Bartenders in Bengaluru: what a bar at your party costs

You can book a bartender on their own, or a bar that brings everything else too. ABBS charges ₹4,000 for one bartender who pours your liquor. Ask what else that covers. A caterer we work with, Authana Caterers, arranges a partner's bar at about ₹200 to ₹250 a person, as the owner told our team. That brings soft drinks and soda, whisky glasses, people to collect the empty glasses and an unlimited mocktail counter. You still buy the liquor.

We don't know whether "a person" there means every guest or only the ones drinking, so ask. At 40 guests with 15 drinking, it changes the bill a lot.

Some sell the counter and the bartenders only together:

The cheapest ways have no published price: a friend who pours, a caterer's waiter who serves drinks with the food, or a hotel or pub bartender a friend recommends. You pay what you agree. Ask a caterer first whether their staff will pour.

Then add the licence, if you need one. The one-day licence is ₹20,000 a day for a private party on the excise department's fee sheet, and the sheet adds a 15% fee, so ₹23,000 by our sum, more than five times ABBS's bartender. Q2 says where you need it.

Add 15%. The fee sheet adds an additional licence fee of 15% to every licence. On a private day that makes ₹23,000, or ₹46,000 within 24 hours, by our sum. Ask the excise office what you'll pay in all.

Apply about a week ahead. One bar company's own guide says a week, and a 2018 news report said the same. Within 24 hours of the party, the fee doubles. The excise department lists the licence among its online services as Grant of Occasional License. The same guide says you'll need ID, proof of address, the venue owner's no-objection letter if it isn't your property, and the event's details.

The possession limits. The excise department's Permissible Possession table lists 2.3 litres for brandy, whisky, gin, milk-punch and other liquors made in Karnataka (about three 750 ml bottles, by our sum), 9.1 litres for imported foreign liquor, 9 litres for fruit wine and 18.2 litres for country beer. The table doesn't say whether these are per person or per home. Other published guides give 4.6 or 9 litres of Indian-made liquor. Stock for a party of 40 can go past three bottles, and we found no source on what happens if it does, so ask the excise office.

Bottles from Goa, another state or duty free. The department's table names liquor made in Karnataka and imported liquor, and says nothing about liquor made in another Indian state. Ask the excise office before you serve it.

Who to ask. Bengaluru has eight excise districts, each with a Deputy Commissioner of Excise. The department lists every office with its phone number, and its toll-free number is 1800-425-2550. Ask: does my party need a CL-5, and how much liquor may I keep for it?

Don't assume the bar sorts it. Bhandary's Kitchen told us they hold no liquor licence. Authana Caterers' owner told us his partner arranges it, at extra cost:

One bar company's own guide says it doesn't sell liquor either, and tells clients to buy from a licensed shop and keep the bills. Bhandary's Kitchen told us:

Get his buying list early. You shop days before he arrives, so ask for the list when you book: what to buy for your number, and which mixers, soda, limes and ice. A cocktail menu needs liquor you may not have, like white rum for a mojito, and every extra bottle counts against the home limit in Q2.

Already have bottles at home? A bartender can pour those. If any came from Goa, another state or duty free, read Q2 first. If you book one of ABBS's packages, ask whether liquor is in it.

The same guide says one bartender is usually enough for a house party of 20 to 30. Tell the bartender how many will drink when you book.

For a big party, someone to collect glasses keeps the bar moving. Authana Caterers' partner bar sends glass collectors with its bartenders.

ABBS quoted ₹4,000 for one bartender. The hours it covers weren't settled on our call, so ask him too.

Pick a time for the bar to close, and tell the bartender when you book. Closing the bar a little before the party ends gives everyone time to slow down, and a bartender who stops on time costs you no extra hour.

What a bigger package adds. ABBS sells two, for weddings and premium events. Elegant Gold has an elegant bar set-up, standard glassware and mixers, uniforms and eight standard cocktails and mocktails. Luxury Diamond has a designed bar, premium glassware, laser-cut clear ice, a personalised menu, name tags on the glasses and eight themed cocktails and mocktails. Neither has a price yet, so ask, and ask whether liquor is in it.

Flair is the juggling: bottles, shakers or fruit thrown and caught at the bar. It's a show, so it needs room around the counter and guests standing back. A mixology firm in Mumbai won't do flair, fire or flaming shots at all, for safety. If you want it, ask to see a video of that bartender doing it at a party.

Nobody we asked publishes a price for a mocktail-only bar, so ask for one. A full bar often has a mocktail counter in it already, which helps when some guests don't drink.

For children, ask what goes into each drink if any child has an allergy, and how sweet they are. Smart Chef Catering lists the ingredients of each mocktail on its menu.

The one-day licence in Q2 is for serving liquor.