Whisky appreciation sessions have plenty of takeaways, apart from innumerable sips of the beverage and relearning the lesson of drinking responsibly! They also teach one to experiment, develop finer appreciation skills and encourage interesting food pairing.

At a recently held whisky appreciation event sponsored by American Express and anchored by whisky expert Sandeep Arora in Sheraton Park and Towers, Chennai the spirits were hand-picked and teamed with some delicious traditional South Indian cuisine.

The inspiration behind the event was the amazing variety of scotch whiskies that can be paired effectively with Indian food.

Being served first along with some finger-licking good finger-food from Dakshin, was a deep gold 17 Year-old Ballantine's whisky.

This was followed by an 18 YO Chivas Regal, the 18 YO Glenlivet single malt scotch whisky, 21 YO Royal Salute and 10 YO Aberlour.

An important point that Sandeep makes about the age of the scotch whisky being served is that the number of years mentioned on the bottle and packaging is usually the minimum time that the whisky has spent in the oak cask. Even in blended scotch whiskies, it is not an average, but the minimum number of years that the whisky has been matured.

And incidentally, whisky does not continue to mature after it has been bottled. Further, just as is the case with wine, whisky appreciation also involves the entire process of swirling, nosing, appreciating the legs of the drink and ultimately discovering the complex notes and tastes of the whisky.

Sandeep Arora is a qualified whisky brand ambassador and Director of Spiritual Luxury Living Pvt. Ltd, South Asia's premiere International Luxury Spirits and Whisky Management Company.

comment COMMENT NOW