Cheers to ‘new-age’ whisky spiked with butterscotch, tea and more
Whisky brands are tapping into a diverse customer base and experimenting with flavours as diverse as coffee and tea
The staid whisky spirit is getting a fun makeover with cocktail connoisseurs joining in too, either using ingredients to enhance the velvety smooth flavour of whisky or disguising it, to woo those who usually stayed with sweeter fruity cocktails.
Shreshta Saha, who kept away from whisky for almost half a decade, now says Whiskey Sour is her drink of choice.
“Whip up a cocktail or dilute it enough with water to make the taste of hard liquor go away,” 26year-old Shreshta said. A sweet-n-sour concoction, a classic Whiskey Sour mellows the flavour of hard liquor with the addition of a sweetener, a dash of lemon and sometimes egg white. Leading brands are hoping to break the old school imagery of whisky in their bid to attract nonconventional whisky drinkers like Saha.
Dewar’s India, a blended scotch whisky brand owned by Bacardi, is aiming at making millennials aware of scotch’s “versatility”. Going for traditional flavours like ginger, scotch and lemon is another trick that proves to be a safe bet for beginners. “New whisky drinkers usually tend to start with something light and comfortable on their palate. The idea is to introduce people slowly and step by step by first acquainting them with basics,” said Emily Thompson, a brand ambassador.
Whisky happened to 25-yearold Shreya Nanda after she repeatedly found herself socialising with a bunch of whisky drinkers. But the smell continued to feel overwhelming, until she finally found her calling — Pure Sin. “It is my favourite probably because I simply don’t realise it contains whisky,” she said.
The creamy cocktail uses a fine blend of Irish whisky and Irish creme liqueur, topped with dollops of vanilla ice-cream and an assortment of frozen berries.
GLENFIDDICH’S RECENT INITIATIVE
Cocktail experiments with unique ingredients such as Silver Tips Full-Moon tea, Castleton Muscatel second flush, premium Kashmiri walnuts, bay leaf from Assam and the Gung Giri estate’s premium coffee.
“These rare findings handpicked fr diverse parts of India enhance the flav of the single malt,” said Angad Sin Gandhi, Glenfiddich India brand amb sador. The brand has also curated c bratory cocktail recipes taking insp tion from the festive spirit and cheer Diwali such as ‘Whisky by Nature’, ‘D it Like It’s Hot’ and ‘Passion Whi Sour’ among others.
Jameson Irish Whiskey by Pern Ricard introduced a new variant Jameson Caskmates — in India earl this year. The varietal has hint butterscotch, cocoa and cof due to the whisky being ished for six months whisky barrels used to stout beer. The move ca
after they noticed a rise demand for coffee in country. “Before introduc a varietal, we keep an eye the trends of consumption a market. Coffee in India, instance, has been on the rise the better part of a decade now, brand spokesperson said.
Jack Daniel’s (JD) Tennessee launched a new spirit — Jack Fire — t year, that uses “Ceylon” cinnamon, m ing the drink aromatic. The result i sweet, hot cinnamon kick that comp ments the smooth and delicious taste Jack Daniel’s. “We want everyone enjoy JD in a way that fits their pala said Vineet Agrawal, a spokesperson the brand.
New whiskey drinkers tend to start with something light and comfortable on their palate. The idea is to first help acquaint them with the basics