New gins like Amrut Nilgiris Cask-Aged, Trading Tides, Spice Route, and whiskies like Dewars Double Double and Indri-Trini make the monsoon a more spirited one. Here are some worthy new additions to your bar.
Trading Tides & Spice Route
About two years ago, cult Australian distillery Four Pillars and Goa-based Third Eye distillery, which makes Stranger & Sons, decided to collaborate on a project to see each of them create a gin inspired by botanicals they had never previously used. Four Pillars, located in the Yarra Valley in Victoria, took delivery of black pepper, cardamom and other spices from around Goa. At the same time, Third Eye got introduced to river mint, lemon myrtle, and anise myrtle. The results of this exercise, conducted over the internet, are Trading Tides and Spice Trade. Trading Tides, distilled in Goa, is a lovely citrus-forward gin, while you’ll find hints of green schezwan and red chilli, among others, in Spice Trade.
The gins are available in Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra and the price range between Rs 2520 and Rs 3,500.
Sipsmith
Sipsmith, among the heroes of London’s craft gin renaissance, defines a classic London Dry gin. Its distillery opened in 2009. It was the first one with a copper pot still to open within Greater London in nearly two centuries. Expect a floral bouquet with citrusy notes, a palate led by dry juniper, and a spicy finish.
The gin is priced between Rs 5485 and Rs 7000 and is available in Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru.
Amrut Nilgiris Cask-Aged Gin
Amrut is cool because it constantly innovates. Its new Nilgiris cask-aged gin follows the same tradition, with a limited run of 1800 bottles worldwide. Like many of the brand’s Single Malt variations, getting your hands on the new gin will be tough. It is matured in first, second, and third-fill ex-bourbon casks that have previously held peated and unpeated Amrut malts for about three months. It took about a year of experimentation for Amrut’s gin distiller Nikhil Varma to “extract the desirable wood congeners and add a subtle yet dynamic profile to the original Nilgiris Gin”. Price start at Rs 3,295
Hapusa — Distiller’s Cut
Exclusive to Delhi, the Hapusa-Distiller’s Cut is bolted at a higher alcohol strength of 47 per cent ABV as against the original gin’s 43. This means that if you dig Hapusa and get your hands on the Distiller’s Cut, you could be in for a richer, more complex, yet familiar experience. According to Nao Spirits, which makes the gin, the Hapusa Distiller’s Cut “is able to retain and showcase some of the more delicate notes of its botanicals like raw mango and turmeric.”
Priced at Rs 3,000.
Dewars Double Double
The original Dewars Double Double recipe went something like this: first age blended single grain whiskies and single malts separately, and then blend them together and age them once again. They added an extra step three years ago: the whiskies were aged for an additional year in select sherry casks. The result? A bunch of awards and an eager following. The Double Double range — a 21 YO, a 27 YO, and a 32 YO — was launched last month in India. Especially interesting are the cask finishes: the 21 YO is aged in Olorosso; the 27 YO in Palo Cartado; and the 32 YO in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.
Prices start at Rs 12,000.
Indri-Trini
A gold medal at the World Whisky Awards, a Silver at the IWSC, and most recently, pole position in the Indian single malt category at the International Whisky Competition: within six months of its launch, the Indri-Trini has picked up a lot of shiny metal. India’s first three-wood expression, the Indri-Trini, made by Piccadilly Distilleries, India’s largest independent spirits manufacturer, is aged in ex-bourbon, sherry, and red wine casks.
The No Age Statement whisky costs between Rs 3,100 and Rs 5,200
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