The Rs 28-lakh Macallan that's soon to hit the shelves is bringing on that dreamy look among connoisseurs. We get them talking about their passion
The Rs 28-lakh Macallan that's soon to hit the shelves is bringing on that dreamy look among connoisseurs. We get them talking about their passion
Is single malt whiskey your poison? Then here's a new killer that's to hit the shelves in August: Macallan 1947 made by the Edrington Group. But it's also likely to drill a nice hole in your pocket a cool Rs 28 lakh for 700 ml.
We spoke to a few Bangaloreans who take pride in their cellars, about their picks, their single malt wish list and their thoughts on Macallan 1947.
Marketing gimmick
Viney Singh, managing director of Spar, said, "I think these are just marketing gimmicks. When you are talking about such prices, it is more to make a tall claim. I don't think a commercial sale ever happens with these kind of things."
Viney's favourites are Islay's malts the Lagavulin and Talisker. " I also like to experiment with new ones. I recently picked up a Rose Bank single malt from London."u00a0 The rare malt is from a well known distillery shut down 15 years ago.
God's gift
"For me, single malt is the nectar of God. It requires a lot of passion from the master blender to actually get the right malt. It's a total art, a love affair, something like a great painting. A lot of people might prefer blended scotch and then you mature and graduate to something else. I would love to try the new Macallan 1947," said Ananth Iyer, business head for luxury brands at UB Spirits Ltd.
Ananth belongs to a group of 10 single malt lovers who meet once in 45 days at each other's homes.u00a0 He has a cellar with 65 bottles. "The Glenfiddich 30, Bowmore 21, Dalmore, Alexander 3 and Lag 16 are the pride of my cellar," he said.
10-yr-long passion
Natarajan Viswanathan, VP of Hitachi Data Systems, prefers the Glenlivetu00a0 21. "It is good both for drinking as a before- and after-dinner malt," he said. "The really expensive single malts that range in the Rs 20 to 30 lakh bracket are not to my taste. But I would be happy if someone has single malt like that and asks me over for a sniffing and tasting.
He owns two rare single malts a 30-year-old Glenfiddich from Singapore and a Macallan 1851 Inspiration.u00a0 "I haven't opened the Glen yet. I'm saving it for an occasion."
Mrinal Kochar, senior product engineer, SanDisk, on the other hand prefers his Balvenie.u00a0 "I did howeveru00a0 pick up the Macallan recently, along with a Balvenie Glenlivet, both 15-year-old. On my wish list are the Talisker 16-year-old and the Glenmorangie 18-year-old."
An art
Abhijit Saha, owner of Caperberry, feels that scotch is now more popular than before.u00a0u00a0
"Scotch whisky, like wine, is a natural artisan product with a lot of skill and craft mastered over centuries. It also happens to be the most popular spirit drink traditionally enjoyed before and after dinner or sometimes as a cocktail (not by purists, though, who believe the addition of any third element besides pure water can ruin the dram).
"However, the increasing popularity of single malts in the last decade or so has opened up the potential of Scotch whisky being a fine accompaniment to food on the dinner table."
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