Wellness is a journey you embark on one day at a time. It is as much about balance as it is about discipline and indulgence. Wellness doesn’t mean that you forgo that bar of delicious dark chocolate or deprive yourself of a glass of wine over the weekend. It lies in being able to indulge mindfully without guilt or feelings of deprivation. Life is too short to be spending it on strict dietary protocols, not consuming entire food groups nor being able to enjoy your life to the fullest.

I was invited to an evening of sumptuous nibbles and crafted cocktails at The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi where I was greeted by award winning mixologist and cocktail genius Jitender Rana. #CraftedatWestin is a new cocktail menu that invites guests to choose well behind the bar where the cocktails consist of natural ingredients and local flavours alongside artisanal handcrafted techniques. The idea behind Crafted at Westin is to give guests a feel of the local flavour by incorporating herbs and spices where the program is part of the Eat Well pillar of the Westin Well-Being Movement, that encompasses programs across Westin’s six pillars of well-being – Sleep Well, Eat Well, Move Well, Feel Well, Work Well and Play Well, that promotes a comprehensive approach to a healthy lifestyle. From the world-renowned Heavenly® Bed and nourishing SuperFoodsRx™ dishes, to the energizing WestinWORKOUT, RunWESTIN™ and Westin Gear Lending with New Balance®, amongst other initiatives, every element of a guest’s stay is designed with their well-being in mind.

The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi has introduced eight cocktails such as the Pomegranate Green Tea, Whiskey Punch, Chamomile Mule, Monk’s Sapphire and other handcrafted cocktails along with refreshing mocktails such as Granny Julep, Pine is Mine and Aambi. After Jitender whipped up the 8 signature cocktails, we started to chat about how we could choose well behind the bar. By including fresh fruits, herbs and spices to spruce up cocktails and nixing the sugary calorie laden syrups – we were able to come up with bespoke cocktails that were diet friendly too.  We experimented a fair bit with tequila, which comes from the cactus-like agave plant and when consumed by itself in its unflavoured avatar, it is pretty low calorie and not bad for your waistline. Jitu knew how conscious I was about skinny cocktails so he made a special version of the Mexican Paloma for me where he used tequila, lime juice, seltzer and fresh grapefruit, and we called it Jia’s Paloma.

I spent the evening with a friend and Pooja Singh – Head of Marketing Communications at the hotel. We bonded over snacks like fish tikka and grilled salmon that lined our tummies before we drank the cocktails. If you are more conscious – you can order egg whites or nuts from the SuperFoodsRx™ menu.

Life is all about celebrating the ordinary, indulging mindfully and eating to your heart’s content. Whenever you are looking to head out with your bae or girlfriends – head over to STORY Club and Lounge at The Westin Gurgaon and ask Jitender to whip up a Paloma for you.

Bon Appetit!