"Worst Experience Is To Deal With Drunk People": Honest Confessions Of Desi Female Bartender

Behind the bar, Anisha Biswas is not just mixing drinks; she is shaping memories, one pour at a time. For her, "Each cocktail is a small symphony — bitters and sweetness, stirred or shaken, layered with meaning." She calls it "alchemy in a glass, a fleeting work of art meant to be savoured". The pride in her voice is loud and clear and is proof of the happiness she finds in her profession.

Anisha started her bartending career in Pune, and it has been around 2.5 years since she has been mixing spirits behind the bar.

A hospitality management graduate, there was a time when she wanted to be a sommelier. However, during COVID, when Anisha had time to introspect about her career choice, she decided to give spirits a shot and took up bartending.

"To be very honest, there was no inspiration behind my choice of career. I just cannot idolise anyone," she shares with a touch of honesty.

Anisha's father is a doctor and her mom, a teacher. "When I started, parents were totally against bartending." It took a lot of convincing on Anisha's part for her mother to warm up, but her father is still against it.

If you were to tell Anisha not to do something, she'd go ahead and do it and prove you wrong. "That's probably how I got into bartending, because my parents told me not to do it," she laughs. "Somehow I knew I had to prove them wrong."

"When one speaks of a bartender, even today, people imagine a man. Being there as a woman, standing at the bar, is quite nice, but in India, society still needs to mature to accept a woman behind the bar. As for the woman, who is actually standing behind the bar, she really needs to prove herself," says Anisha.

For Anisha, as a bartender, every day is a new chapter. "You meet different people, you get to create your own recipes, and you get to learn from your mistakes, so you get to make a fresh start daily."

A sad reality of the profession is that when things get busy at the bar, managers tend to push their male bartenders ahead, as they think women slow things down. But Anisha would love to change that notion. "Men have speed, and they can multitask. But so can women!"

What is it like having to deal with drunk people daily? "That's the worst experience," she says. "I have dealt with plenty of them. I try to be empathetic towards them and make sure they reach home safely. That's the best thing I think I can do with drunk people."

When asked about the perks of being a bartender, she actually takes a minute to think, and finally exclaims, "You can create your own recipes! Also, when I am behind the bar and see famous people walking in, I get thrilled to get the chance to serve them."

According to Anisha, how much should one tip a bartender? In India, is there even a culture of tipping a bartender? "When I give a cheque to a customer, they'll first see the service charge and want to remove it.

"For me, when people sit in the bar and have a good time, and they know the hospitality is on-point, there should be no problem offering a good tip. Abroad, they will tip you nicely. But in India, I don't see a lot of people doing that. In my opinion, a bartender should not be tipped Rs 50/-. If you are tipping, you should at least offer 10-15 per cent of the bill."

For Anisha, a complete no-no when it comes to bartending would be hitting on her. "Men will come a hit on you, and there should be a polite line that women bartenders need to draw."

Anisha's favourite drink would be tequila old-fashioned or tequila negroni. "Tequila has its own characteristics."

An ingredient she'd like to play around with is blue cheese. "I have done a lot of research around it. I like cheese and use it in alcohol. I take the cheese, put alcohol in it, mash it, cook it for 45 minutes, strain and place it in the freezer. The fat of the blue cheese will come out and form a layer on top, and that point in time, you remove it from the freezer, strain it and use it."

Anisha also loves to experiment with tea and coffee and the bartending videos she watched during COVID have really helped her along the journey. Her advice to aspiring women bartenders would be, "Think. Introspect. Because the job is not easy."

As for the future of bartending, she says, "I really hope that Indian's mindset changes towards a woman bartender. When they see a man doing something, they will encourage it. But that should apply to women as well, who do get picked on for stuff they do."

Also, the money in bartending in India is not that great, and Anisha can barely save. "I'm told in a few years I'll need to change my job because if I settle down and have to run a family, I can't do it with this salary."

But for now, Anisha would love to go with a flow. Does she have a plan for the next five or 10 years. "No! But one thing is for sure, I'll be a better version of myself." 

Published on: Sunday, November 23, 2025, 05:00 PM IST