• Paul John Single Malt Whisky Distillery – Goa

    Paul John Single Malt Whisky Distillery – Goa

    When you hear about the beautiful state of Goa situated in the West Coast, it springs to the mind the sandy beaches, the palm trees, the Portuguese architecture, the luscious food and not to forget the feni. But also on the tourist map of Goa is now the legendary Paul John distillery India’s only Visitor Centre located in the village of Cuncolim, Goa.

    Paul John Single Malt -Goa

    Keeping my yearning to visit this distillery one day, I ventured through the beautiful hinterlands of Goan villages to finally reach this distillery in Cuncolim. As soon as you touch this place, you face the outstanding building akin to Portuguese style architecture. Was spellbound by the yellow facade, the ethnic Goan-Portuguese touch, the startling colors, the colonial furniture’s, the wall paintings reminiscing Mario  Miranda’s expressions , the décor etc.

    Visitor’s Centre

    Meeting the ‘Master’ Distiller Michael D’souza over some interactive chat followed by historic walkthrough by Pankaj into the world of Paul John Single Malts was a mesmerizing experience. Pankaj ensured that we get the first hand knowledge of the entire process of their single malt whisky production. Right from their use of six row barley. sourced from lands of Rajasthan. which has more protein that fastens conversion to fermentable sugars and responsible to the whisky’s intrinsic characteristics to the kilning process of drying the malted barley, milling & the preparation of the grist ratio was spot on described.

    Grist Ratio

    Further, the process of mashing in a mash tun to get the sweet liquid wort, the fermentation of wort into alcohol in a stainless steel vessel called the washback – all very fascinating.

    Fermentation

    Got a strong whiff of brew while nosing the washback and the taste of distiller’s beer  – minus the hops.

    Distiller’s Beer

    Next, Pankaj showcased the shining copper pot stills and the distillation process.

    With Pankaj with the Copper Pot Stills on the background

    The whisky safe where the master distiller decides the cuts – foreshots (heads), hearts, feints (tails) which are responsible to the various compounds. Enjoyed the New Make Spirit Sip.

    Whisky Safe

    A magnificent painting right at the entrance of the underground cask cellar depicting angel’s share is eye catching. A good 8% goes as Angel’s share making Angel’s happy for sure.

    Angel’s Share Painting

    Getting  whiff the of the dram from a PX cask was heavenly.
    The underground cask cellar is a connoisseurs’ dream. Different Bourbon, Tennessee, Sherry, Pedro Ximenez, Porto casks and many others numbering anywhere between 3500 plus strategically positioned in the cellar in the process of undergoing maturation to be unveiled someday. Getting  whiff the of the dram from a PX cask was blissful.

    Maturation in Oak Barrels

    From bottling it was time to taste the beauties. A classic bar set up & an educational wooden setting with Glencairn sitting comfortably in the six wooden slots of Oaky Coasters.

    Tasting Room

    Pankaj with Single Malt expressions right in front of us posing several questions. Three expressions from select casks –  Edited, Bold, Peated come with well defined Peated flavours. Other expressions include Brilliance, Nirvana & Kanya with their soft and  mellow bouquets.  

    Pankaj the Spirit Educator

    After tasting regular ones,  he put forth some blind tastings. I did manage to give the best & came close to the X’mas  expressions and their XO Brandy. Felt elation of joy.

    Tasting Session

    No wonder the wall has myriad of awards displayed. Kudos to Paul John!

