India’s World Class Bartender of the Year 2016

The industry’s biggest and most prestigious bartending competition is in its 7th edition offering a gamut of luxury spirits from the Diageo Reserve portfolio namely Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve, Johnnie Walker Platinum Label 18, Talisker, Tanqueray 10, CÎROC, KetelOne, Don Julio and the Singleton of Glen Ord 12YO.

There were three rounds based on which the contestants were judged and the winner were chosen. The Pantry Round, The Speed Round and The Mystery Box Round decided the winner of India’s World Class Bartender of the Year 2016. Each bartender went through a rigorous training procedure to survive till the end and had their eyes firmly set on the global finals in Miami.

Over the last six months, the contenders from the most prominent bars in India competed in multiple regional levels before descending in Bangalore for the national finals. Top 20 bartenders were judged by an expert panel consisting of Feroze Merchant, Head of Luxury, USL Diageo, Nicholas Ord, USL Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador, Jamie Walker, USL Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador, Serhan Kusakisizoglu, Director of Corporate Projects, Shangri La, Nicole Faria, ex Miss Earth 2010 and Manu Chandra, Chef Partner Toast & Tonic (Bangalore), Monkey Bar (Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai), The Fatty Bao (Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai), and Executive Chef Olive Beach, Bangalore. The selected bartenders exhibited originality and all the right skills throughout the competition that they were judged on to test their ingenuity. Of the 20 talented challengers, Jitender Singh, from Story, Gurgaon emerged as the winner for mastering these pre-requites and displaying unparalleled skills with utmost passion.

Jitender edged his competitors and swayed the judges with his speed, meticulous execution and balanced cocktails at the Indian final. Runner up Vikram Ku and Runner Dilbar Singh from Delhi/Noida too impressed the judges and the attendees with their creativity and craftsmanship, thus earning them the second and third position respectively.

The winner and India finalist, Jitender Singh will now take on the world’s best bartenders at Diageo’s eighth annual Global Diageo World Class Competition that will be held in Miami in September, 2016.

#LoveScotch campaign continues with Anushka Manchanda & Nakul Shenoy

As you would have read about the launch of #LoveScotch on World Whisky Day in Bengaluru, the campaign continued this week with Singer and musician Anushka Manchanda and the Mentalist, mind reader Nakul Shenoy. The evening had some candid conversations and precious moments around Scotch whisky which began at The Permit Room and ended at Arbor Brewing Company.

This evening too marked the celebration of Scotch Whisky as Anushka and Nakul shared their experiences about their favourite scotch. They got behind the bar and tried their hand at creating signature exotic cocktails with the help of United Spirits Reserve Brand Ambassador Andrew Qadri. Anushka went with the West Coast Julep made with the iconic Johnnie Walker Black Label while Nakul created Sunset Cinnamon infused with Black Dog Black Reserve. You can try your hands at the same too.

Black Dog Black Reserve: Sunset Cinnamon

45ml Black Dog Black Reserve, 10 ml Cinnamon syrup, 2 of Maraschino Cherries, 5 dashes Angostura bitters. Stir all the ingredients over ice and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Black Label: West Coast Julep

45ml Johnnie Walker Black Label, 20 ml ginger infused honey syrup, 30ml apple juice, 10 fresh mint leaves, 5 ml lime juice. Add all ingredients to shaker and shake hard. Then double strain into a rocks glass, add crushed ice and serve with a fresh mint sprig garnish.

Anushka Manchanda shred her love for Scotch Whisky saying that her father’s favourite Scotch Whisky is Johnnie Walker Black Label and hence hers too. It's the first whisky she knew, and the one she enjoy sipping the most. 

While Nakul Shenoy said that she enjoys his glass of Vat69 Scotch Whisky. Whether neat, on the rocks or in a cocktail, there is no right or wrong way to drink Scotch whisky, as long as you enjoy it.

The evening became interesting when Anushka broke into an impromptu gig while Nakul showcased his mind reading skills. This week's pub crawl got the crowd of Bengaluru share its love for Scotch Whisky and getting them more excited for further pub crawl's.

