Raising the bar: Nepal’s emerging cocktail culture

On a lively weekend, a bartender in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu balances carefully a slice of titaura, a local tangy and spicy hog plum treat, on top of a martini glass.

The drink is an example of how a new wave of cocktail bars is combining age-old techniques with local traditions to craft uniquely Nepali drinks to make a global mark.

Until recently, cocktails were an afterthought on most bar menus in the capital of the Himalayan nation, often overshadowed by beers or straight spirits.

Concoctions available tended to be unbalanced, too strong or far too sweet.

But over the past five years, the city’s cocktail scene has changed, led by a new generation of bartenders turning global experience into local innovation.

“It’s definitely evolving at a very fast pace,” Abhishek Tuladhar, who st