Most whisky enthusiasts will often fantasize of a red-letter day, the dream may be anything from acquiring/tasting a stellar whisky, being recognised in the fraternity, making an impression on established whisky gurus, picking an award winner before the awards…so on and so forth. Having started the whisky journey sometime in 2007, I have an assortment of such fantasies; from discovering a hidden bottle of Brora 1972 to tasting the Bowmore bouquet, meeting and interacting with Johannes and Serge of Malt Maniacs and Whisky fun respectively, raiding the bar of Somya Sanyal and Damodharan Udayakumar are just a few of them.
Evidently & often, my dreams have no relationship with reality and the web of wishes strung together would do any spider proud. In a nutshell I wanted the company of a respected whisky authority, friends, some whiskies of the bygone era and most importantly the time & peace to enjoy them in cohesion.
But sometimes dreams do come true and on 21 Dec 2021 I arrived in the whisky world. This article will be peppered with colloquial terms from the subcontinent and while I will try my best to translate, some humour (or attempt at it) may be lost.
Whiskies from the bygone era: While the recent news about slashing import duty pertaining to Scotch whiskies by various states are doing the rounds, quality whisky acquisition in India is still a challenge. Strangely enough the problem magnifies multi-fold when you don’t have ‘enough money’, which seems like an oxymoron, but I can assure you it is a very practical issue. Sowmya Sanyal a fellow malthead from Seattle is a true ‘maltpornstar’, I mean the true raw, explicit kind of a star whose posts are quite racy. He will stop at nothing; single malts, bourbon, silent distilleries, overaged whiskies, rare blends and the commercial types, every single one of those bottles will be opened and consumed in full public view, bit of a exhibitionist if you ask me. The cheek of the rascal to post these exploits on various social media groups (SMAC included) sometimes invokes strange emotions, from salivation to frustration! I met Soumya through Krishna Nukala a few years ago and like every incorrigible malt fanatic, his luggage always has dedicated space for whiskies and samples leading to some phenomenal dramming. So, when Krishna mentioned that his son (based in Canada) was travelling to India and if a few candies could be sent over, Sowmya was more than forthcoming. A package of drams was on their way from halfway across the world.
The company: I mentioned Krishna without an introduction, assuming that most reading this anecdote would know him and the ones reading such a long post will certainly know him. But for those who are indulging me for the first time Krishna Nukala is a judge for a fiercely independent whisky judging group known as the Malt Maniacs. He is the first and only representative from India and has been tasting whiskies from the early 90’s, he is also a very dear friend and tutor. When Krishna called me to express his desire to share the samples sent by Sowmya, the heart did a jig. Harsha is my friend from college and my business partner, he is wading his way through the whisky space. Excellent company to keep whisky geeks grounded to reality and truly stoic to the crazy ideas I keep churning out. Since the introductions are made, now for the dramming.
The goody bag: A few years back for a tasting session such as this I would have to turn up empty handed and make up with the lack of contribution with the food or perhaps the set up, but things are changing in India. I had a few drams to carry along with the samples from Sowmya. Here is where the applause is expected, right from the latest entrant to the Indian single malt portfolio Kamet to the legendary Tomatin & Glenury Royale 36 Year old whiskies!
If those names and numbers did not mean anything to you, remember that you are not alone! But as Sowmya said this was an extract from his top shelf and what it essentially means is that these are perhaps some of the most sought-after whiskies in the fraternity. Since price is a practical barometer for many, as an example the Tomatin 36 costs around 2000 £ a pop.
The dream now weaving itself into reality, the ideal company, and an enviable goody bag, we needed a place to dram. Harsha picked the spot, on the banks of river Kabini in Karnataka, India is this wonderful Jungle lodge called ‘Bheemeshwari fishing camp’. Excellent for a quiet evening with the occasional spotted deer or wild boar passing by your log hut. The monkeys made their presence felt more often with their calls and skirmishes, that apart a very peaceful place. The sit out on the log hut added to the ambiance for what would tun out to be one of the best dramming sessions.
Having a lot of ground to cover we started at noon with the first set of whiskies, some were no pushovers as the tasting revealed.
- Kamet the latest entrant to the word of single malts made an impression immediately, a quality dram which had characteristics of a young whisky with an equated balance of wood, the conversation expectedly turned towards Surrinder Kumar (Master blender and distiller) and the repertoire of the Indian malts that continue to take progressive steps in the world of single malt whisky.
- Paul John Mitr 2 ( IB for Malt Society of Arabia) – This had impressed me in a recent partaking and I was keen to share. A rich whisky with a great mouthfeel and lovely notes of date syrup and dryness of the oloroso. There is quite a bit of criticism about judging whisky by the colour and how one shouldn’t be impressed by the dark hues. I can tell you this; overlooking the serene river with greenery all around a whisky with a Mahogany hue in the glass looks just brilliant and sets the expectation for the palate a notch higher. Harsha looking at his glass was mesmerised and made a comment which will be coined in minds for a long time. “Look at those legs in the glass, they look like thunder thighs*!” Between the bout of laughter that ensured, Krishna swayed to a world of yesteryear south Indian film stars who were the genesis of the expression ‘thunder thighs’!
- Epitome Reserve I – which is Diageo India’s foray into craft whisky for the Indian market was the next in line. Krishna being forthright, lamented that this whisky did not meet his expectations and the grain was too harsh, too much of sweetness with a thin palate. I was making a mental note of the quality of Indian whiskies where a select few distilleries are giving the big boys a run for their money & rightly so.
