Spend enough time eating and drinking out right now and you’ll notice something hard to name but easy to feel the flavours have become quieter, yet deeper. Cocktails aren’t aggressively citrusy, sauces linger without heaviness, and even simple ingredients seem to carry memory. Behind that shift isn’t a new superfood or technique, but an old idea returning to centre stage: fermentation. From cocktail bars to contemporary kitchens, chefs and bartenders are letting time, microbes and patience do the work they once forced with sugar, acid and heat and diners are tasting the difference.
Fermentation has quietly transformed modern mixology — from house-made vinegars to kombucha and lacto-ferments. How does it actually change flavour?
Yangdup Lama, Co-Founder of the India Bartender Show, the change begins with the guest. People no longer want obviously sweet drinks; they want cocktails that feel natural and grounded. Fermented fruits, kokum and savoury infusions create structure rather than garnish, making a drink feel complete instead of constructed. Abhishek Banerjee, Assistant Manager at Tulleeho, says fermentation adds a subtle savoury depth impossible to bottle and the kind that makes someone pause mid-sip and ask what they’re tasting. Chef Ajay Chopra, Brand Chef of Paashh sees the same effect in food: fermentation intensifies flavour so dishes don’t need over-seasoning. Head Mixologist Fay Barretto of Soraia, Scarlett House and Gigi explains that kombucha, vinegars and rice ferments replace the traditional lemon-and-sugar backbone, giving softer acidity and texture so sweetness evolves naturally. In kitchens, Anand Morwani from Gaijin describes fermentation as creating tension and rounded acidity and persistent umami, while Ashwin Singh from Akina, Aspect Hospitality uses fermented tomato water and aged elements to add depth without heaviness. Adding to this, Amol Arora of DEA explains that fermentation is responsibility: careful attention slowly softens acidity and deepens flavour. And at Barbet & Pals, bartenders Jeet and Chirag build cocktails with lacto fruits and natural sodas so acidity, sweetness and salinity already live inside the ingredient and balance exists before the drink is built.
Cocktails are consumed quickly. Why spend days fermenting something for a drink finished in seconds?
Lama believes the answer is experience by when guests know a drink carries real process, they taste it with more intention. Banerjee often shows fermentation jars behind the bar so people understand that the ten-minute drink may have taken weeks to build. Chopra feels speed is exactly why fermentation matters; flavour is already developed, so cooking becomes simpler and more confident. Barretto agrees that guests don’t need science, they feel the depth first and only later learn the drink carried days of quiet work. Morwani calls it respect for time, where patience replaces technique as the hero. Singh says it changes kitchen thinking entirely and chefs start preparing for weeks ahead, not just service. And for Jeet and Chirag, the contrast is the point: a cocktail may disappear in seconds, but that brief moment carries days of observation and adjustment. The guest experiences ease; the maker experiences waiting.
Fermentation sits close to spoilage. Where is the line between control and decay?
Chopra puts it bluntly to pay attention. Taste daily and it ferments, ignore it and it spoils. Morwani expands that control isn’t sterilising but guiding conditions: salt, oxygen and temperature shape flavour until it’s alive but not lost. Singh approaches it gently, fermentation isn’t letting things go wild but listening to them, adjusting until sweetness and umami appear without adding anything. Barretto sees the same principle in drinks where fermentation creates structure rather than chaos. Banerjee emphasises safety and observation in beverage practice, while Lama believes this discipline is what keeps fermentation grounded in craft rather than novelty.
Is fermentation a trend or a return?
Across kitchens and bars, the answers converge. Lama sees storytelling, Chopra sees practicality, Barretto sees balance, Morwani and Arora see respect for time, Singh sees memory, Banerjee sees craft, and Jeet and Chirag see honesty in flavour.
What connects them all is restraint. Fermentation reduces correction, sugar and noise.
In a fast industry, it slows the maker down, so the guest simply tastes something that feels complete.
