Aashie Bhatnagar

"The Challenge
A key problem for a primary Indian producer is access to markets and small beekeeping societies produce various flavors of honey that never reach urban markets. Despite the availability of diverse flavors, urban consumers are exposed only to uniform-tasting honey.

The Solution
I curated a chain connecting consumers, bartenders, beekeepers and farmers by the NFC card, that contains information to empower bartenders to create cocktails using honey, like a honey flavor pairing guide, along with the details of farms and beekeepers that they can source from.

A trip to moonshine honey project with sold-out masterclasses has emerged as a transformative platform, proving the interest of the Indian bar community in learning more about honey and also converting more bartenders into passionate advocates of honey as a superior alternative to conventional sugars. Currently, 50 NFC cards have been sent across India, and I have connected to 15 bars in my city.

The Partners
A garage project in 2014 to Asia and India's first Meadery, they search for quality honey from the hills of Uttarakhand to the forests of Nilgiris and look for beekeepers who source responsibly and don't compromise on quality. They are connected with farmers and help to give them employment as their secondary income by keeping bee boxes in their farms.

According to IWSR 2022, the global benchmark for beverage alcohol data, India is one of the recognized markets globally. At my bar, we use 30kg of honey in a month. With over 2,00,000 bars in the country, even if 10% of bars take this initiative, which is possible with education and supply chain management, we can make a huge impact in the lives of all these communities."

Bee Like Me

Glass: Japanese Highball
Garnish: Coconut Pollen and Honey Bottle
Method: Build Up all the ingredients in a highball glass. Add slab ice and stir.
Ice: Spear ice

Ingredients:
60 ml Ketel One Family-Made Vodka
120 ml Community Soda

To make Community Soda:
1 liter Coconut Water
50g Pandan Leaf
90g Acacia honey
3g Citric Acid
1.50g Malic Acid

-Chop the pandan leaf and let it sous vide with coconut water and acacia honey at 45 degree Celsius for 2 hours.
- Put in the ice bath and strain the liquid.
-Add Citric and Malic acid.
-Charge the chilled liquid with CO2 twice.

To make Coconut pollen and honey bottle garnish:
Coconut pollen and honey tie up with a string and wrapped over pandan leaf.