Whisky is an art they say – colours, shades and greys. Each stroke of the brush, thoughtfully selected colours, and an assortment of shades carefully fused on the palette elaborating a unique spectrum, exemplifying the final outcome on the white canvas frame. Perfecting this concoction takes sweat, blood and time, one that has evolved through…
Tag: whisky
Review : The Singleton of Glen Ord 12 Years Old
The roar of motor race engines, the layers of tyres stacked one over the other, the hustle of the pit crew gripping jacks and bald tyres, the buzz of wheel guns and the garbled chatter from walkie-talkie machines – a composition, each like notes of a symphony. The long fuel pipes, the nuts, bolts, oil…
Whisk’?’y – Fun Facts!
From time to time, I get asked a few queries regarding whiskies and everything around it and so I thought it best to take some time out and pen some content around these queries themselves! I’m hoping you find this pleasant and insightful! *fingers crossed* 1. Whisk’?’y -To ‘e’ or not to ‘e’ ?! To start with,…
Review : Teacher’s Highland Cream
It all started in the early 1830s when William Teacher began making blends and selling them at his grocery store. After he was granted a license in 1856, he opened a ‘dram shop’ and with time, the number of such establishments grew to eighteen. Although there were several of his blends sold over the counter,…
Review : Black Dog ‘Centenary’ Black Reserve
The Centenary, the youngest expression from the Black Dog family has had some stage presence in India for quite a while and though distilled and aged in Scotland, it is imported and then bottled locally. This effectively brings down the import customs considerably making them not only pocket friendly but also enabling cash registers to…
Review : Old Smuggler Blended Scotch
Hidden behind dark silhouettes, held gently by a few cobwebs and sprinkled with dust from the years of abandonment, was this nostalgic bulbous bottle with clear antiquated fonts. And if it was not for the lighting and the resulting hint of gold that caught my eyes, chances are this bottle might not have seen the…
The Wood in Whisky
Every once in a while at the liquor store, I get stumped each time I come across whiskies that are tagged with sometimes mind numbing phrases such as being Solera Vatted, or matured in Triple Casks, PX or Select Casks. And I’m sure other novice drinkers like me do find themselves in the same predicament…
Review : Johnnie Walker Red label
We’ve hit the JW Black Label in our last post and also briefly compared the Dewar’s White Label to the Ballentine’s Finest. But having said that, we’re not leaving the youngest sibling from the JW stables aside without a fight and surely a worthy competitor at that; yes today we’re diving into the JW Red…
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…
An update on my journey…
It’s been over five months since I’ve reformed myself and taken up this new found hobby. And to be honest, I did doubt myself initially as I wasn’t sure how long this last would. But fast forward to the present and I’m still a believer! My friends and coworkers seem to accept me now, and…
Shades of Spirit!
Alcoholic beverages have been around for over thousands of years, with remnants dating as old as 7,000 BC; perhaps even more! Now for a spirit to finally take its form, it requires three basic ingredients: yeast, sugars and water coupled with time. The time allows the yeast to act on these sugars to break them…
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 : 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,…
My Calling…
Once I began looking at whisky differently, not only did it open up my senses but in the process it also invited a lot of ‘cuckoo’ eyes. Somehow the world around me found it to be dumbfounded, nonsensical and crazy. And when I began to explain why the sudden turn of events in my outlook,…
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…
Uisce Beatha | My Whisk'e'y Diaries 