Gyan Ranjan Barik and Biki of cocktail bar Little Bit Sober bring Kolkata’s storytelling-led cocktail culture to Chennai this weekend. “A great cocktail has a silent ingredient: the story behind it,” says Gyan. “Not marketing, but real memories, jokes, or experiments that found their way into a drink. Guests feel it even if they don’t know it.”
One of their drinks is inspired by a childhood ritual of eating kulfi in the rain. “Every time it rained, I would try and get one. I still do sometimes,” he laughs. “So when we were working on that drink, it felt natural to build it around that memory. It is a small piece of childhood that somehow found its way behind the bar.”
Together, they curate cocktails that pay tribute to Kolkata icons such as Nahoum’s and Flurys, capturing local stories, energy and heritage. “We are bringing a piece of home and seeing how it fits. Chennai’s craft scene is growing, and we are learning alongside it,” they reflect.
They also speak about the playful side of bartending: the real “tell” is the guest’s reaction, the wide eyes, the leaning in, the curiosity. A garnish they swear by is sorbet, which slowly melts into the drink and adds a final, unexpected layer of flavour.
On the biggest misconception about craft bars, Biki says, “People expect drinks to be fancy or strange for the sake of it. Like, ‘Oh, this has lavender, so it must taste like soap.’ But that is not the point. Our job is to make something unexpected feel familiar.” He points to a clarified Bloody Mary without tomato pulp, sharp, clean, yet recognisable, as an example of that shift.
The menu plays with flavours that seem like they should not work together, such as mustard and watermelon, but balance and restraint make them sing. Guests are encouraged to sip slowly, notice the subtleties, and savour the story behind each drink.
Cost for two: ₹2,000. On 25 October. From 7 pm onwards. At The Leather Bar, The Park, Chennai.
Email: shivani@newindianexpress.com
X: @ShivaniIllakiya
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