Shatbhi Basu needs little introduction to most people in the Indian beverage or hospitality industry. In a nut shell however, she’s an alumnus of the prestigious Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai in 1980. Her A ha moment in the world of cocktails, happened when she received an order for a Dry Martini, and realised that there was no vermouth in the bar. Thinking on the fly, she substituted it with white wine and stirred it with a Cinzano aperitivo dipped stirrer for the aromatics!!!! The guest loved it so much, they asked for a repeat. It was a short step for her from there to set up the Stir Academy of Bartending, create the first ever official platform for bartenders to meet and compete in India with Stir and author the Can’t go Wrong Book of Cocktails.

She’s been a consultant / advisor to every liquor brand in India, has worked in a  consultative capacity with countless hotels and bars, was Host & content advisor to NDTV for the show `In High Spirits’ on NDTV Good Times, Was American Whiskey Ambassador India for the Distilled Spirits Council of United States from 2013 – 2016 and in 2018 was Awarded by the President of India and Ministry of Women & Child Development for being the First Woman Bartender and contributing to hospitality.