Behind bars, at home: Here’s what's keeping bartenders busy post lockdown

After a challenging pandemic pause, as parties move to homes and hotel suites, bartenders are using the creative freedom of freelance gigs to tailor inventive cocktails and experiences

House parties over restobars. Intimate gatherings over heaving dance floors, and an elevated home bar experience over over-priced cocktails at a restaurant. As life slowly crawls back to a new normal, parties at home are replacing gatherings at local bars. And as hosts cater to these new parameters, curated catering menus and home bar experiences have become the order of the day. Bartenders who were forced to go solo after food and beverage establishments were shut down due to pandemic restrictions, have found freelance bartending a liberating career detour.

In Chennai, where bars recently opened their doors, after a protracted closure, bartenders have found new avenues to augment their incomes. Praveen Mohan, who worked at a bar in the IT corridor of the city, has taken on house parties since 2020, sometimes on the beach front, some at spacious apartments, where hosts wanted a restobar experience, but in a safer space.