Think women bartenders and I think of Coyote Ugly, the movie where five young girls resurrect a fledging restaurant business with their moves behind and on the bar. As I made my way to Smoke House Grill, a trendy restaurant and bar in Delhi’s Greater Kailash on a freezing night, I, of course, was attempting something far less ambitious. The Delhi High Court had recently allowed women to serve alcohol in bars and I had decided to check how the city’s night birds react to the idea.
It was around 10 pm when I walked in. The evening had just begun. A few tables were already occupied. The head bartender, Uday Prakash Upadhyaya, gave me a big grin, and invited me to the “other side”.  

Stacked behind was a mind-boggling variety of alcohol—25 different single malts, vodka of every conceivable flavour and add-ons like bitters and Tabasco. A number of fruits like apples and watermelon were stacked neatly. “It’s important not to make a mess,” said Upadhyaya, handing me a cocktail shaker.

I was about to learn how to mix my first drink. “Have you ever made a cocktail before?” he asked. Besides Margeritas, not really, I confessed.
I got down to making the Smoke House Special, an Apple Martini. It was pretty simple: 60 ml Smirnoff, 15 ml of Apple Pucker’ apple juice and cubed ice, all mixed together, strained and served in a chilled glass. “This is easy,” I told Upadhyay, who was busy polishing the bar.

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