Launch of #LoveScotch on World Whisky Day

On the occasion of World Whisky Day, USL-Diageo, India’s leading Scotch-Whisky company introduced to Bangalore its biggest global campaign '#LoveScotch'. It was a splendid evening of candid conversations around Scotch whisky with Canadian Super Model Coco Rocha, and actors Randeep Hooda, Mandira Bedi and Dino Morea, alongside Rajiv Mehta (CEO, Arvind Fashion Brands & Arvind Sports Lifestyle) at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangalore.

#LoveScotch is about empowering people to express their passion, embolden existing ambassadors and inspire those who are new to whisky, creating a movement across the globe for people to share how they enjoy their dram.

The evening marked a celebration of everything that gives Scotch whisky its unique character, flavour and personality, as the celebrities shared their personal moments about their favourite Scotches. Randeep and Dino got behind the bar and tried their hand at making cocktails with World Class Brand Ambassadors Jamie Walker and Nicholas Ord.

This was followed by a Pub Crawl, the entourage visited two of the coolest hangouts in the city – Sanchos & Skyye at UB City and curated some more delicious concoctions with renowned United Sprits bartenders Ajay Nayar and Hemant Mundkur. Coco Rocha, Mandira Bedi and Rajiv Mehta joined them behind the bar for a spirited evening. Scotch continues to be the world’s favourite whisky, with 95 million cases sold across 256 countries.  No other spirit can offer the same range of tastes, textures and flavours.

Talking about her association with #LoveScotch, Coco Rocha, Global Brand Ambassador said that she is a whisky lover myself who enjoys Johnnie Walker Black Label. She usually enjoys her Scotch with ginger ale.

Adding to this, Actor Randeep Hooda, said, He enjoys Black Dog as it gives him memories of discussing his career over a glass of Black Dog with his dad. He usually enjoys his Scotch on the rocks.

Dino Morea, Bollywood actor and former model, said that he has always been a fan of the Black & White whisky, though he is always eager to experiment with exotic flavors, with Whisky Sour being an all-time favourite.

Designer, actor and TV presenter, Mandira Bedi mentioned, that her bottle of Singleton has been her priced possession that adorns her home bar till today. She has always been the son that her father did not have, in relation to sharing a glass of scotch.

Most of world’s best scotches are with Diageo including BLACK DOG, VAT 69, BLACK  & WHITE, JOHNNIE WALKER™, HAIG CLUB™, BUCHANAN’S™, SINGLETON, LAGAVULIN™ AND TALISKER™. 

Tip a glass and toast the world’s favourite whisky this World Whisky Day and share your memories with #LoveScotch.

United Spirits unveils the Scotch Whisky Collection: An exceptional gift

Indians have traditionally exchanged gifts on every occasion - the custom is deep rooted in our culture. But consumers today want a touch of style, uniqueness, and personalization in their gift items, which reflects their status.

United Spirits Limited hosted an extraordinary evening with personalities Lisa Haydon, Chitrangda Singh, Shibani Dandekar and Nitesh Chhapru, Head of Marketing, Premium Core Portfolio, United Spirits Limited who unveiled the Scotch Whisky Collection: An Exceptional Gift for all occasions for men. The Scotch Whisky Collection entails a premium range of Scotch whiskies such as Black Dog, Vat 69 and Black & White as an ideal gift for whisky connoisseurs who will cherish the specially created collectible gift packs.

The Scotch Whisky Collection launch was dedicated to ‘solving the dilemma of gifting for men’ and was hosted by Anuradha Menon whose witty twist to ‘gifting’ kept the audience highly amused. Celebrities Lisa Haydon, Chitrangda Singh and Shibani Dandekar shared anecdotes of personal gifts they had received and shared. They were unanimous that the Scotch Whisky Collection now made it simpler for them to buy gifts for their male friends.

Speaking about her favourite gifting moments, Lisa Haydon mentioned, “I believe we have solved the dilemma of gifting for men.  Earlier it was a task to find the right gift for the right occasion but the Scotch Whisky Collection is the ideal gift for all occasions. All men appreciate their Scotch Whisky and am sure would cherish such a gift.”

Commenting on this, Chitrangda Singh, said “It’s a great feeling when someone appreciates your gift. The appreciative expression makes every moment count while getting the ideal gift. My father is a perfectionist and a man of great character and strength. He enjoys his Scotch whisky and hence the perfect gift for him would be a bottle of VAT69.”

