Category Archives: Other

Caorunn Gin… Beat the Mumbai heat!

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Yes this is a whisky blog.

However I did warn that from time to time another tipple or two may make an appearance.

And I think we CAN make an exception for this gin – given that it is made at a malt distillery – Balmanech.

I’ve had the opportunity to sample it thrice in 2015:

  • Once at a BMC member’s home in a highly convivial social evening
  • Again as the ‘starter’ to sip before getting down to the serious business of a whisky master class with Stuart Harvey, Inver House Master Distiller
  • A wildly popular ‘appetiser‘ for a Whisky Ladies evening with Karen Walker

In all cases, it was served with an apple and an equal portion of tonic to gin. Perfection!

Bright, light, highly refreshing. Delicate notes.

As Karen shared, the five points of the red star bring together the Caorunn gin elements – bog myrtle, rowan berry, heather, coul blush apple, dandelion.

Yet since then… only a whiff in Winnipeg’s liquor mart.

Til today! Thanks to my partner’s recent trip to London, our liquor cabinet is graced by our very own bottle.

As Mumbai’s 2nd summer comes upon us, temperatures rise, a chilled G&T or other assorted beverages seem just right! Oh happy days!

Caorunn Gin (Courtesy International Beverage House)

Caorunn Gin (Courtesy International Beverage House)

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Getting distracted in a Winnipeg Liquor Mart…

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It started off innocently enough… “Let’s go pick up a few things for tomorrow’s open house!”

My sister and her partner kindly host a gathering when I’m back in my hometown of Winnipeg. This time her partner suggested we head over to the local “LC” (Liquor Commission) and grocery store to stock up on a few drinkables and edibles for the celebration.

Cue wide-eyed kid in a candy store dazed expression… because the array of wines, beer and other liquid libations available in your regular old liquor store in Winnipeg far outdo your local Mumbai “wine shop”. They also have multiple tasting corners to try before you buy – I’m a HUUUGE fan of this concept!

First I was introduced to a “Growler Bar” where you re-fill your empty growler (1.89 L) or howler (946 ml) with beers on tap. Naturally everything is available to sip before you commit.

Growler Bar (Photo: http://www.liquormarts.ca/retail-marketing/growler-images)

Growler Bar (Photo: Liquor Marts)

Then I was distracted by the whisky section and a helpful lass who shared tales of her adventures with craft distilleries in BC… which turned from various whiskies to other offerings…

Fort Richmond Liquor Mart

Followed by further digression to another sampling counter where I revisited the delightful Caorunn gin. Which lead in turn to an exploration of:

  • Dillon’s Unfiltered Gin 22 40% (Batch 18) from Ontario – remarkably nuanced with 22 botanicals weaving together to awaken your senses with a teasing perfume
  • Spain’s Gin Mare 42.7% with its Mediterranean flavours of olives, rosemary, thyme, basil and mandarin is bolder and shouts out to be transformed into a wicked martini

Dillon's + Gin Mare

Apparently my father’s quest to obtain Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye was remembered! “Hey you are the one that lives in India and writes about whisky, aren’t you?”

Rather than hoard bottles, when Northern Harvest Rye initially flew off the shelves after Jim Murray catapulted it to his global top spot, Canadian liquor stores were re-stocked with the remaining 200 cases at the same price… with free samples being generously shared so the public could enjoy. How utterly Canadian, eh?

While we were decidedly delayed in completing our simple shopping list, what fun to while away some time with friendly knowledgable staff while sampling a few interesting wares not readily accessible in Mumbai!

Any local liquor store that you enjoy visiting?

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Sometimes you need a treat! Zacapa 23 rum 40%

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Our Whisky Ladies in Mumbai are a merry lot and so if one of our members has a birthday, that naturally demands a small celebration… and cake… chocolate of course!

While our host made from scratch this luscious number… adorned with flowers for a fanciful flourish.

2016-05-17 Birthday Cake

Our birthday lass decided we needed a treat…Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera.

2016-05-17 Zacapa 23 rum

Now there are rums and then there are rums!

From Guatemala, it is called ‘solera’ for the system used to blend the rum. No simple affair here, it is matured in a mix of bourbon and sherry casks… Unlike whisky where the age depicted is the youngest found, for rum it is the oldest. Hence Zacapa 23 does indeed contain SOME 23 year old rum, however is known to be a range from 6 to 23 year.

