted in the joy that first pulled him behind the counter. Meeting people. Sharing stories. Exploring cultures.
“We are giving tough competition to ourselves and to the world,” he says with quiet pride, reflecting on India’s rising presence in global bar rankings. But for Lama, competition is secondary. What matters most is authenticity, originality, and the simple delight of discovery.From Darjeeling’s slopes to Delhi’s buzzing nightlife, from chance beginnings to global recognition, Yangdup Lama’s story is less about cocktails than it is about character—an enduring belief that hospitality is as much about the heart as it is about the glass.
Q An unexplored Indian ingredient that should find its place in a cocktail?
A The Himalayan Juniper.
Q What do you drink when you’re not at work?
A Whisky on the rocks.
Q One ingredient you’d never put in a cocktail, no matter how trendy it is?
A Maybe the ladyfinger.
Q Negroni or Old-Fashioned?
A Old-fashioned
Q Your signature drink?
A The Manhattan that I make myself for me as well as for the guests.
Q The weirdest request you’ve ever had from a guest at a bar?
A Many years ago, someone came up to the bar. It was at a high-energy bar at the Hyatt. I was just two years into bartending, and I didn’t know what to do because the gentleman said, Long Island Ice Tea, but no ice, please.
Q If you weren’t a bartender, what would you be?
A Oh, it’s very clear I’d be a monk, and I love spiritual practices, and I think I’d do very well.
Q A cocktail that can instantly fix a bad day.
A It has to be a well-made Manhattan or a Martini.
Q A dream guest you’d love to serve at the bar
A Okay, definitely His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Q What’s playing in your bar when you’re working?
A When I’m working, it is always a nice classic. Probably Dean Martin.
Q What’s the most significant mixology trend you foresee?
A I think it’s very difficult to answer that question, but I feel now with the way we are evolving as a cocktail culture, not just in one part of the world, but across the globe, I think the bartenders will play an important role in the near future to set trends. So when the bartenders enjoy a certain drink collectively and they talk about it, I’m sure it will start to resonate with the consumer. Many of the trends will be set by bartenders in the near future.
Q Anything you’d like to say to young bartenders?
A Live each day to the fullest. Whatever you have to do as an assignment for that particular day as a bartender, do it honestly. Whether it is learning something new, mixing a drink, or setting up the back of the house, just do it honestly. And I’m sure there’s always a plan for you in the long run.