    Awards


    Thankyou Paul John Single Malt

  • Jack & Coke – The Cinnamon Twist

    Jack & Coke – The Cinnamon Twist

    J&C cocktail is simple drink made with Tennessee Whiskey & Coke served in a Collins glass & also known as ‘Lemmy’ named after the popular member of a heavy metal band ‘Motorhead’🥃🦌🥃
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    An alltime Southern American  popular drink is especially a  big hit with young guns, though  some whiskey aficionados  consider it not intellectual or cultured fare drink.  Why not make it a high brow with a twist. Experimentation gives rise to new life. So here is a Cinnamon twist to the famous JD&Coke🥃🦌🥃
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    Ingredients

    Tennessee Whiskey – 45 ml @jackdaniels_us
    Coke – 125 ml
    Club Soda – 20 ml
    Peychauds Bitters – 5 ml
    Lemon wedges
    Cinnamon stick straw
    .
    Preparation Method

    Fill the Collins glass with ice &  throw in the lemon wedges with a gentle squeeze. Pour on the rocks the whiskey & the bitters. Pour in the club soda & give it a gentle stir. Top it up with coke.  Garnish it with Cinnamon straw & sip through it as you enjoy the refreshing, bubbly drink with the aroma & flavor of pungent & scenty cinnamon lingering finish🥃🦌
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    Whiskey notes: The Lincoln County Process (LCP) followed in production of Tennessee whiskey is  a 3-5 day filtration process where the newly-distilled whiskey such as the Jack Daniel’s trickles drop by drop through ten feet of densely packed sugar maple charcoal prior to entering it into the barrel. The result of charcoal filtration is that it removes certain compounds from the new make whiskey, such as esters and congeners, making  a Tennessee Whiskey of exceptional smoothness with maple flavor.


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    Cheers!

  • Boulevardier – The Orange Twist

    Boulevardier – The Orange Twist

    Boulevardier cocktail is a concoction of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and campari & its creation is attributed to Erskine Gwynne,  who founded a monthly magazine in Paris called Boulevardier🥃
    .
    Here is the Orange twist to the Boulevardier. It is believed that a great cocktail incorporates spirits with sweet, sour, and bitter components to achieve a harmonious balance.

    Well, with my whisky as the spirited base, sweet & tangy orange juice replacing the sweet vermouth, the herbs & fruit liqueur Campari, the hazelnut monin syrup for that nutty flavor &  the punky Alpino bitters to finish, it’s time to shake this one rather stir.
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    Ingredients

    Single Malt Whisky – 45 ml @pauljohnwhisky
    Campari – 15 ml @campariofficial
    Orange juice – 25 ml (substitute to Sweet Vermouth)
    Hazelnut Syrup – 5 ml @monin_europe
    Bitters – a dash Alpino bitters
    Orange peel

    Boulevardier

    Preparation Method

    Combine all, except Alpino bitters, in a boston shaker with ice & shake well. Strain it into a crystal stem & express orange peel. Add a dash of Alpino bitters. Garnish with orange rind
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    Whisky notes – 2 row barley vs 6 row barley. We all know 100% malted barley goes into making of a Single Malt Whisky & there is no other grain permitted under the regulations governing  production of Single Malt. Two general types of barley are 2 row  and 6 row. The 2 row barley has a lower protein content &  higher starch which helps in converting to sugar to fuel fermentation.  Barley with lower nitrogen is high in starch & has large grain size & good enzyme potential & ability to germinate. The 6 row barley has more protein that  fastens conversion to fermentable sugars. It has a higher carbohydrate. 6 row has higher enzyme which means it can convert adjunct starches, which lack or are deficient in enzymes, during mashing. Both types of barley have their own pros & cons🥃
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    @pauljohnwhisky are created from Indian 6-row barley sourced from across the vast lands of Rajasthan to the foothills of the Himalayas which are responsible to several of the whisky’s intrinsic characteristics🥃