Here’s what they say about the Zacapa 23:

  • Keynote – Wonderfully intricate with honeyed butterscotch, spiced oak and raisined fruit, showcasing the complexity of the sistema solera ageing process.
  • Appearance – Light mahogany, with the tones of long barrel ageing at the rim and long, slow legs clinging to the glass.
  • Nose – A soft start which develops complexity in the glass; sweet aromas of caramel, vanilla, cacao and butterscotch, combining with layers of flavour indicative of the different barrels in the solera process; sherried notes of caramelised, roasted brazil nuts and toasted hazelnut, and the characteristic rounded toffeed banana and dried pineapple of ex-American whiskey casks.
  • Palate – Wonderfully complex, generous and full-bodied, with a sweet honeyed viscosity atypical of an aged spirit; a great depth of raisined fruit and apricot preserves, building to an intense heart of savoury oak, nutmeg, leather and tobacco with notes of coffee and delicately sweet vanilla, balanced with a spicy touch of cinnamon and ginger on the pleasantly astringent finish; truly a rum for the discerning palate.

We didn’t even pretend to make tasting notes, simply enjoyed its sweet chocolatey, slightly smoky molasses nutty delights.

Here’s what else we sampled that evening Whisky Ladies Like Labels:

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Good to the last drop! JD Tennessee Honey Liqueur 35%

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To close our Whisky Ladies evening, we needed something to recover from the disasterous Chinese local hooch!

Galloping to the rescue was an American offering, completely out of synch with the predominantly Far East theme, but a welcome accompaniment to our chocolate pizza (oh yes! that is a thing and it is insanely yummy!).

Enter Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey liqueur..

Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey

Whisky liqueurs and other experiments have become more plentiful in recent years as NAS whiskies are given increasingly creative avatars in an effort to capture attention and market share… particularly those not governed by the Scotch Whisky Association rules.

Here’s what the folks over at JD have to say about their Tennessee Honey:

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey is a blend of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and a unique honey liqueur of our own making, for a taste that’s one-of-a-kind and unmistakably Jack. With hints of honey and a finish that’s naturally smooth, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey is something special.

  • Nose – Complex sweet nose, maple syrup and praline
  • Palate – Sweet up front, nutty on the finish, rich without being syrupy

Then proceed to invite you to mix it with lemonade!

As for the whisky ladies? Heck it was sweet JD and we had chocolate. What more can we say?

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Chinese local liquor

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I’ve been lucky to enjoy several work trips to China, however I would be the 1st to admit that exploring the local liquor has not been a priority. By contrast, in Taiwan, my top priority was to track down Kavalan whiskies!

That said, from time to time odd items make their way into my whisky cupboard. This unique offering came courtesy of a fellow whisky lady formerly of China then India and now the US of A. Before leaving, she gifted me a mystery box of what I thought was baijiu. I expected it would be a bit like Korean soju.

When in our recent Whisky Ladies ‘Far East‘ evening came about, decided what a perfect night to take the plunge and check it out!

It was most amusing opening the puzzle box, then figuring out how to ‘unlock’ the clasp on the bottle.

And the ‘prize’ that lay within?

In short… completely, utterly undrinkable. I wonder… does booze like this go ‘off’? Or are our palates simply uneducated in the ways of Chinese country hooch?

Mystery hooch

Mystery hooch

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Transforming common gin to uncommon delight

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What do you do when a delightful craft gin is finished? Give the empty bottle new life with a home made gin infusion!

On an earlier trip to Canada, one of our whisky ladies brought back a bottle of Endeavour Gin from Liberty Distillery on Granville Island.

And when it was gone? It was much missed. And a replacement was needed.

Now here is the thing, your average gin in India is pretty standard stuff… best disguised in cocktails.

In this case, our whisky lady transformed a $5 bottle of local desi gin into a delightful infusion using fresh rosemary springs and grapefruit from the market.

The result? A highly refreshing aperitif!

Infused gin

It was a perfect start to our evening – equally as good just with a cube of ice as it was with a few splashes of tonic.

Much like our whisky evening with Karen Walker, starting with a gin coming straight from a hard day was an ideal transition from work mode to enjoyment mode.

Gin tonic

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Whisky Ladies visit the Far East – Kavalan + Nikka

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Our whisky ladies tend to travel – both for business and pleasure.

