This writer feels that community festivals develop a certain structure to bring people with shared interests closer. The Cocktail Festival — as it enters its second edition — follows an interesting format, which will connect cocktail enthusiasts through a passport. Spilling the beans about the concept, Vidhi Puri, founder of the organising community, The Cocktail Story, shares, “Last time, due to the pandemic-induced restrictions, we could organise the festival in only five Delhi-based bars.

This time, we have expanded to three cities, including Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Once people buy a permit or passport, they can get 10 free cocktails — one at each partner bar in the city. The permit also lists out names of other places that are participating in the pub crawl.” Puri adds that the passport is stamped each time a person gets a free drink against it.