    Sour Mash
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    You must have heard the term ‘Sour Mash’ often either on the whiskey bottle label, uniquely the American whiskies, or in the course of discussion on making of whiskey🥃🥃
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    Sour mash has really nothing to do with being something sour. It’s  a process to reuse material from an older batch of previous run of mash to start the fermentation of a new batch🥃 Something, akin to the process of making of sourdough bread. A  whiskey made using this technique can be referred to as a sour mash whiskey. The purpose –  to control the growth of bacteria which could impact the whiskey’s taste and create a pH balance for the yeast by controlling acidity levels & the ultimate goal to have flavor consistency in between the batches. In the case of Tennessee Whiskies it is a legal requirement. Other terms that can be used in place of sour mash are spent grain, spent mash etc.🥃🥃🥃
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    Here is Dickel Tennessee Whisky
    ‘Sour mash”, 90% proof,  which is filtered through charcoal before being aged & thus not a Bourbon. With a Mash Bill of 84% Corn, 10% Rye, 6% Malted Barley, this dram has a caramel colour, to the nose – very appealing/ vanilla/citrus sweet apple/
    on the palate – delightful spiciness/ evoking  cinnamon/fruity sweetness/ woody/ & has a smooth finish with lingering oak & dried fruits🥃🥃🥃🥃
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    It’s said as a child  Dickel grew up in Europe & considered Scotch the ultimate whisky & thus he adopted the Scottish spelling ‘whisky’  to his dram & skipped ‘e’ which is otherwise so common in American Whiskey
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    Cheers!

  • Seduction – A Twist

    Seduction – A Twist

    Ingredients

    Whisky – 45 ml @pauljohnwhisky
    Orange liqueur – 15 ml @grandmarnierofficial
    Lime juice – 10 ml
    Sugar syrup – 10 ml
    Ripe Pineapple – 3 chunks
    Red wine (Merlot)- 10 ml @bigbanyanwines
    .
    Preparation Method

    Combine pineapple chunks, syrup, lime juice in a mixing glass & muddle to extract pineapple flavour. Add in the whisky & orange liqueur. Shake it well with ice using a Boston shaker. Double strain into a cocktail glass.  Float the red wine using a spiral bar spoon. Garnish with a pineapple wedge
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    With the bouquet of ripe berries of Merlot Wine interspersed with fragrance  of fresh pineapple in the  subtle concoction of smooth & rich flavorful whisky & sweet citrusy orange peels, this cocktail comes to life. A perfect cocktail to toast an occasion🥂
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    Coming to whisky & nuances. Let’s check compounds  responsible for the aromatic notes & tone that we perceive when nosing & sipping a dram🥃
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    Lactones: These compounds are found in the oak barrels that whisky is aged in & is picked up by the spirit. This contributes to the woody & coconut flavor🥥
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    Phenolic compounds: These compounds such as guaiacol & eugenol are the reason behind the smoky, bitterness & spicy flavour in a whisky. In the case of scotch, it’s the peat fire which dries the malted barley that results in the presence of phenolic compounds. Cresols are responsible to that band-aid like medicinal aroma
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    Aldehydes: These compounds are extracted from oak barrels into the whiskey that contributes to spicy, woody aroma. While ‘Vanillin’ contributes to the vanilla tone the ‘Furfural’ adds to the grainy flavour while ‘Heaxanal’ adds  the grassy note to a whisky
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    Esters: These compounds add to the fruity flavors. ‘Ethyl hexanoate’ contributes to sweet apple flavour whereas ‘Isoamyl acetate’ gives a banana & pear like aroma
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    Other compounds such as Damascenone add floral notes while ‘Diacetyl’ contributes to the buttery taste
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    So the next time you perceive these notes while sipping your dram be sure the chemical compound  strikes your  mind

  • The Whisky Apricot Sour

    The Whisky Apricot Sour

    A twist to the classic Whisky Sour. With the @pauljohnwhisky SM X’mas  edition fresh in my cabinet & to compliment it, the Apricot Brandy with it’s rich aroma &  amaretto flavour, the evening is all set for another happy hours
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    Ingredients

    Single Malt – 45 ml @pauljohnwhisky
    Apricot Brandy – 20 ml @bolscocktails
    Fresh lime juice – 25 ml
    Half Egg white – 15 ml
    Sugar Syrup – 10 ml
    Bitters – A dash @angosturahouse
    .
    Preparation Method

