2 Indian whiskies and 3 new spirits for your home bar

Goa-based StillDistilling Spirits' Mesma is aged in ex-bourbon casks for about five years. Limited edition available in Goa only; Rs 3,600.

Looking for new spirits to welcome the monsoon? Here are some new launches that deserve a place in your home bar.

Seagrams Longitude 77 Indian Single Malt

Rs 4,500 (Goa)

It pays to be in the Indian single malt space in India, and the multinationals are taking note. About a year and a half after Diageo India entered the segment with its Epitome Reserve and later, the Godawan range, Pernod Ricard is all set to launch Longitude 77, which gets its name from the longitude on which India is located. The whisky, which has just been soft-launched in Goa, is scheduled to be launched in a few metros next month. While the company itself has been cagey about details, unbiased sources, who have had the opportunity to taste it, have described it as “eminently drinkable, very much in the Pernod mould, with a hint of spice.” The whisky is distilled at Pernod Ricard’s facility in Dindori. Rs 4,500 (Goa).

Mesma Barrel-Aged Rum

The rum segment in India is finally seeing a bit of diversity. Just last month, we filled you in on Piccadily Distilleries’ plan to extend its Camikara range of pure cane juice rum to include an 8YO and 3YO. Now comes news of a barrel-aged rum from Goa-based StillDistilling Spirits, which makes the very drinkable Maka Zai rum. Mesma, their latest launch, has been barrel aged (yes, in ex-bourbon casks) for about five years. The company says that Mesma is bold on the palate with citrus, vanilla, and cocoa notes and has “unmistakable aromas of orange peels, banana, tobacco, molasses, and sweet berries on the nose.” Mesma is a limited edition release, available only in Goa. Rs 3,600

Indri Dru

Indri Dru Cask Strength Single Malt

Piccadily Distilleries’ Indri Dru recently won a silver at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. The limited edition release has been matured in bourbon oak barrels and each cask, says the company, has been handpicked by Piccadily master blender Surrinder Kumar. The whisky is named after the Sanskrit word for wood, and its tasting notes promise “fresh tangerine and stewed raisin” on the nose, “Seville orange marmalade and sweet dried herb flavours” on the palate, and a citrusy, charred oak-ey finish. Dru has been bottled at an ABV of 57.2 percent. The whisky will be available in India towards the end of this year in select markets. (Price to be announced later in the year.)

Johnnie Walker Blonde

Johnnie Walker Blonde

At its global launch a couple of years ago, Johnnie Walker Blonde was described as a “more accessible style” of Scotch whisky in search of new audiences. And that appears to be exactly what it is – a sweeter, smoother whisky that is made for mixing cocktails. The Blonde has been made using whiskies – grain whisky from Cameronbridge and fruitier whiskies from Cardhu – that have been “predominantly matured in first-fill American oak casks. The whisky is priced between Rs 1,500 in Haryana to Rs 2,390 in Maharashtra.

Langley’s Gin

In case you are tired of the gins on offer in India, we’d like to point you towards Langley’s. The over 100-year-old gin maker is one of the UK’s largest family-owned distilleries. The Langley’s range includes a classic juniper-led London Dry Gin; the sweetish Old Tom; and the juniper- and coriander-seed forward No.8. The gins are imported into India by Monika Alcobev. Prices start at around Rs 5,000.