A master blender was in town recently and connoisseurs flocked to meet the idol in person. MiD DAY decided to get up close and personal with him instead and unlock the secrets of the pleasurable intoxication we call whiskey
A master blender was in town recently and connoisseurs flocked to meet the idol in person. MiD DAY decided to get up close and personal with him instead and unlock the secrets of the pleasurable intoxication we call whiskeyu00a0
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Here was a man in a skirt, sipping on some amazing whiskey, looking as much as connoisseur material as anyone possibly could. What was he doing in Bangalore, you ask? Well, so did we and that's why we decided to attend this event thrown by Whyte and Mackay at The Royal Orchid on the Old Airport Road.
His funda on whiskey etiquette is that it's all about enjoyment and entertainment and one should drink whiskey in moderation and in the right way.
We caught up with him after the event and here are some excerpts from the interview...
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1. You were introduced to alcohol at the age of 8, as you mentioned earlier, was this first foray also with whiskey?
No, I just nosed it. That's why I sayu00a0-- tell all the people of India to get their kids to start appreciating the beauty of whiskey at the age of eight or ten. You need to be that young to understand alcohol. As long as you don't abuse it, there shouldn't be any problem with starting off so early. Someone told me earlier today that he drank whiskey for the first time when he was 18 years old. For gods' sake, 18 years old! Life's too short, how can you start at 18! That's why I've been canvassing about it in the UK. You need to get kids to understand this art at schools when they're as young as 8, 12, or 15.
2. As much as you'd want to kill us for asking you this, why do you think whiskey drinking is such an acquired art?
Whiskey drinking is all about enjoyment. It is also about sharing, sipping and savouring the right blend it in the right way. The Americans like to drink it like cowboys. The whiskeys that we produce are however not for such consumption. Our whiskeys need to be held in the mouth, pondered over and relished before they are consumed. What you need to do is to ensure you roll the swig around your mouth. From the middle of the tongue, you need to take it underneath the tongue and then back to the middle after which you keep it there for a few moments and then swallow it finally.
3. Is that the 'propah' way of drinking or tasting whiskey?
Yes, but it doesn't apply to whiskey alone, tasting wine, tasting tea, eating foodu00a0-- it's all about the same thing. I slapped a guy's face in South Africa once during a demonstration, because he was not paying attention. He would just gulp it all down. Once he followed my detailed advice, however he suddenly realised why I was being so particular.
4. How did you become a whiskey connoisseur?
My father and grandfather were whiskey blenders. That obviously introduced me to whiskeys at a much earlier age. At that time it was considered a disadvantage however as people never thought twice to tell me that I was in the job only because my father was too. That made me realise that I needed to study wines in more detail. So I studied wines for 10 years. I learnt to differ my cognacs from my brandies and basically did everything that would make me a savant. So when someone asks me about champagne, brandy or rum, you can be assured I know what I'm talking about. I love champagnes; I love Bordeaux and Burgundy, two of my favourites. Then of course the Australian and Californian wines which are also pleasing.
5. What does it take to be a master blender?
Blending is like meeting you guys for the first time. I've never met you before. I need to know all about you and therefore if I get to know more about you by indulging you. I need to know your temperaments and need to understand your moods. That's what I need to do with new whiskeys.
6. So how long does it take to understand a whiskey?
You need a minimum of about 10u00a0to 15 years before you can really understand whiskeys and the intricacies the drink and its blending involves. First you need to understand the characters and there are more than 106 stages in this operation, then you need to learn how to mix them together and so on.u00a0u00a0
7. So what's the right way to drink a whiskey?
When you hand people a glass, I would prefer if they get their nose right into it and breathe in the aromas before taking a swig.
8. Any experiences in India that have left an impression on you?
Three years ago, I met a general and he seemed to know whiskeys pretty well, so I asked him, how old he thought a 22-year-old whiskey was? He sipped it and said quite confidently that it was only five years old. I tried convincing him, quite a bit that even if I wanted to, I couldn't serve him a 5 year old whiskey as good blends have to made from 22 year old whiskeys as a rule in Scotland.
I however gave up, when I suddenly saw him take out some ice and some soda and add it to the drink. I was appalled. He had just ruined a perfectly fine glass of whiskey. The gas from the soda splits the drink up --anyone knows that!u00a0
9. If you wanted to give a very simple message to the common man who has no experiences in the blends about whiskey, what would it be?
I'd tell the person that Scotch is the most important spirit in the world and it needs to be given respect. You need to hold it, very long in the mouth, with a little water, if you please and enjoy it.
Share it with your friends and drink it in moderation of course. Whiskey is not an alcohol meant for abusing. It's an alcohol that shows you the subtler joys of life.
It's like a beautiful woman, it demands respect.
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