A change of palate was needed and maybe some shut eye before we move on to the coveted ones. The jungle lodges in Karnataka have a themed restaurant called ‘Gol Ghar’, a large, thatched roof hut which is open from all around, except for the 3 feet perimeter wall, which offered a perfect venue for idyllic views, homely food and conversations about the future of the Indian whisky industry. The typical laziness of post noon dramming followed by a heavy lunch prompted a noon siesta! Waking up in the evening Krishna sprang into action and muttered something which sounded like – what a bunch of lazy boys we were. The staff had mentioned a coracle and a kayak ride in the evening which sounded just the kind of activity we need. A leisure ride with the sun setting in the backdrop was just the kind of relaxation one needs for best results before a gruelling evening.
Back at the log hut, it was time to celebrate whisky! Krishna had a couple of questions for us- what was going to be the order of the whisky flight? And like what every whisky tasting session should commence with, what was the palate warmer? Yes, the irony was tangible. With a bag full of whisky samples and bottles we were scouting for a palate warmer. Trained for such emergencies, Harsha had put a bottle of Ardbeg Wee Beastie, a five-year-old peated whisky on the table. Priceless was the expression on Krishna’s face when I nodded towards that as a palate warmer. The statement in our regional dialect of Telugu, once translated was something to the tune of ‘Are you in your right mind? I asked you for a starter and you are giving me Jana Gana Mana**’. (Usual practice would be to play this at the end of any session). Now that we had the first question sorted and unanswered, we moved to the next, what the order of whiskies are going to be.
We agreed on
- Shelter point Canadian SM whisky (which was our palate warmer)
- Komagatake SM Whisky 2021 Edition
- Amrut Single Cask I
- Amrut Single Cask II
- Sansibar Whisky – Speyside Region 42 Year old 1975/2017, 49%
- Tomatin 36 YO, 46% OB Small Batch 1 Bottle 113, US Release
- Teaninich 1972, 23 YO, 64.95%, Rare Malts
- Glenury Royal 36 YO, 57.9%, OB
- Bruichladdich 1970, 44.2% OB
- Laphroaig 10YO, 43%, Cinzano Import (Mid 80’s)
- Glen Ord Maltings, 25th Anniversary, special release 1969/1993, 60%
- Ardbeg Uigeadial 2004, Traditional Strength 54.2%
Since we had quite a few drams, the plan was to go about it in bursts of 3 whiskies and give it short breaks to mitigate any palate fatigue. Now since this evening was more of a relaxed session to enjoy whiskies, we did not log notes but there were some whiskies that ensured we stand up take attention and stamped themselves as memories. Ever had an experience of extreme emotion which etches itself in the mind only to comeback when recalled with eyes shut? You can almost feel the same pleasure/pain/joy/sadness/sourness/sweetness; I never had a whisky do that to me, to date.
The Komagatake 2021 was first on the list and while Harsha and I had tasted this whisky previously, Krishna was caught by surprise with a very well-made whisky which was Japanese but was not matured in the Mizunara casks. The single casks from Amrut are future releases of SMAC and the first cask set a blistering standard on our palates, all I remember is Krishna smacking his lips in appreciation, will not say more on these in the hope that you will rate these whiskies and share your thoughts with us. The Sansibar whisky was something of a blind call for me with an age statement of 42 years it was one of the oldest whisky that I have had. It was just the whisky for the opening salvo! Well balanced, expressive, immense complexity and one that will nstrate layers.
Then came the big gun of Tomatin, at the time I had not really done a value assessment and for me it was candy! Tomatin was never on my wish list, while the entry level whiskies from the distillery are quaffable, they were never the ones I chased. The 36 year old was well above my ‘affordability threshold’ so a very welcome candy indeed. After a very well made 42 year whisky, this one gently and with great finesse settled on our palate making it appear as it was the first dram of the evening. ABV does play a role and in my little experience, higher ABV usually scores, but the multitude of flavours and freshness of the whisky produced at 46% was just astounding. It was one of the top three whiskies for the amateurs in the evening. Gentle sweetness with just the right amount of wood influence and an extremely long finish.
Teaninich? Have you even heard of this whisky? Pronounced? Well, there is google! One of those whiskies which is lost under the glitz and glamour of the more prominent brands. Forget the chase, I had not even tasted more than three variants and none that would make me buy another bottle. This one was a 24 year old at 64.95% ABV which makes me wonder about the story of angel share and cask management; a ramble for another day. Having come off a phenomenal whisky, the expectation was that this acts as a ‘breather’ of sorts? What happened next was ‘eyes shut memory recall moment’ will refer to it as ESMRM henceforth! On the nose freshness and floral as a young Speysider, richness of a highland malt, sandal or cedar wood. From the moment it landed on the palate to the after breath it kept pushing the limits beyond reason. Explosive notes darting from, cool sweet cane juice, sweet citrus, minerals in the mix and the wood with the drop of spice! It never did end. Krishna and I stood up in unison blinded by this whisky. It was earthmoving. Chase? Oh Yes!
Words fall short to describe how your expectations change, now that the first leg of three whiskies were done, they set the mind to playing tricks about the relishing idea of the drams to come- would there be a whisky that could make an impression after the ESMRM moment? Reading too much about these whiskies and the experience can cause oodles of anxiety.
Hoping that you will read about the remaining and the serious competition we gave the simians in the follow up feature next month…
* An expression commonly used in India to describe rather stout thighs of an individual
** First three words of the Indian National anthem
