India, March 16 -- The inaugural edition of India Bartender Week, held recently in Gurgaon, featured some impressive names. International superstar Erik Lorincz, commissioned to create a cocktail for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, was in attendance. So was Michito Kaneko, who is in the vanguard of Japanese bartending, along with influential industry heavyweights like Arijit Bose and Pankaj Balachandran.

Naturally, the audience included various stakeholders from India's $17.5 billion bar and cafe industry. However, the most prominent attendees were young, ruddy-faced men and women from smaller towns across the country. Some already worked in bars around Delhi, while others had travelled from further afield. They packed the ...