Chef Aarthi Sampath is opening Jam & Jaggery, a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge, on September 18 in the same restored 100-year-old building that houses her debut restaurant Drāvida in New York City. The downstairs space will serve as a private events venue and late-night cocktail bar drawing from South Indian diaspora flavors and Spanish cocktail craft traditions. Sampath, a Food Network Chopped winner and Beat Bobby Flay competitor, opened Drāvida four months earlier and has attracted coverage from outlets including The New York Times, Eater NY, and The Infatuation.
Cocktail Program The drink menu weaves regional Indian ingredients into classic cocktail techniques.
Signature drinks include the Double Trouble (Angostura, chana, Lustau PX sherry, scotch bonnet, cucumber, lime), the Badak Old Fashioned (Lustau Cream Sherry, shoyu, duck fat, cardamom bitters, jaggery), and the Dirty Currytini (Lustau Fino sherry, sake vermouth, olive vermouth, curry leaves). The food menu includes Indian-inspired bites designed as savory pairings to cocktails.
The Name According to the release, "Jaggery" is an unrefined sugar that represents "something warm, soulful, and beautifully unrefined," while "Jam" brings sweetness and energy. Together, the name conveys a late-night space for relaxed dining and drinks.
Background Sampath is originally from Mumbai and has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens, operated a food truck called 39 Kukree, and scaled a CookUnity meal program from 10,000 to over 50,000 meals per week. She will appear at the Food Network NYC Wine & Food Festival's Flavors of Bollywood event on October 16.
Why It Matters
Jam & Jaggery represents a growing trend of chef-operators expanding concept depth within single buildings, while the cocktail program signals how Indian ingredients are entering upscale bar culture beyond traditional applications.
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Written by FBM Publications Editors
