The Library Bar at The Leela Palace New Delhi has long been one of my favourite places to sit with a drink when I want to slow down after dinner. It is cosy, polished and indulgent, where you can sit for hours without feeling the need to rush through your drink. And then there are the books.
For someone who enjoys both literature and cocktails, The Library Bar has always had an obvious advantage. But on my latest visit, I found myself spending as much time reading the cocktail menu as I did looking at the drinks arriving at the table.
The reason is Literary Mixology, Volume II, the bar’s latest cocktail programme inspired by some of the world’s best-known literary works. The idea sounds simple enough, but the execution is anything but. Instead of merely borrowing names from books, the bartenders have tried to interpret their mood and personality through flavour, technique and presentation.
There is Beloved by Toni Morrison, Cosmos by Carl Sagan and Farewell, My Lovely, among others. Each has its own character, and the cocktails don’t follow the same formula.
Cosmos
Some of the other cocktails are decidedly more adventurous. One uses deep-frozen tomatoes in place of regular ice. The tomatoes come from surplus produce at Le Cirque, and as they slowly thaw, they alter the drink. I liked the idea because it isn’t sustainability added as an afterthought. It is part of the cocktail itself.
My pick of the evening was Forever And A Day. It is a clear gin-based cocktail with floral notes, and it looks almost understated when it arrives. One sip, however, and there is much more going on. It is fragrant, smooth and flavourful, without losing the freshness that makes you want another sip.
Forever And A Day
Then there is pandan, parmesan cheese and house-made infusions, all used in ways that make you pause and wonder how the bartenders arrived at the combination.
The presentation deserves its own mention. The cocktail menu comes in the form of a bookmark tucked into leather-bound editions of the books that inspired the drinks. It is a small detail, but it makes the whole concept click. You aren’t simply ordering a cocktail; you are being given a little introduction to the story behind it.
The Library Bar team says the second edition comes after two years of research, experimentation and collaborations with more than 60 bars around the world. That background is evident in the drinks, particularly in the techniques and unexpected combinations.
But what I enjoyed most was that the literary theme never felt like a gimmick. You can come here because you love books, because you love cocktails, or simply because you want a relaxed evening with a beautifully made drink.
