The Head Mixologist at Indore’s Atelier V, who won Bartender of the Year 2026 at Diageo’s World Class, on his return to a city with no bartending culture, early pushback, and how India’s cocktail story is changing
India’s cocktail story is changing, slowly but steadily. And if there is a single event that’s driving that change, it has to be Diageo’s World Class, a bartending competition often described as the ‘Olympics of mixology’. Over the last 12 years, it has built the most exacting arena for global bartending, elevated the craft of cocktails, and rewritten the rules of the profession. What began as a high-stakes contest has become a training ground for over 400,000 bartenders across 60 countries. Bartending, as the competition has shown year after year after year, is no longer an auxiliary skill tucked behind restaurant doors, but a discipline with its own grammar, hierarchies, and hunger.
The 2026 regional finals, covering India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, which was held in Gurugram recently, felt like an expansion of its growing ambition. For the first time, more than 800 entrants were brought together on a single competitive platform, an unwieldy but exhilarating number that only showed the momentum the bartending scene has gained in the last decade or so. Across two days, contestants were pushed through a series of challenges designed to expose not just what they knew, but how they thought. As the clock ticked, with the judges gearing up to decide the verdict and the audiences watching with bated breath as they cheered the bartenders on stage, the competition revealed its core belief: bartending, at its highest level, is a test of composure as much as creativity.
Karan Dhanelia, Head Mixologist at Atelier V in Indore, was declared as Bartender of the Year 2026 in only his second attempt at the competition. Hailing from a Tier-2 city known for its obsession with street-food rather than cocktail culture, Karan’s victory defied the usual dominance of bartenders from metros ruling the roost. He not only claimed the overall title but also swept the Speed Round and The Singleton 12 Sensory Sessions; his win is only a testimony to the fact the cocktail map of India is expanding far beyond Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai.
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Karan’s drinks feature savoury Indian produce instead of the usual sweet-spice formulas that dominate many menus elsewhere. His Don Julio 1942 (an ultra-premium añejo tequila from Mexico, which has smooth, complex flavour, with notes of caramel, vanilla, and toasted oak) cocktail stood out for its refusal to stay within familiar lines, layering unexpected elements like onion soda and spirulina (the blue-green algae packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and protein, which has been used by NASA as a dietary supplement for astronauts on space) into a drink that felt like a deliberate act of disruption.
In this interview to The Federal, Karan traces his journey without romanticising any part of it. He describes the career-level gamble of choosing Indore, the initial resistance at the bar, and the deliberate menu redesign that finally clicked once guests tasted the intent behind the flavours. He resists the idea that Tier-2 wins are “surprises,” arguing instead that the World Class has finally levelled the field, allowing talent from anywhere to surface, while welcoming the rise in women finalists as a sign of a more competitive, inclusive industry. Even as the win opens global doors, Dhanelia remains rooted, open to change, driven by consistency, and candid that his only real fear now is failure, which he’s learning to confront rather than avoid. Excerpts from an interview:
You returned to Indore after seeing cocktail culture bloom in Jaipur while at Paro, a deliberate comeback to a city where the scene was almost absent. What specific risk calculation went into betting on Indore’s food-obsessed culture instead of chasing the obvious metro spotlight, and what early resistance did you face at Atelier V that almost made you second-guess that move?
Jaipur’s cocktail scene is blooming at an immense speed. People are slightly more aware about their drinks and want to learn more about it, but sometimes it’s easier to draw on a clean canvas. That was Indore for me. The risk was immense. It was my career I was gambling with, but eventually it paid off. Cocktails are still new for the people in Indore. They are traditionally more inclined towards food, but they are willing to learn. I love educating people about the craft, the culture, and the creativity that goes behind a cocktail.
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The taste of the drink matters, but the stories matter just as equally. So, I designed a new menu for the bar and people loved the concept, effort and the flavours. Oftentimes, that same intent can have the opposite effect; while the goal is to educate, not everyone is open to receiving it. I did face some backlash and criticism along the way, but it never made me lose sight of why I started.
Your jury-impressing serve used Don Julio 1942 as a base, and featured roasted tomato and onion clarified soda, and a spirulina spice-infused with hot honey. Walk us through the exact “why” moment that convinced you this particular savoury cocktail would land with an international panel that has tasted everything. Was there a point during testing when even you thought, “This might be too far”?
