Introvert single malt is finally mixing

Bar tender Tushar Dalvi makes cocktails at Mansionz, Kamala Mills. Pic/Bipin Kokate

At the typical single malt whisky tasting, the whisky master would hold up a stout Glencairn glass to the light and discuss the colour of the contents: amber, golden, or copper. We'd be urged to nose it for its bouquet that opens aromatic notes. After a swirl and small sip, the liquid on the palate would be discussed for the body, tasting notes, and finish. Then, a few drops of water would be allowed in to unfurl the complex liquid. The single malt drinker would be the guy in a suit, with a preference for leather chairs, sometimes holding a cigar. This is was the old, hackenyed world. In the new one, the single malt drinker is nursing the same drink as a cocktail.

Yangdup Lama of Sidecar and Speak Easy in Delhi and Gurugram thinks that the narrative around single malts is changing and cocktails are the future.Pic/Nishad Alam

Last month, one of Scotland's most famous distilleries, Glenmorangie, launched Glenmorangie X - a full-bodied dram aged in new charred oak barrels that lend it a spicy note with hints of dark chocolate, ginger, sweet chilli, and vanilla. Master distiller Bill Lumsden calls it a single malt created for mixing cocktails. "A lot of single malt drinkers are snooty, or a bit afraid to experiment. While we don't expect a connoisseur who prefers an 18 YO (18-year-old whisky) and 25 YO (25-year-old) to mix cocktails with single malt, X offers a democratic product that one can drink neat, on the rocks, with soda or in a complicated cocktail."

Lumsden, a scientist, began his journey three decades ago as a distillery manager. He says, back then, you'd be thrown out of any Scottish bar if you asked for a cocktail with single malt. "People have a wider taste now, they have become more cosmopolitan and travel extensively. This makes them open to experimentation. The change is partly also driven by the fact that millennials don't want to be bound by old rules. Our product has a lot of heritage, but to keep it relevant, we have to be relaxed. We have to encourage people to drink our product in different ways. We still make our rare whiskies that won't go in a cocktail, but the industry has become more democratic," Lumsden adds.

Bourbon street cocktail at Sidecar. Pic/Nishad Alam

Not all brands, however, are pushing single malts in cocktails. Angad Singh Gandhi, brand ambassador, Glenfiddich, agrees that the whiskey drinking audience has expanded to include younger members, but people are still sensitive when challenging their preferences and experimenting. A majority of their clientele is aged 35 and older. "So, we change the narrative depending on who we are interacting with. While we don't go all out with encouraging mixing single malts in cocktails, we do say that you should have fun with the drink. With many young whiskies launching, consumers continue to explore and experiment with each of them differently," says Gandhi.

Shehan Minocher, brand ambassador of Moet Hennessy India, mixes a cocktail called India - a highball with tender coconut water, soda, honey water and lime juice

Popular single malts are usually aged between 10 and 12 years, and it's a myth that they must be had neat. Contemporary malt whiskies are young, with no age statement, argues Keshav Prakash of The Vault Collective, a Mumbai-based import house for fine spirits and platform to develop their appreciation. "How are you experiencing your whisky: is it paired with a cigar, had with food, sipped in a cocktail, or are you studying it like a work of art?" he asks. Under his curation, Ziya at the Oberoi will soon launch the tableside Highball, a much-celebrated long drink whisky popular in Japan. It's chosen to complement Michelin Star chef Vineet Bhatia's menu. "Blended and single malt whiskies are like apples and oranges. One is predominantly grain-based and the other is 100 percent malted barley. These new expressions are helping people enter the world of whisky in the most approachable manner, often via mixology," Prakash thinks. He the example of Godawan, a single malt whisky named after the Great Indian Bustard, launched recently in Jaipur by Diageo. "At the launch, they used the whisky to prepare dishes for the guests and even desserts. This relaxed single malt has qualities that are great for mixing."

Vikram Damodaran, Chief Innovation Officer, Diageo, says Godavan is not created for mixing but nor is it a straight-jacketed single malt. "It is created for a series of perfect sips. A true blue single malt that exposes consumers to experiences. They are free to experiment with this new brand that follows traditional codes of whisky making."

