- Name: Hardeep Rehal
- Instagram: @hardeep___rehal
- Industry Experience: 25 years
- Favourite Drink: Something clean like a classic dry martini
- Favourite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Sparkling tea
If you combined a scientific mind with a zest for creativity and a constant need to learn about elevating flavor profiles, you’d get Hardeep Rehal. With roots in India and hailing from Scandinavia, this dapper bartender has a unique way of curating drinks and crafting clever beverages that have made many a drinkers intrigued.
Many years ago, Hardeep stumbled upon his love for bartending while studying engineering. Like most students, he’d bartend on the side as a student. It was during these formative years that Hardeep drew parallels between mixology and science. Just like in science and engineering — everything is measurable, every problem needs a solution, temperatures are important, things are deconstructed and reconstructed — so too are these elements needed to craft cocktails.
With his analytical and problem-solving mind, Hardeep started looking at ways to play around with the PH values of his drinks, tinkering with volatile and non-volatile compounds, changing flavor profiles and studying the acid-base reaction to get the most flavor and texture out of his cocktails.
From nightclubs and party places to more serious cocktail-oriented bars — Hardeep was bringing his exceptional systemic way of doing things to every drink he brewed.
Hardeep is now the owner of Blume bar & nightclub in Copenhagen and the founder of Cocktail Solutions, a company dedicated to research and education, with the mission to bridge the gap between academia and the bar industry.
His scientific curiosity led Hardeep to experiment with ingredients in ways that many bartenders hadn’t considered before. He began infusing classic cocktails with unexpected elements, drawing inspiration from both his engineering background and multicultural heritage. His innovative drinks quickly gained recognition, setting him apart as a creative force in the industry.
He describes an emerging trend in bartending — hyper locality with minimalistic clean lines that has been trending for a while — but combined with the more maximalistic molecular techniques seen in the 2010’s in a newer, more refined way, adding more textures and an elaborate appearance.
“So, the combination of these more advanced but refined molecular techniques and the approach to clean minimalism we have now, that merge, I think is interesting to see,” Hardeep chimes in, “Because that will give you more opportunities, rather than just having one direction in texture and flavor. This way, you can create multi-layer textures and flavors but also rooted in hyper locality.”
Hardeep describes how emerging trends are rooted in global diversity with a minimalistic approach. Indian drinks, for example, stand out because of their exquisite spice blends, local fruits, seasonal ingredients and inimitable textures.
He has some simple advice to give young bartenders around the globe: Because of social media, the whole world is connected, so it’s easy to copy trends without even realizing it. Instead, focus on mastering your flavors, go with your gut feeling, and be authentically yourself.
“Staying true to who you are and focusing on a very good tasting flavor experience is where now you’ll be standing out,” Hardeep said, “Use your locality, include traditions, old forgotten methods, and then really focus on tasty flavors and not necessarily what looks flashy on paper.”
– Written by Nemisha Sharma