    Combine all, except bitters, in a Boston Shaker & shake it dry for half a minute. Then add few ice cubes & shake it again. Strain it in an old fashioned glass over ice cubes & splash a dash of bitters. There friends we have the Friday evening – “The Whisky Apricot Sour” – A Prelude to Christmas🥃
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    Filtered vs Unfiltered Whisky: You read it right, many a times on a whisky bottle label you would find these terms. So an unfiltered whisky is also known as non-chill filtered, meaning it has not been filtered once pulled out from barrel. So it’s said that when it’s chilled or diluted to reach it’s bottling proof, unfiltered whisky will have particles & takes on a cloudy hue. Thus, before dilution these whiskeys are filtered so that the whisky on the shelf looks clear and doesn’t get cloudy on dilution🥃
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    Well, on the other hand filtration gives a clear look to the whisky but also removes somes flavor. Whereas, unfiltered or non-chilled filtered whiskey are considered to be more flavourful and generally bottled at barrel strength or proof so that a small amount of chilling or infusing with a few drops of water will not make it cloudy. @pauljohnwhisky here carries a non-chilled filtered statement on the bottle label🥃
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    Cheers!

  • Paul John Whisky Single Malt – The Christmas Edition 2019

    This Christmas Edition 2019,  from the tropical shores of Goa has spent some exotic time maturing in Pedro Ximenez Cask, in short PX,  before being bottled at the strength of 46% abv.

    ‘PX’ is  the name of a Spanish wine grape variety. It is used to produce a style of Sherry that is sweet, dark, dessert wine. It has a strong taste that reminds of raisins & dry fruits.

    With the Single Malt Christmas edition around,  the bunnies, teddy bears & rest made it to the unboxing ceremony including the Scottish Piper man in his traditional tartan kilt playing a bagpiper.

    This Christmas edition reminds me of fortified cakes. A rich caramel honeyed colour, with aroma of sweet ripe fruits & vanilla, on the palate exotic honeyed as well oaky sweetness, sultanas, raisins, orange peel & to finish the lingering toasty & nutty spiciness. This whisky is a luscious treat.

    Watch out for some delicious  whisky cocktails in the days to come.

    Whisky Notes:

    Some of the whiskeys undergo a double maturation when a whisky or any spirit is matured in a first cask of a particular origin, normally the bourbon cask, & then spends time in a cask of different origin for a couple of months till the entire maturation. These different origin second cask are predominantly the ones that has been used to mature  fortified wines mostly sherry & of course also  Port, Burgundy, Chardonnay etc.

    Paul John whisky

    Cheers! 

  • Glenlivet Triple Cask

    Here is the Glenlivet Triple Cask.

    The whisky that has been aged in American Oak, European Oak & Ex Sherry Cask & ensures a fine balance of flavors.

    It has a lively bright copper colour & to the nose ripe fruits, vanilla & awesome sweetness, to the palate dried fruity notes & spices & finally lingering finish of fruit & nut cake.

    Some Whisky Notes:

    Barrel proof /Cask strength / Barrel strength / Single barrel /Small batch

    We come across these words on the bottle labels but sometimes just give it a pass. Let’s decipher what exactly this could mean & how it could help us to appreciate the final sip.

    Whisky basically has three strengths in it’s lifetime.

    Still strength – At this stage the whisky that comes out of the still is around 70%abv to 75%abv.

    Barrel strength – After ageing for a few years when some alcohol evaporates the alcohol% drops to  barrel or the cask strength of 60% abv to 65% abv.

    Bottle strength – At the bottling stage some distillers add enough water to the whisky to bring the bottle strength to 40%abv.

    Coming to the Barrel strength, Cask strength, Barrel proof these are all nearly synonymous. They all mean the same thing that is the percentage of alcohol of a whisky as it comes out of the barrel. It describes a whisky that has not been substantially diluted after its storage in a cask for maturation. These whiskies are non-chill-filtered which retains fatty acids which are part of the aromatic profile & appear cloudy on addition of water to the dram.

