It's a duopoly that we have taken for granted as much as rain in the Mumbai monsoon. If you want a straight-up dark rum in the Indian market, go for Old Monk. Want a white version? Get Bacardi. But Mohan Meakin, the firm that manufactures Old Monk, has now busted that status quo by launching their own white rum. The sheer suddenness of the move, the unexpected nature of the move, the unpredictability of the move, means that consumers might not know what hit them. That's why we are here to help clear the air, trying out the brand new product to check how it stacks up against the competition.

First things first. This writer's love for regular Old Monk mixed simply with water might leave Romeo red-faced about his love for Juliet. But one sip of the white version topped with water is enough to convince us that this is not a match made in heaven. There's a discernible synthetic quality in the alcohol that the water is unable to mask. So, we try it with Coca Cola instead — as you would do with Bacardi — and the result is infinitely better. The sweetness of the cola hides the rum's artificial nature, making it way more palatable. But it's when we pour a bit of the rum in a pierced naariyal that its true potential is revealed. Give us a beach, a deck chair and a book to read, and we can probably sip on it till the last page.