This is a huge bonus when you are a whisky fan based in Mumbai as our local offerings are relatively limited.

When one member was stopping at Singapore airport on her return from a conference, she asked for suggestions and ably rose to the assignment to acquire a whisky from Taiwan.

Another runs her own travel adventure company plus her spouse shares her passion for exploring whiskies. Compliments of their procurement prowess, we already sampled the yin yang contradictory character of Nikka Blended Whisky. So when a theme of ‘anything but Scottish whisky’ morphed into the ‘Far East’…. naturally she had a whisky from Japan to share!

We began our evening with an experiment… our host infused grapefruit and rosemary with a local gin to create a highly refreshing aperitif – delightful!

Kavalana Concertmaster, Solist + Nikka Coffey Grain

Kavalan Concertmaster, Solist + Nikka Coffey Grain

We then moved on to our main focus where we contrasted and compared:

From the shores of Taiwan and Japan, we hit mainland China to try a country liquor that was much more fun to puzzle out how to open than taste! It was, in short, undrinkable.

Finally closed our evening with a thimble of JD Tennessee Honey liqueur to go with our chocolate pizza – yum!

It was a delightful change to explore whiskies beyond Scotland for an evening and a reminder that there is a very good reason Kavalan attracts attention for its Solist range.

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200 whisky posts…. with thanks!

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Six months ago, I celebrated a remarkable milestone – 100 whisk(e)y posts with 100 whiskies!

I enthusiastically listed all 100 whiskies reviewed and couldn’t stop doing a jig of celebration!

Fast forward and today marks 200 whisky posts… a double accomplishment!

However nothing is achieved without help! So I thought it high time to recognise all the fabulous folks that made it possible….

Most importantly, our Mumbai based whisky groups! Our shared journey and tasting sessions gave birth to this blog:

Plus very special tastings thanks to:

Most importantly, many anonymous friends and fellow bloggers who bravely court liver failure in the quest to find that special dram! Be it sending a sample or sharing an evening… an amusing quip or shared opinion, you know who you are!!

I raise a dram to you all in salut!

post-milestone-200-2x

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Mumbai’s Whisky Ladies with Karen Walker and Caorunn Gin

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To ease into our evening with Karen Walker, Marketing Director of InterBeverage Group, we began with a refreshing gin cocktail that greeted our ladies as they waltzed in the door from all corners of Mumbai.

Some chose with soda, some preferred tonic. All had their gin topped with a thin slice of apple.

Caorunn Gin (Courtesy International Beverage House)

Caorunn Gin (Courtesy InterBeverage House)

Caorunn Gin aka the appetiser

Here is what we found:

  • Nose – Like a perfume! Strong dandelion, sense of ‘branching out’ into different elements
  • Taste – Comparable to Hendrick’s yet more nuanced. Sweet, smooth on the tongue, complex with layering
  • Finish – Let’s just say, we all thought it was a brilliant ‘finish’ to a hard day’s work and a very welcome way to begin our whisky evening

Karen shared the care taken in sourcing and blending five local botanicals to make a gin that is distinctly Scottish, given life in their Balmenach distillery.

Without a doubt, the Caorunn Gin was a complete hit and several whisky women later blamed the sample for sparking a re-interest in gin!

Up next:

Related posts sampling with Stuart Harvey:

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Pimm’s anyone?

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One highlight from our July London trip was an afternoon spent at BAFTA  – the British Academy of Film and Television.

While our host happily sipped a whisky, my body clock was still on Toronto time and it just was not saying whisky. Seriously. There are times I’m not actually in the mood for a whisky. I know you don’t believe me, but it is true!

So our host suggested a light Pimm’s cocktail. How quintessentially British.

For those not familiar with Pimm’s No 1 Cup is a gin based liqueur with herbs that’s been around since 1823 tasting of citrus and spice…

BAFTA PIMM's

It was completely refreshing and utterly perfect for the mood and moment.

While I can’t say exactly what I had, this one struck me as a similarly refreshing combination…

Pimm’s Original
2 measures of Pimm`s
2 measure of Ginger Beer
2 measures of Lemonade
1 slice of Cucumber
1 slice of Lemon
1 slice of Orange
1 slice of strawberry
Fresh Mint

Now… if only I could get Pimm’s in Mumbai!!

You can find more cocktails here: Pimm’s based cocktails.

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