    Small batch whisky are produced by mixing the whiskies of rather small number of selected casks and then bottled. These are distilled in limited quantity. Mostly American whiskies get covered under this category.

    Single barrel whisky on the other hand is bottled from whisky that has been aged in an individual barrel rather from the blend of whiskies coming from several barrels. It provides unique characteristics to the finished whisky.

    Glenlivet

    Cheers!

  • The Long Blue Island

    The Long Blue Island

    With the arrival of my tumbler to my glassware collection, I sure wanted to inaugurate the new arrival with pomp & gaiety!
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    Looking at the size of the tumbler, the one cocktail that striked my mind was the Long Island Ice Tea. So introduced the exotic blue curacao as a substitute to coke. The fresh  tender coconut water to mellow the strong concoction!
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    Ingredients

    Tequila – 20 ml
    Vodka – 20 ml @cirocvodka
    Gin – 20 ml @strangerandsons
    White Rum – 20 ml @bacardi
    Triple Sec – 20 ml
    Blue Curacao – 30 ml @desmondji_agaveindia
    Lime juice – 20 ml
    Fresh coconut water – 100 ml
    Sugar syrup – 20 ml
    Salt – a pinch
    Lemon wheel – to garnish
    .


    Preparation Method

    Combine the white spirits, triple sec, fresh lime juice, sugar syrup, salt in a mixing glass & stir. Fill the tumbler glass  with ice & pour the over it. Add the fresh tender coconut water & release the blue Curacao to finish. Garnish with lemon wheel. There was my long drink ready to quench my thirst
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    Cheers!

  • Boston Cocktail

    Boston Cocktail

    The Boston cocktail is a citrusy and tart gin-based cocktail with underlying and lingering apricot stone fruit flavours. It’s a great drink  with apricot brandy
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    Bols Apricot Brandy has a rich  flavor to the fresh apricot juice and the crushed apricot fruit kernel. This apricot liqueur has a faint amaretto flavor, supported by tones of orange that matches its golden-amber color. Bols Apricot Brandy liqueur has been the original apricot liqueur in the Mai Tai, Zombie and Apricot Fizz
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    With Bol’s Apricot Brandy around, let’s shake the Boston & have some fun.
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    Ingredients

    Gin – 45 ml @hapusagin
    Apricot Brandy – 45 ml @bols
    Lime juice – 25 ml
    Grenadine – 10 ml
    Orange peel – to garnish
    .
    Preparation Method

    Combine all in a Boston Shaker and shake it with around eight ice cubes. Strain it in chilled Rocks glass & garnish with orange peel.

    Cheers !

  • Gin Appletini

    Gin Appletini

    Some of the categories of  gin
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    Genever
    Distilled gin
    London gin
    Compound gin
    Plymouth gin
    Old Tom gin
    Sloe & flavoured gin
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    I have here my Tanqueray a London dry gin which has  its’  origin in London. London dry gin is made by double distilling grain, with select botanicals  added during the second distillation. Tanqueray predominantly is known to contain four botanicals: juniper, coriander, angelica root, and liquorice, all common botanicals in gin productions overall
    .
    So with fresh green apples around, here’s the muddle-shake-strain drink tonight. Though recommended with Vodka, here is a twist – Gin APPLETINI
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    Ingredients

    Gin – 60 ml @tanqueraygin
    Orange liqueur – 20 ml @grandmarnier_uk
    Lime juice – 20 ml
    Sugar syrup – 10 ml
    Green Apple wedges – 4
    .
    Preparation Method

    Combine the lime juice & apple wedges in a shaker and muddle the apple.  Add the gin, liqueur & sugar syrup to it and shake it well with ice cubes. Double strain it in a cocktail glass. Garnish it with apple wedge & mint 
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    Cheers! 

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