Whisky Tango Foxtrot?

Vinayak Singh, the host of Dram Club. To attend the first one, on April 5, write to thedramclubmumbai@gmail.com. Pic/Ashish Raje

There's a certain douchebaggery associated with single malt - the swag, the suits, the machismo…. you get the picture. But let's face it, Don Draper was a misogynist, Harvey Specter may have been cool, if only briefly, way back in 2011, and Gordon Gekko never was. But look past this toxic masculinity that seems to have appropriated the single malt and you'll likely agree that it's also a spectacularly nerdy drink. What may seem like a harmless act of reading notes on a bottle could easily lead you down a rabbit hole of web pages about distilleries, casks and age statements.

And even though there's no end to how much you can nerd over single malt, what makes it such an immensely gratifying drink is the stories that come with it. Like that of a bunch of enthusiasts who physically rebuilt a distillery that'd been shut for a few centuries. Or, of how the 12-pointed royal stag on a Dalmore is, in fact, a crest granted by a grateful Scottish king to a chief who saved his life from a charging stag. Stories such as these keep the evening alive at Dram Club, a new single malt club that Vinayak Singh, a Bandra-based financial consultant, hosts.

Throughout March, Singh has been hosting events-one of which we attended-as an experiment inviting friends and acquaintances and getting a feel of how the city is reacting to single malts and whiskies. "For most part, single malt is considered a serious drink, a man's drink. But I see that it's increasingly changing," he says. This isn't surprising since distillery majors have been drawing in women and millennials in India for the last few years. There are now several more tastings exclusively for women than ever before. Even the communication of single malts is gender neutral. The ratio in our group too is skewed towards women.

"Women tend to have a more sophisticated palette and they're able to identify and appreciate a wider range of flavours and bouquets," Singh says. It's also what makes someone like Heer Kothari who's part of our group reach out to a single malt over rum at a party. "I enjoy the complex flavours of a single malt. So, it made sense to educate myself about it," she says.

For Asha Sainani, on the other hand, the event is about experiencing something new. She begins the evening by admitting that she wouldn't know the difference between vodka and whisky.

By all estimates, Indians have been consuming more alcohol than ever before. According to WHO's Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018, alcohol consumption in India has gone from 2.4 litres per capita in 2005 to 5.7 litres in 2016. Scotch exports to India in 2018 also saw a sharp rise-23.1 million bottles more than in 2017-as compared to the US and France where exports grew by just 9.4 million bottles each according to the Scotch Whisky Association.

"Despite this we don't seem to know how to drink a good single malt," Singh complains. "People buy expensive bottles from duty free but then proceed to dilute the drink with lots of ice. And that's one of the reasons I launched Dram Club too-to educate people in how to drink right." Make no mistake, this isn't a classroom where Singh postulates and the rest of us listen-even though he may have strict ideas about how a single malt must be had (just two drops of water, please, no more)- it's a conversation.

Singh adds: "It's easy to get caught up in the technicalities. And, while we do get into explaining the difference between, say, Speyside, Highlands and Islay or how casks affect flavour, the idea is always to have an interesting story to go with every new round. Because, really, that's what makes an event
memorable, isn't it?"

Sure enough, by the end of the evening, everyone in our motley group - doctors, marketing professionals, writers, designers - is sharing stories, not just of single malts and whiskies but also about their lives. Common connections emerge and suddenly we're not the strangers we were when the evening began. It's easy to put it down to the alcohol levels in our bloodstream but it reaffirms something I've come to believe lately - some of the most interesting stories are ones that start over a drink. Of course, it helps if the drink is a good bottle of whisky. Sinatra would agree; he took one to his grave.

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