Lifestyle - India;Whisky Live coming to Delhi

Rachana Nakra

Come January, hundreds of whisky lovers, business heads and CEOs will congregate in New Delhi. The occasion? Whisky Live, the premier platform for whisky connoisseurs, where more than 150 variants of the best whisky brands from Scotland, Ireland, Japan, US and Canada will be on offer. More importantly, it will give whisky lovers in India a chance to mingle, while sampling—if you can manage it—every one of those 150 varieties (at least 20,000 glasses are used at most events).

New Delhi follows in a line of cities such as Paris, Tokyo and Glasgow, where brands such as Glenmorangie, Laphroaig, Moët Hennessy, Glenfiddich, Chivas Regal, Whyte and Mackay and dozens of others get a chance to exhibit their best tipple.
The man responsible, Sandeep Arora, is a long-time whisky aficionado, having introduced to India rare whiskies such as the Glenfiddich 50 (a single peg of which costs about Rs70,000), as well as representing Whisky Magazine in the country. “Imagine entering the venue as someone who may or may not know much about whisky. You’ll have the best resources around you. Stalls set up by the biggest brands, informed tastings by them, so much to see and learn, all under one roof,” Arora says.
Entry is by invitation only, and the guest list for the 31 January event at Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon, includes names such as Vijay Mallya, who was named Whisky Ambassador at the Whisky Awards earlier this year, Damian Riley Smith, publisher, Whisky Magazine, and Gavin Hewitt, CEO, Scotch Whisky Association. In addition to schmoozing with like-minded souls, guests can attend master classes, tastings, learn about whisky cocktails and, more importantly, how to pair it with coffee, chocolate and food. It will be a revelation for those who want to “go beyond Black Label and butter chicken”, Arora says.

Visit www.whiskylive.com for more information.