Whisky Lady – June 2017
June was full of so many things – work, travel to London, Winnipeg, Singapore and more!
As for the Whisky Lady side of things?
We had a wee bit of media attention… with a full page feature in the Mumbai Mirror. Be amused… be very amused….
“What next shall why try?”
I was completely humbled by meeting Sukhinder Singh, the guru of The Whisky Exchange, with an opportunity to visit his temple to whisky aka Board Room private collection, rare malts room and private bar in his head office. What a remarkable experience!!
Naturally, our tasting sessions continued…
The Whisky Ladies decided to have ‘A Night with Glen‘ featuring:
- Glencadam 15 year 46% – Serve chilled…
- Glenlivet Master Distiller’s Reserve 40% – It isn’t offensive…
- Glenmorangie The Original 40% – Nice to revisit the base for all Glenmorangies!
- Glenmorangie The Tayne 43% – Clearly the best of the bunch!!
Our original group had an unusual range:
- From India… Rampur 43% – A quite decent start…
- From near Buckingham Palace… Royal Lochnagar 12 year 40% – Varnish, sharp then settles in…
- From an aged grain… Girvan Patent Still 28 year 43% – Rare opportunity to sample an aged grain
- with Suntory’s Toki 43% bonus which pairs great with deserts!
The gents from the Bombay Malt & Cigar club didn’t have a June session, but I did post our May tasting of undisclosed distilleries with:
And while I was off gallivanting around Canada, decided to share some light summery whiskey cocktail recipes, courtesy of DISCUS with American whiskies:
- Old Fashioned – Bourbon, bitters, sugar with a twist of orange
- Manhattan – Bourbon, vermouth + bitters
- Mint Julep – Bourbon, simple syrup, bitters + mint
- The Ginger Baker – Tennessee whisky, ginger, lime + pineapple juice, orgeat syrup with a slice of pineapple
- Spiced Boulevardier – Infused bourbon, vermouth, campari with a twist of orange or almonds
With a few more posts including:
Curious to know more? Check out recent Whisky Lady’s monthly missives:
You can also find even more Whisky bits ‘n bobs on:
- FaceBook Whisky Lady in India – https://www.facebook.com/WhiskyLadyIN
- Twitter @WhiskyLadyIN
What’s really been going on…
Ever have a time in your life where so much is happening, it seems almost unreal? As I wrote my immigration form a few hours ago to re-enter India from Singapore, I declared my travels in the last 6 days – Singapore obviously, but also India for a day, before that the UK and Canada.
And why so much travel? The real reason combines the personal and the professional.
On the personal front…
Lots of different things however the real big news is… drum roll here… my partner and I finally took the plunge to sign a piece of paper in Winnipeg with a wee wedding at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. We knew from the moment we met over five years ago that we wanted to spend our lives together, however took our time to get to this stage of bringing our respective families together in celebration.
It still feels strange when folks teasingly call me “Mrs Smith” – a last name I am not adopting but respect completely. I apparently even accidentally hung up on a consulting associate who merrily greeted me that way! (in fairness, the call didn’t connect properly)
Within a week of being wedded in Winnipeg, I was on more planes and found myself in Singapore for some work related meetings. Which is only the tip of the iceberg so to speak as on the professional front as much has happened over the last few months:
- I was delighted to be back in Jakarta working on a project from September 2016 to December then back briefly in March and April 2017. Naturally this meant a few stops in Singapore in my crisscrossing back and forth between India and Indonesia…
- January and May were pre-occupied with India projects that enabled trips to Kolkata and Kochi – it had been years since I was in Kerela so that was a particular treat!
- February brought me to Delhi to co-facilitate a remarkable conference
- More is unfolding in the technology space with the India company association… plus some new developments brewing that seem particularly exciting!
Beyond the personal and professional, everyday life in India inspired a few amused cribs about:
- Ready or not, July 1st introduces India’s Goods & Services Tax with some absurd moments and migration migraines from Service Tax to GST
- After a couple of years of effort, I finally successfully withdrew my last Indian Provident Fund. If ever anyone has tried to do this – foreigner or Indian – you will understand this is NOT necessarily a simple process!
- After even more effort, a weird system error was finally corrected so that the Indian government was finally convinced I actually had paid my taxes in 2009. Really… honestly… I did… it only took 8 years for them to admit it!!
- We also learned to survive the aftermath of November 2016’s demonetization in which cash was temporarily dethroned
So from newly wedded bliss, professional developments, to the everyday follies in India, life continues to be an amazing adventure!
