The Stadel recently hosted a whisky appreciation evening, with USL brand ambassador Shantanu Sengupta holding forth on the topic for the evening — Art of Blending. With five glasses of blended whisky paired with everything from vanilla pods to dark chocolate, dried apricots, honey, candied ginger, almonds and peppercorns, it was a revelation to find the flavours and nuances in the drinks.
“Art of Blending ventures into the world of whisky, not because we believe you must drink alcohol in order to be a man but because if you choose to do so, it should be in the tradition of gentlemen — and the term doesn’t indicate a specific gender here,” explained Ayan Mitra, general manager, The Stadel.
t2 took notes...
Did you know
- The best way to distinguish between flavours when you nose the whisky is to add a few drops of water to it. Water enhances the flavours and makes them more distinct.
- Swirl your whisky in a glass, just like with wine. The whisky comes in contact with air and opens up the aromas.
- Chocolates and whisky go great together. Like cheese is to wine, dark chocolate is to whisky.
- Your bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label has a good 40 blends of whisky, each aged 12 years.
- Vat 69 gets its name from the 69th barrel, or vat, that its creator William Sanderson blended. He’d blended hundreds of vats, but the 69th was declared the best and was picked to be the brand’s name.
Text: Simran Kapur
Pictures: Chanchal Ghosh