Adding to his, Shibani Dandekar, commented. “I love buying gifts for people who I am close to as I know their likes and dislikes.  When I am invited to a friend’s house I always gift a bottle of Black &White as it’s one of the best tasting Scotches whiskies today and always tastes better when shared! If I know someone who has won an award or received a promotion I tend to gift them a bottle of Black Dog to celebrate their achievements.”

Nitesh Chhapru, Head of Marketing: Premium Core Portfolio, USL said, “The gifting market in India has become a billion dollar industry and is still evolving.  People are now looking at more innovative and personalised options while purchasing their gifts. Keeping this in mind, we have launched The Scotch Whisky Collection: An Exceptional Gift with the finest of our Scotch whisky blends to celebrate all occasions. The SWC includes Black Dog, VAT69 and Black & White; exquisite blends with exceptional taste and flavour for every moment.”

United Spirits brings to you a range of premium Scotch Whiskies for gifting this festive season; a delight for all whisky connoisseurs who will cherish the specially created collectible gift packs. So go ahead and get #ScotchAsAGift.

Amrut Whisky Tasting at The Glass House

I was recently invited for Amrut Whisky tasting session at the Glass house, Bangalore. As I do not consume alcohol, I took along Arjun from  http://evaluatedpirate.blogspot.in/ along with me for the alcohol tasting while I enjoyed the food at The Glass House.

Amrut whisky is based in our very own Bengaluru, an Indian brand single malt whisky. They have reached international market and already been sold in over 30 countries across the world. Amrut Fusion has been rated at No.3 by Jim Murray from over 4,000 whisky he had tried from across the world, with a score of 97/100. Amrut whisky actually started out as a MBA project of Mr Rakshit Jagdale, this project has put India in the whisky market shocking everyone across the globe.

Mr. Ashok Chokalingam, Mr. Rakshit Jagdale and Mr. Vikram from Amrut took everyone through the blind whisky tasting. This was a blind whisky tasting, where there were just six glass with whisky without any identification of the brand. The tasting session was taken forward by Mr Ashok Chokalingam who was the Whisky Ambassador for the year 2012, voted by the Icons of Whisky. He explained us the various aspects of whisky that can be briefly explained as nosing, tasting, balancing and finish, along with guessing the age and origin.

Arjun rated the below whisky according to what he found the best:
1. 22/40 for Glenmorangie
2. 30/40 for Amrut Classic Malt
3. 26/40 for Black label
4. 31/40 for Jim Beam
5. 34/40 for Amrut Fusion
6. 32/40 for Amrit peated

Do note that one man's whisky might not be liked by others. But the manner of whisky tasting sessionwas very impressive where many learnt new ways of appreciating whisky.

After the whisky tasting, chef at The Glass House served us few of his signature dishes. We were served with Stuffed mini eggplant roulade, Goat cheese lollipops, Margarita pizza, Chicken fire cracker, Beef carpaccio and Lamb sliders The chef used very less ingredients in his dishes to enhance the flavors.

The Chicken fire cracker had a mix of mango puree and mustard which was an interesting combination and the tender chicken blended well with this combination. A tangy twist suited my liking.

If you like goat cheese then you have to try the Goat cheese lollipops. I do not like goat cheese much but did give it a try. The saltiness in the goat cheese and the dates and jalapenos stuffing was liked by many but not me.

Margarita pizza was a thin crust pizza which was repeated on the table. As I love sliders, Lamb slider was thoroughly enjoyed. The lamb patty was juicy and cooked to perfection.of the food.

A hint of The Glass House will surely take me to the restaurant again.


For more information on Amrut Whisky or for distillery tour, you can contact them at:

Sales inquiries:
Ashok Chokalingam ,General Manager – International Operations, Amrut Distilleries Ltd,
Tel:+44(0)191-233 6316 Fax:+44(0)191-233-6346
E-mail: info@amrutdistilleries.com

Head Office:
Amrut Distilleries Ltd, (N.R.Jagdale Group), # 41/1, 72nd Cross, Rajajinagar 6th Block,
Bangalore, 560 010, India.
Tel: +91 80 23100402, 380, 379, 389, 23503860 Fax: +91 80 23351542
Web Site: www.amrutdistilleries.com www.amrutwhisky.co.uk