McDowell’s and Madras

Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal’s latest venture, Ehaab, features ready-to-stitch creations for men and women

family has known Yasmin for many years, came forward to ensure that the artisans working in the latter’s production unit in Lucknow do not lose their livelihood. However, while charity is beautiful, it eventually runs out and they were only too aware of that. The duo then decided to come up with something sustainable and intrinsic to the culture of Lucknow and make it more accessible to the world. Thus, Ehaab was born.

With the brand, Ali and Richa aim to support the artisans who they believe are the true custodians of India’s handcrafted legacy. Says Richa, “For us, Ehaab is more than just a fashion label or a business endeavour. We have oriented it he story of the latest Indian single malt goes back over a century. Founded 125 years ago, McDowell’s and Co is India’s original alco-bev pioneer.

Now Diageo India has reinvented its most widely sold spirit, to introduce McDowell’s & Co Distiller’s Batch Indian Single Malt (750 ml, 46% ABV — alcohol per volume of beverage). This time it has been crafted in India with a strong tether to terroir and a celebration of young India’s preference for quality homegrown spirits.

Vikram Damodaran, Chief Innovation O‘cer, Diageo India discusses why this o’ering, launched recently in Gurgaon, marries the best of India’s whisky making traditions in its most proli”c wine producing region in Nashik, Maharashtra. “This single malt has undergone about ”ve years of cumulative ageing, in ex-Bourbon casks followed by virgin American oak and ”nally in Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz barrels (from small wine-making families in Dindori, Nashik that also supply to Grover Zampa Vineyards). This maturation lends the malt a bittersweet and long-lasting ”nish like a red wine,” he says.

The malt is crafted out of six row barley growing in the North West

TThe brand is named after Angus McDowell, a Scottish businessman who built a warehouse at Fort St. George, close to Madras (now Chennai) and, from 1826, served the British expat community with imports of groceries and spirits. In 1959, McDowell’s & Co established its first distillery in Cherthala, Kerala, marking the genesis of the McDowell’s No.1 brand, launching brandy, then whisky and rum. In 1968, the brand launched McDowell’s No.1

Whisky, marking the inception of the world’s largest selling whisky, born out of India. frontier region, designed to maximise ›avour notes of cut grass and fresh meadows. The other important ingredient to craft this single malt is the terroir itself. “Dindori is a valley nestled in the Sahyadri mountains, and it has a torrid summer, rain and a temperate winter. This heat, humidity, and chill is necessary for maturation, to lend the malt its signature style,” elaborates Vikram. On the nose, the whisky sings of vanilla and fresh fruit, with gentle after notes of citrus and spice. On the palate, it yields a velvety richness with hints of sweet wood and fresh fruit.

While the country o’ers ample opportunity to create a truly Indian single malt, Hemanth Rao, founder, Single Malt Amateur Club of India (a platform to share experiences and information on single malt whisky, with over 4,500 members) says collaborating with Diageo India in the creation of this new single malt, o’ers a unique vantage point. “Partnering with us, and understanding the viewpoint of consumers and respecting that, speaks of the intent of the brand,” he says.

For now only 6,000 bottles of this McDowell’s small batch single malt will be sold, ”rst in Haryana, followed by Goa, Mumbai and Hyderabad. For the design, topographic details on the packaging are a tribute to the Nashik distillery, where mountain mists embrace the whisky casks. Deep purple tones re›ect the region’s vineyards and outlines of mist shrouded peaks adorn the packaging, coming alive with a golden map.

Ruchira Jaitly, CMO, Diageo India, is con”dent that the malt will be well-received by India’s whisky connoisseurs. “We are paying homage to an India that is con”dent, a¢uent, and willing to experiment,” she concludes. entirely in terms of the artisans,” she says. Ali, on his part, believes that creating systems, even if they are on a small scale, and bringing in people who are talented to those systems, can add value to their lives. “Today, these karigars are following our vision. Eventually, we want to open our manufacturing line where they can have a stake in it,” he says. Although there are many brands in the market including traditional Lucknow labels and NGOs as well as fashion designers retailing elaborate creations, the couple says they are trying to focus on the gap in between. “These ready-to-stitch fabrics that are perfect for our hot climate, can be worn for special occasions. The fabric is delicate and so is the work,” shares Richa, whose latest outing on screen is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s

Heeramandi.

A look at Ehaab’s website, which is where they are retailing the clothes from, also gives a glimpse into the history of chikankari.

It re›ects how the tradition came to India as part of the cultural exchange with Persia along with the Mughals, and how delicate needle embroidery came to be known as chikankari. “All that information is written by me,” Richa reveals.

Upwards of ₹12,000 on ehaab.in

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT (Top) Richa Chadha with Ali Fazal; (right) an outfit by Ehaab.