Whisky has always been an enigma. Indians, since times immemorial have nursed their whisky sodas. But have we understood the real taste of Single Malt Scotch Whisky? A whisky master class is something you require.
Liquid Sunshine is a group that is changing all that. Organising whisky master classes all over town, they have been educating the average Delhi whisky lover about their love. We attend one of their events which introduces three Glenfiddich single malts along with some organic food and heritage walk.
The event is a joint collaboration of Lodi- The Garden Restaurant, India City Walks and Liquid Sunshine. The evening is balmy as we start off with a heritage walk into Lodhi Gardens. Neha Bansal of India City walks takes us through Lodi Garden along with an ace historian as we trace our Delhi’s history through the annals of history. There are loads of references to the Saiyyads, the Mamluks, the Lodis and finally the royalty of Mughals. The intoxicating night reveals upon us the secrets of the Sheesh Gumbaj and the story behind the tombs of Sikandar Lodhi and Balaal Lodhi.
The gang moves to the bespoke Lodi restaurant set in the lap of nature where some organic produce from the restaurant is combined with Anchal’s three beauties in this night of revelry. The first course is a 12 year old Glenfiddich combined with a roasted chicken salad with fresh coconut and sesame oil dressing and a roasted beetroot, goat cheese and peanut salad. The light golden coloured drink with whiffs of fruity citrusy tones with a spicy hit on the palate and a relatively short aftertaste provides a great start to the evening with light flavours to complement.
The 15 year old is a beauty in itself. Having a reddish hue on being matured in sherry casks, the new American oaks impart a beautiful oiliness to the whisky along with the Solera vats adding a good amount of complexity to it.. There are loads of spices and notes of orange as we combine this with a pan seared silken tofu with soy, ginger and honey sauce. The silky tofu with the salty, spicy and sweet sauce provides a great complement to this marvel of a whisky.
The last whisky of the day is the Glenfiddich 18 year old. A lighter coloured dram, this has got a distinct fruity nose of peaches along with a spicy hit on the palate and a long stay. We combine some deeper flavours for the mains here. A baby mutton shank with herb couscous and a goat cheese ravioli with a tomato whisky sauce.
We end our evenings shenanigans with some more of the 15 year old and two dollops of Lodi’s decadent home made fig ice cream. An explosion of flavours as it becomes a walk, an evening, a tasting to remember.
