New ways to party this season

A green drink that gets you higher than the empire state, other-worldly lights and beer helmets — the city’s found new ways to party this season. And everyone’s invited!
Charge of the UV light brigade!
This party season, put on your best clothes and shoes. And glow! Special ultraviolet lights are giving strobes, lasers and the humble disco balls a stiff competition and are illuminating the interiors of the night clubs in an other-worldly glow.Tantra, The Park, for instance, is taking it a step further and are handing out special glow-in-the-UV-lights goodies to guests on special nights. The innocuous looking UV sticks need to be bent and hit against a wall and voila, they begin to glow. Use them as earpieces, goggles or hairpins and make a new fashion statement. “You should see the guests, especially the young crowd, go gaga over these little brick-brats,” says Rajnish from The Park. Underground, The HHI, has joined the party too by introducing LED drinking glasses. “Who doesn’t want to take a sip from a glass that looks as if it’s on fire?” says Amit Hathiramani of the club. While he’s planning for a neon-themed Christmas party, Shisha already hosted its own such do.
Shaken and stirred
Aperitifs, martinis, cosmos and the malts, your days are numbered. The Absinthe is finally here! This highly-potent green drink is not for the faint-hearted and needs to be downed with sugar cubes and chilled water. “It can be downed as shots too,” says Dibyendu of Someplace Else. Bad news is, only the 50% proof variant is available in India for now. Suckers for cocktails needn’t worry. It’s raining flavours this party season with mixologists combining two liquors where each retains its natural taste. Smoky single malts are combined with gins. And while you expect to discover a totally different taste, lo and behold, you’ll find both the smokyness of the malt as well as the pungent-y feel of the gin lingering on your tastebuds. Fruity mixes are undergoing a major makeover too. “Fresh fruits muddled together are being used rather than individual fruit juices,” says Dibyendu. Foamy cocktails created by passing hydrogen through it — and that’s molecular mixology for you! And it’s all available at the bars!
Ice, ice, baby!
Those who regret not having been to the North Pole, take heart. The North Pole has come to Kolkata! The first ever ice lounge in the city, Minus 6, is all set to throw its doors open to the party peeps. The temperature can plunge as deep as 10 degrees below zero but who’s complaining? “It’s a one-of-a-kind lounge where the walls, the bar, the tables and even the glass in which you will down your drink will be made of ice. The ice is being sourced from the frozen Torne River in Jukkasjärvi, Northern Sweden. The temperature inside the lounge is kept below freezing point throughout the year. One can enjoy their drinks and snacks sitting inside a virtual igloo even as the temperature outside remains unbearably hot,” says Nikunj, of the bar. Guests will be provided with ski jackets, gloves and woollen boots so they are warm and comfortable. Anything missing? Maybe a warm hug from your partner!
Hands free, anyone?
How can you do the Gangnam style when you have one hand clutching your beer and the other nestled comfortably around your beloved’s waist? Underground solves the problem by introducing quirky alcohol accessories like a beer belt that can hold a six-pack effortlessly while you show off those killer moves or a helmet that snugly fits in two cans of beer. “The accessories will come for a price that you need to pay when you enter the club. You will then have to return them safely at the counter before you leave. We haven’t chalked out the details but this system would soon be implemented,” says Amit.
Electric Piya!
Remixes, bhangra, item songs and progressive house may be big but it’s EDM or electronic dance music that’s the big daddy at turntables right now. With internationally renowned DJs making pitstops in Kolkata, special club nights have become synonymous with this new craze in music. “There has been a radical change in peoples’ tastes. On special nights, EDM rules. No matter how much you hand it out to them, revellers just can’t have enough of true blue electronica,” says DJ Vishal of VSociety. Party mongers don’t mind if clubs don’t play Bolly. Plush, the nightspot at The Astor,for example, steers clear of Hindi masala stuff. The footfall hasn’t wavered, though. “We had die-hard EDM fans stepping in regularly, but the crowd is growing,”says Sumitro of Plush. “DJ Mash played recently and Andy Moor is coming soon,” says Riteish of Shisha. Andy Moor has already played at Underground that’s hosted spin kings and EDM masters such as Tritonal, Ashley Wallbridge, Mat Zo and so on. “We are getting Tenishia this month,” says Amit.