First Take: At The Library Bar, The Leela Palace New Delhi, Every Drink Tells A Tale

Now, touching on this business of drinking. The old hobnobbing and raising of toasts, you know? Where do we stand on that?

It's always better with friends and family, isn't it? Sitting alone with a drink at one's elbow, gaze fixed on the abyss, is always a shade too dark. It's best done with friends and family, I say.

The enjoyment redoubles when it happens at a sweet, designated spot meant just for it, like a bar. It reaches its zenith, however, when that bar comes with a personality: a costume theme, say, or a menu built around one.

Well, there I've popped the subject. One such bar in Delhi is The Library Bar at The Leela Palace New Delhi.

Literary Mixology, Volume II At The Library Bar

If The Library Bar commands any currency for its name in Delhi, it's because it is built on a curiously literary concept. As the name suggests, the books in The Library are not simply for decor but are, rather, the life and soul of the whole binge. They are the foundation for an elaborate cocktail programme, the interior design, the ambience and the whole landscape in general.

Following the success of its original Literary Mixology menu, the bar has now unveiled Literary Mixology, Volume II, a collection that draws upon some of the gems and giants of literature.

The idea is simplicity itself: translate the mood, narrative and emotional texture of a book into a cocktail. A fine idea in theory; in practice, however, it demands grit and skill, culinary technique as well as literary sensibility. To come up with a good cocktail alone is a challenge. To come up with a cocktail that encapsulates the world of a big, baggy book is genius. And if anyone can pull it off, it is the genius of a multidisciplinarian.

What’s On The Menu At The Library Bar

One couldn't give a better picture of the bar than by relating that it has been consistently recognised among India's 30 Best Bars for about five years. Its interiors, mirroring those of a dark academia library in an English castle, evoke a sense of a bygone era, with Chesterfield chairs, a curated selection of leather-bound novels and decent ambient music.

The latest edition of Literary Mixology continues The Library Bar's philosophy of lending each cocktail the whole depth and intensity of a literary tome. The collection moves effortlessly between bright tropical concoctions and spirit-forward classics, with three favourites from the inaugural menu returning as Legacy Cocktails, a testament to the programme's original chapter.

The menu takes off with a stiff and crisp Forever And A Day, based on the 2018 James Bond novel written by Anthony Horowitz. If you've gotten ready to Puttin' On The Ritz by Dutch musician Taco and come out for a quick drink around 8 in the evening, Forever And A Day is just the one. Like Bond, the drink is crisp, elegant and deceptively complex. In it, banana-infused gin, elderflower, Chardonnay and citrus are rounded off with rosemary milk clarification and curry leaf oil.

Next on the list is Still Life. Inspired by Louise Penny's debut Inspector Gamache novel, it is as compelling a highball as it is contemplative, mirroring the sophistication of the mystery. Beloved, inspired by Toni Morrison's masterpiece, combines gin, sake and mezcal with house rhubarb distillate and a saline accent. The drink is served with a Parmesan cracker that cleverly complements its profile, easily one of the highlights of the menu.

David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest translates the novel's complexity into a tropical binge of pandan vodka, ripe pineapple, coconut elixir and bright citrus. Milk clarification gives it remarkable clarity and a velvety finish.

Taking inspiration from Carl Sagan's celebrated work, Cosmos blends dill-infused gin, tequila, mastiha, tomato water and elderflower into a botanical cocktail. The Sagan touch: instead of ice, the curators use frosted tomatoes to do the job.

For fanciers of enduring classic whisky cocktails, Farewell, My Lovely channels Raymond Chandler's noir world through truffle-fat-washed rye whiskey, Fernet Branca, sweet vermouth and chocolate bitters, delivering a rich, lingering finish in a heavy-set glass. If you like it strong, you will certainly like this.

The Agony and the Ecstasy, named after Irving Stone's novel on Michelangelo, is bold without being overpowering. Tequila blanco, lychee distillate, fresh lime and habanero-saffron tincture are crowned with mango-chilli foam for a balanced interplay of heat, fruit and spice.

Completing the new collection is Kon-Tiki, inspired by Thor Heyerdahl's famous expedition. A blend of aged rum, Metaxa, pineapple, passionfruit, citrus and homemade falernum creates an easy-drinking tropical cocktail with surprising depth.

While typically I'd pick one drink as the highlight of the menu, the highlight here was this: while concept bars are often dismissed as mere eyewash, The Library Bar presents each drink with a handsome hardbound copy of the book it's based on, at once justifying the concept and lending the entire experience a rare sense of authenticity. By the time you reach the end of your evening, you feel quite like the fatigued author at his dimly lit table, with a tall stack of books and a belly full of liquor.

RR Verdict

Seen fairly and squarely, with little effort and turnaround, The Library Bar occupies the top drawer within the concept bar culture in the country, and with its Literary Mixology, Volume II, it only appears poised to strengthen that reputation further. It is not at every corner in the city that you find drinks trying to match the depth of a novel you might love; it is not at every corner in the city that you find drinks served with the novels they're based on. As such, one leaves with the agreeable notion that both the bartender and the bookseller have done right by you, a rather uncommon alignment of affairs and one certainly worth raising a toast to.

The Information

Address: The Leela Palace New Delhi, Africa Avenue, Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, Delhi 110023

Timings: 5 pm to 2 am