The major flavours were onions, but the concept behind that cocktail was far more thoughtful. Don Julio 1942 is a very complex spirit and it’s the legacy of Don Julio Gonzalez. To work with such a complex spirit, I wanted to use something far more layered and unconventional. So, I took a peek into the Mexican kitchen, where simple produce is transformed into something far more interesting. I used salsa as inspiration but gave it a smoky twist by roasting the tomatoes and onions, then converting that into a liquid and clarifying it to create a very savoury, umami-forward concoction. I’m not afraid of experimenting with my drinks. I love using non-conventional flavours and ingredients and try to make each drink as unique as possible. Sometimes it works in my favour; sometimes it doesn’t, but when it doesn’t, I think the fault lies in the balance of the cocktail. Get the balance right, and the drink sits perfectly. According to me, when it comes to flavours, there’s nothing like “this might be too far” — the sky is the limit.
In only your second World Class attempt you swept the Speed Round, the Singleton 12 Sensory Sessions, and the overall title. What brutal self-audit happened between year one and year two that turned your talent into the composure the jury praised? Which specific flaw from your first run still haunts you?
This reminds me of a learning moment from the previous year’s World Class competition. I was on stage delivering my cocktail and speech almost perfectly. We were given 10 minutes to create two of our signature cocktails. Suddenly, the host announced that only five minutes were left and my heart dropped. I don’t know why, because everything was going perfectly. My drink was on time, my speech was smooth, but for at least two seconds, everything went dark. I completely blanked out on stage.
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Somehow, after a couple of minutes, I regained my composure and finished the round with trembling hands. In that moment, I made a promise to myself to win this. Since then, I’ve followed a simple approach. Just like you don’t write down songs to memorise them, but listen to them on repeat until they stay with you, I wrote down my script and recorded it the way I wanted to perform it, and listened to it constantly, sometimes even while sleeping.
My biggest lesson from last year’s regional finals was to work smarter. During my performance this year, I didn’t pay attention to anything except the judges. I stayed completely focused. A lot of credit also goes to the gym. Working out clears the mind, keeps you sharp, active, and alert. In the end, it all comes down to consistency with your drinks, your script, your preparation, your daily routine, and your life. Simple things, done consistently, eventually become the reason you win.
We are told that Indore no longer wants “single malts with water.” But the national conversation still frames Tier-2 wins as a “surprise.” Do you see this victory as proof that the metros have actually fallen behind in reading India’s real drinking evolution, or is it simply that World Class finally built a stage big enough for the rest of the country to be heard?
I don’t think any city is behind anymore; we’re all playing catchup now. It’s really about World Class making the stage equally accessible to the entire country. It doesn’t matter if you work at the best bar in India, if you’re a good bartender, you can win the competition even from a tier-two city. World Class has proven that it doesn’t discriminate between cities. If you have that fire in you, you will eventually win: the competition, as well as in life.
This year’s Top 8 had the highest-ever female representation, alongside a clear shift towards Tier-2 cities like Indore and Jaipur. As someone who just beat a field that looked very different from previous years, what unspoken industry barriers do you believe the three women finalists had to clear that you didn’t, and what responsibility does your win now carry towards accelerating that change?
Everyone should be given an equal opportunity to prove themselves, and I love the fact that this year, World Class witnessed the highest number of female competitors in the top eight. It definitely made the competition more challenging. I don’t think women need any push from me for this change, they are already doing an incredible job of breaking these taboos.
Winning World Class is often sold as a career rocket in terms of visibility, network, and global stage. But for someone who’s only three years out of IHM Bhopal and built everything in a Tier-2 city, what’s the one unglamorous fear you have about what this win might actually demand of you personally and professionally over the next 12–18 months?
I don’t have any fear of the changes I may have to go through. I’m open to anything that can help me grow and prepare better for the globals. Yes, I’m young, and I think that allows me to stay fresh and adaptable as I work towards becoming a better representative for the global finals. Change is a part of life: if we don’t adapt, we don’t grow. At the same time, I’ll make sure I stay true to my values and my roots, and remain grounded, humble, and positive through it all. The only fear I have left is the fear of failure, but I’m learning how to understand it and work through it.
