Navjot Singh: 5 Drinks That Shaped My Life

Daiquiri

A drink that is my go-to on most days is the classic Daiquiri. The first one I made was horrible—it took me a good year-and-a-half to master it. On the face of it, it’s just sugar, lime juice and rum, but most people don’t know how to balance it. For me, that balance is the base for everything, which is why I find this drink so inspiring. I never say no to a Daiquiri, anywhere in the world! (laughs) It’s the easiest, yet the most complex drink to make.

Black Gold

At Lair, we do a spicy twist on it called Black Gold. I love taking on challenges, and while people aren’t used to spicy cocktails with rum, I wanted to tackle that head-on and make them love it.

Espresso Martini

Classic drinks are close to my heart, and I have always loved Espresso Martinis. People enjoy them, but many don’t like the bitter taste. I was curious about this and spent nearly six months studying coffee with a friend of mine. I learnt that coffee is not only about bitterness—it has layers of complexity in flavour. I discovered fruity notes like lychee, rose petals, cranberries and more.

Espresso Martini

At Lair, I want to keep classic drinks but also reinvent them. So how does one do that with an Espresso Martini? I wanted to make a fruity version, and naturally, I thought of mango because it’s a fruit that is quintessentially Indian. Many believe coffee and mango aren’t the best of friends, but I took that as a test. Our Espresso Martini at Lair is made with clarified mango water, into which I add coffee.

Banarasi Patiala

Growing up, we always had fresh sugarcane at home because of our farms. Back then, we’d mix vodka, since it doesn’t have much smell, with sugarcane juice to avoid getting caught drinking at home. Years later, I came across the Banarasi Patiala at Colaba SOCIAL in Mumbai, which, coincidentally, was also my first bar experience.

Ratnagiri Collins

I’ve always been a fan of local Indian flavours, and inspired by those memories, I created the Ratnagiri Collins. It brings together vodka, mango wine, burnt cinnamon bark, fresh sugarcane juice and lemon. A very different combination, but one that makes for easy sipping.

Pallonji’s Soda

During my management training days in Navi Mumbai in 2015, we would often travel to Mumbai on weekends. I remember visiting Parsi cafés and trying the very popular Pallonji’s sodas; the ice cream-flavoured one had a lovely, creamy taste. At Hideaway in Goa, too, I had a raspberry-flavoured soda, and later, at Hope & Sesame bar in Guangzhou, China, I tried a drink called Cookie & Dough.

Cheesecake Highball

Something clicked in my head, and for our new menu, we created the Cheesecake Highball. For me, blueberry cheesecake is the best, so we make a blueberry cheesecake with blueberry soda and then clarify it. The drink also brings together tequila, smoky tea and sea salt.

Tea

India runs on chai! (laughs) I love drinking tea, and often, when I come home really tired, I brew myself a masala tea with ginger, cardamom, black pepper, clove and a pinch of sea salt. But India also has such an incredible variety of teas. On Tuesdays, my team goes out for R&D, and that’s how we discovered Mittal Tea Stores in Delhi, which stocks so many kinds of tea.

One of them was Himalayan Pine Needle Tea, and we use it to make a beautiful drink called Wisdom. IIt brings together whiskey, prekese bark from Ghana and dry vermouth. Prekese bark has an earthy sweetness and flavour of chocolate, which complements this drink beautifully.

After Singh won World Class Bartender of the Year 2025, Lair went on to claim the eighth spot for India on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list.