Demitria Ramona on What Makes Cocktails Worth It (Jakarta)

What makes cocktails worth the price? For Demitria Ramona of Hats Bar in Jakarta, it’s not how many hours a bartender spent making it — it’s whether the guest actually understands and enjoys what they’re drinking.

That means putting the ego aside. If someone wants to drink Louis XIII with Coke, let them. It’s what they know, what they’re comfortable with, and ultimately, what they want to drink.

You can tell a guest about the technique, ingredients and hours of work that went into a drink. But if they don’t understand why it matters, those hours don’t automatically make the cocktail worth more to them.

A cocktail is worth the price when the person drinking it thinks it is.