My trip to the Americas a few months back had introduced me to a Bourbon that I’ve seldom heard off here in India; never seen at the local liquor stores, the duty free shops or from the mouths of colleagues, peers, friends and coworkers. In fact, the pronunciation of the tag on the label itself…
Category: Review
Review : DEWAR’s White Label
The DEWAR’S was established in 1864 with White Label making its debut much later in 1899 by master blender A. J Cameron. In terms of age, this scotch is certainly the youngest from the Dewar’s stable but holds great popularity especially in North America. In India, however this position is filled by the more popular…
Review : Paul John- Brilliance
Dedication, passion and a love for doing things right can do wonders even for an amateur, something which echoes very strongly with the folks at the John Paul Distillery. They’re entry into the world of Single Malt whisky was quite recent; 2012 in UK, 2013 in Goa and much later in Bangalore. Within this short…
Review : Jack Daniel’s Old No 7
To me this American favorite has a cult status of its own and is so much imbibed into American culture that it shares a popularity that many don’t. Be it movies, art, theatre, NASCAR or music, this legendary elixir always receives a mention! Fame exemplified when music legend Frank Sinatra was sold to the Jack…
Review : Glenfiddich 12 years
The Scottish Speyside is insanely famous for their whiskies and is home to the greatest number of distilleries as of any other region in Scotland. Glenfiddich is no stranger to this region and is by far the most selling single malt whisky in the world. In Gaelic, the term means ‘Valley of the deer’ and…
Review: Maker’s Mark
My recent visit to the United States presented the opportunity to savor a Bourbon or two and in some way I felt this to be a wake-up call reminding me of my year plus diversion into scotch. Although not intentionally, Scotch being more in abundance turned out to be a natural choice and the last…
Review: Ballantine’s Finest
The Saturday night get-togethers, white noise and laughter in the hallways, angry neighbors, steamy hot kebabs and the clink of flat glasses; a handful of happy memories brought by that unmistakable distinctive arrow shaped label on the dark tanned colored bottle. My relationship with the Finest goes back to a decade; one which we chose…
Review : Teacher’s 50
The Teacher’s brand being almost omnipresent in India amongst the foreign liquors, made sense for it to launch this whisky onto Indian shores to celebrate the countries’ glorious 50th year of Independence. Be it the proportion of malt to grain, or the summation of the many whiskies that made this blend, this sibling from the…
Review : Teacher’s Origin
The Teachers brand has been existent in the Indian Subcontinent for quite some time and popular too! Not only was it the first international-level scotch blend that was introduced in India, it also held the coveted title of the most popular premium brand available for quite a while. Teachers in India are popular for bringing…
Review : Vat 69
Vat 69 has had its share on the silver screen be it in a few vintage Bollywood movies or in a sitcom or two. This fella is home to a blend of 40 different (grain and malted) whiskies and has a history which dates back till 1863. Although being a premium whisky here in India,…
Review : Amrut Fusion
Over the weekend I had the opportunity to brush shoulders with the Amrut Fusion. This relatively young player made an introduction in Glasgow in the year 2004. Coming from the Indian Subcontinent, it had faced stiff competition as most whisky connoisseurs felt Indian whisky to be inferior. A series of blind tasting events changed all that,…
Review : Black Dog Triple Gold Reserve
Today was a special day and probably a beginning of a new journey in my otherwise systematic, mundane and repetitive lifestyle. I got myself a date with a beauty who dressed herself in coppery gold. My previous standoffs have been quite fast and speedy, fast come fast go; not a hint of seriousness. But this…