Enjoy Mumbai's Finest Whisky Cocktail Like a True Billionaire

p/p pbr /Whisky made its way into the lives of the crandegrave;me de la crandegrave;me long before Don Draper took swigs of this stiff drink on emMad Men/em. Cooled on the rocks or whipped into a sour, the brown elixir is more than a supplement to dinner. On World Whisky Day, we talk about enjoying it the andlsquo;old-fashioned' way./p pandnbsp;/p pA trip to the Taj Mahal Palace's Harbour Bar, known for Mumbai's fine whiskies and experimental cocktails, presented us the privilege of savouring one the city's finest whisky cocktail. Here's the account of an evening well spent./p pandnbsp;/p pstrongThe Elite Address/strongbr /The iconic Taj Mahal Palace hotel opened its gracious doors in 1903 to the imperial elite. Soon, Harbour Bar catapulted into the ideal meeting place for alcohol aficionados. As the oldest licensed bar in the city, it exudes the true essence of old Bombay with a contemporary touch./p pandnbsp;/p p style="text-align: center;"/p pandnbsp;/p pAs we walked into the plush bar, we were greeted by the breathtaking views of the glorious Arabian Sea; only to have us overwhelmed with nostalgia. After all, it has been a place we visited with our parents, through our growing up years. The soft ambient light and the loaded bar was our destination for the evening. In a casual tandecirc;te-andagrave;-tandecirc;te with the sommelier, Abhas Saxena, we learnt about his passion for the drink. "I can start my day with a Whisky Sour or an Old Fashioned, and even end my day with it. Whiskey is more of a mood drink than a time specific one," he stated./p pandnbsp;/p pThe bar serves many cocktails such as the sea food infused cocktail that takes a month of marination to get the right flavour or the one that captures the season's essence - whisky blended with a touch of raw mango. "Whisky is usually preferred in the original form; but when experimented with different flavours it can create magic. But it is important to have the passion to make the drink perfect, which most places do not get. For instance, I would never indulge in a Sour without the egg." Abhas adds./p pandnbsp;/p pstrongThe Art of Blendingbr //strongWe continue talking about our love for Pappy Van Winkle and Abhas's personal favourite, the Monkey Shoulder. He curates our drink for the evening - the classic Old Fashioned, a drink that probably originated in the 1800s. He starts blending one ingredient after another, just like an artist painting his masterstrokes onto the canvas.br /The process starts with blending a cube of sugar with hint of bitters on the spoon. This was followed by adding a peg of Buffalo Trace bourbon and again mixing the sugar with bitters, creating the right aroma. Still reeling from the spicy, sweet scent, the sommelier adds a spoonful of Maraschino Luxardo's sweetness to the mix, creating a heady concoction./p pandnbsp;/p p style="text-align: center;"/p pandnbsp;/p pThe icing on the cake is the perfectly peeled and shaped citrus skin. The bar tender meticulous squeezes a hint of oil on the peel and mildly burns it. Touching it to the rim of the glass, the seductive peel adds the smoky flavour to the drink./p pandnbsp;/p pstrongCrafted to Perfectionbr //strongWe were served the piece of art with a generous topping of ice, and we couldn't wait to try it. The first sip hit our palate with all the right flavours. We got a mild taste of the whiskey with a hint of sweetness, followed by a smoky yet tangy taste of fruit; finally ending on a smooth note. Abhas suggests that the ideal delicacies to go with the Old Fashioned would be flavoured Indian food./p pandnbsp;/p p style="text-align: center;"/p pandnbsp;/p pAs we revel in the classic drink, we inquire about experimenting with whisky and the reaction of the Indian audiences to novel drinks. He expresses, "The younger generation of whisky drinkers are more open to trying different cocktails; while the older elite have set their palate. But I would recommend that it is always great to open your mind to the new flavours of whisky."/p pandnbsp;/p pWe were more than pleased to end our evening at the Harbour Bar with setting sun, a lavish bar and sublime elixir in front of us, creating an infallible combination to celebrate World Whisky Day!/p pandnbsp;/p pemPhotographed by Shannon Mikhail Lobo/em/p pandnbsp;/p pstrongMore On andgt;andgt; a href="http://luxpresso.com/lifestyle/food-drink" target="_blank"Food andamp; Drink/a/strong/p

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