In the fourth episode of this video series, the accomplished barman recounts his third-culture upbringing through tea-forward cocktails
While chefs are often celebrated in grand oeuvres and Netflix documentaries, bartenders, despite their careers being predicated on interacting with the public, don't often get their dues when it comes to pop culture. Through The Stirring Glass is a video series by Tatler Dining that aims to flip this script on its head, with a look at the life and careers of six Hong Kong bartenders, each of whom captures their experiences in three cocktails made for the camera. From childhood memories to getting their start in the industry, all the way up to the current day, watch as Hong Kong's best mixological minds recount their journeys so far through the bottom of a stirring glass.
Growing up in an Indian family in a Kowloon public housing estate before moving to Australia for his studies, Hong Kong-born and bred Sandeep Hathiramani is the dictionary definition of a third-culture kid. Known to many in the bar and nightlife industry simply as S.R., Hathiramani's jovial presence has endeared him to many a peer and patron alike—indeed, his bartending ethos is a vindication of the belief that it's the service, not the drinks, that keep people coming back to a bar.
Like any good barman, Hathiramani is multi-faceted, having worked at nightclubs and in PR agencies in the nine years since he returned to Hong Kong from university. Though he has been involved in all aspects of the bar industry, from sourcing and distribution as Proof & Company's deputy general manager, to serving drinks all across the city, it wasn't until a business trip to Mumbai where he found himself drinking masala chai with fellow Hong Kong-based bartender Gagan Gurung that the duo hatched the idea of opening a tea-centric cocktail bar together.
Related: Tell Camellia’s Sandeep Hathiramani On Why Tea Is A Quintessential Hong Kong Ingredient