Dr Bill Lumsden

Cocktails are an effective entry point for the young drinker, bar entrepreneurs concur because as Yangdup Lama of Sidecar and Speak Easy in Delhi and Gurugram, says, "The young consumer doesn't want to know the history of a distillery or the water used to make it. They want to hear the fun parts and get sipping." Lama believes that the narrative around single malts is changing and cocktails are the future. "They have become premium. A decade ago, a bar would use its cheapest alcohol to put together the cocktail menu. But with the arrival of the new age consumer, bartenders have received a massive boost as has the quality of liquor used to mix."

Craig Wedge, head of operations, Maisonz is on a mission to redefine what liquor is all about. Pic/Bipin Kokate

In 2018, Lama was part of a project with Glenfiddich single malts, using the 12, 15 and 18 YO to make cocktails that were headlined by Indian ingredients such as walnuts from Kashmir, bay leaf from Assam, and tea from Darjeeling. The story of Scottish water and cask strength was missing. The aim was to let people know that it is a great single malt," says Lama. At the GK2 outpost of Sidecar, which was placed at No. 16 in the Asia's Best Bars 2021 list, Lama serves the Bourbon Street (R650), where he uses Islay single malt and another Smokey Island which is old-fashioned with the smoky, peaty Lagavulin 16. He says that 20 years into his career, his comprehension of cocktails has evolved. "I am now happier using single malts and its characteristics to play with new cocktails."

Earlier this month, Mumbai-based mixologist and flair expert Ami Shroff undertook a collaboration with Paul John, an award-winning single malt from Goa, to create cocktails for Nirvana. One of them was an orange sour. "Cocktails are finding their time in the sun. Talent among mixologists is improving. They are making well-balanced drinks relying on precision of ingredients, good quality ice and high-end spirits. It improves the mix immensely," she says.

In Lower Parel stands Mansionz, a multi-use lifestyle space that houses an American brasseries, a pan-Asian eatery focusing on dim sum, a tasting room and rooftop bar, to compliment a luxurious liquor shopping experience by Living Liquidz. Here, the drink Mansionz gold (R650) comes with 60 ml of Paul John Bold, Olorosso Sherry, maple syrup, Drambuie, Benedictine and Angostura aromatic bitters. Garnished with orange or cherry, the drink is an example of introducing customers to nuanced spirits and taste profiles. At Mansionz, the bar menu embraces the classics, but uses a higher caliber of spirits as base.

Amy Shroff

Craig Wedge, head mixologist, says, the purist will jump up and down, worried about tainting purity, but there is a new kind of customer that's looking for novel experiences and bar chefs are happy to seek out new flavours and combinations. "We focus on redefining what liquor is about. When it comes to classics, it has single identity complexities, and the job of a good bartender is to magnify and compliment this complexity. For example, a Manhattan is taken to a different level by using the a 12 YO or 18 YO. The classic gets a reboot here. A single malt drinker is no more the grumpy man sitting in the corner. S/he could jolly well be the life of the party. And women are driving this change because they are a little more adventurous," says Craig.

Hemanth Rao, founder of Single Malt Amateur Club, clears the air about single malts. "We know it comes from Scotland, a relatively cold country where the practice is to consume it neat to warm the body. They may add a few drops of water to release the bouquet," Rao explains. "While cocktails such as Old fashioned have been around since the 1850s, with fewer ingredients as compared to today, it was the Japanese who were among the first to create cocktails with single malt whisky. They added ginger ale and aerated water to create a high ball on lots of ice." India has long been portrayed as a country that preferred rum over whisky, since it was produced from molasses and not grain. However, this is not true. Mohan Meakin Ltd set up its first Indian brewery as long back as 1855. Indians have also been trashed for not knowing how to consume whisky, and these observations are made by ‘experts'. But they have not considered many factors. Our weather is not conducive to having distilled robust spirits neat. Brands themselves are now changing the way they present their products, making room for a younger audience," he clarifies.

Rao steers the focus towards the whiskies that are being promoted as cocktail forward. "You will never see distillers talking about limited editions, and exclusive and rare whiskies for mixing. A decade ago, no one thought it was okay to bottle a whisky within three to four years. Now, whiskies are being bottled after completing as low as four years in the cask, which has given rise to no age statement (NAS) whiskies. This trend began in the mid-'90s and early 2000. While such whiskies will not make it to connoisseur appreciation tables, they move faster and make for great cocktail mixers."

Glenmorangie, in its new brand positioning, doesn't think much about the complexities of whisky making. It focuses on the fact that it is delicious to drink. "We received a lot of criticism from the Scotch whisky industry, but I take that as a compliment. We are doing something right that they are jealous of," Lumsden signs off.