There you have… a bit of insight into what’s really going on…
Related posts:
Singapore East Coast Stroll
A bonus to all my trips back and forth between Mumbai and Jakarta from September 2016 to April 2017 was being able to stop in Singapore. I’m back here in Singapore today, post travels to the UK and Canada… completely jet lagged but happy to be back in Asia.
My plan this morning to stroll along the beach was curtailed by rain… so I’m content instead with reminders from past walks… including a November 2016 breakfast wander…
November’s stop was specifically timed to coincide with Whisky Live Singapore. Obviously it was no accident, and my whisky explorations can be found on Whisky Lady, however it was such a treat to spend the weekend in Singapore, staying with my friend on the East Coast.
Why such a treat? Aside from it being my home away from home… that particular day happened to be one of those rare mornings when both my friend and I had a bit of time to go together for a stroll along the coast.
We began with breakfast – kaya toast, runny eggs and kopi with spicy noodles – both familiar ‘comfort foods’ of Singapore…
Enjoyed watching kids decorate their kites…
And generally witnessed the world go by.
While we live next to the water in Mumbai too, there is a different kind of rhythm and feel to the coast of each city. This particular part of Singapore remains one of my absolute favourites and hopefully tomorrow morning the weather will cooperate and I can enjoy a nice long wander…
Related posts:
Random bull…
Street art of various forms have a habit of popping up all over Mumbai. And others appear then disappear… either with the ravages of weather of simply the ever evolving pulse of the city.
I shouldn’t be surprised… but must admit, I was by this random water buffalo that just showed up on the narrow path between a park and the small homes of the original village just outside our door.
I’m sure there is a story behind this fellow… but none of his neighbours seemed to know.
It is just one of those things…
Related posts:
Whisky Lady – May 2017
May brought adventures around India with trips to Kolkata, Kochi with a nice juicy project in Mumbai. It also brought the heat before the monsoon… shifting from mere heat to drenching humidity.
All three tasting groups also got into the action!
The Whisky Ladies and our original group enjoyed Bruichladdich Peat Progressions with:
- The Classic Laddie 50% – A delightful dram to start an evening… (Whisky Ladies only)
- The Laddie Eight 50% – Nose keeps evolving, following through on the palate (Original only)
- Bere Barley (2008) 50% – Rustic and original (Whisky Ladies only)
- PC 2007 CC:01 8 years 57.8% – Give it time to open, it is completely worth the wait!
- PC 12 Oileanach Furachail 58.7% – Industrial, bursting with character yet oddly also restrained and almost elegant too
- Octomore 07.2_208 5 years PPM 208 58.5% – Absolutely stunning and a cut above!
- Octomore 07.1_208 5 years PPM 208 59.5% – Again, impossible to believe it is so heated yet not overwhelming (Whisky Ladies only)
The BMC gent’s finally had their version of the Undisclosed Distillery session with a bonus:
- Wilson & Morgan “Highland Heart” Sherry Cask 43% – Rich marmalade, incredibly smooth and rounded… a rather regal whisky you simply want to curl up and enjoy
- Sansibar Islay 8 year 52.2% – Fresh muted peat with an evolving character, well rounded
- Port Askaig 19 year 50.4% – Sufficiently complex to to keep it interesting, for a peaty whisky quite elegant
- Finlaggan Cask Strength 58% – Asphalt meets meadow flowers… surprisingly it works!
A return of the Miniatures sessions with:
- Glengassaugh Evolution 50% – Just say no unless you like mouth disinfectant
- Glenglassaugh Torfa 50% – Better than my 1st foray but still a long way to go..
- Inchmurrin Madeira 46% – A nice ‘day drink’ from Loch Lomond
Shared tasting notes from a 2nd Flight at The Single Cask with a lighter touch with:
- Deanston 15 years (1997/2013) Cask No 1958 45.8%
- Glen Moray 21 year (1991/2013) Cask No 9980 46%
- Glentauchers 18 years (1996/2014) 2 casks 46%
- Miltonduff 21 year (1995/2016) 45.8%
- Followed by a single dram – Ben Nevis 19 year (1996/2016) Cask No 871 45.1%
With a few more tastings including:
- The elusive Longmorn 16 year 48% – Slow down and enjoy…
- Royal Brackla 16 year 40% – Pronounced a bar night whisky with food!
Curious to know more? Check out recent Whisky Lady’s monthly missives:
You can also find even more Whisky bits ‘n bobs on:
- FaceBook Whisky Lady in India – https://www.facebook.com/WhiskyLadyIN
- Twitter @WhiskyLadyIN
Everyday Asia 