This week in MC Recommends, winner of the International Wine and Spirits Competition for best Scotch whisky 2023; handlasted loafers by Mumbai-based Asteri Man; the Model X home bar for compact homes; H Moser & Cie's Pioneer Tourbillion Arctic Blue and Pioneer Center Seconds Arctic Blue in 40 mm steel cases; and Peter Frankopan's book on how the environment shaped global history.
Earlier this week the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) released its list of the best scotch whiskies of 2023. The judges awarded the top prize to the Glenturret Triple Wood 2022. The Glenturret is Scotland’s oldest single malt distillery, and the Triple Wood 2022 scored a stupendous 99 points out of a possible 100. The IWSC jury described the whisky as “a summer Turkish delight of sweet raisin, marmalade, and orange blossom aromas with a rich fruitcake palate, hints of brown sugar and honey, with a creamy toffee texture on the finish.”
But there’s something as delightful as its taste, and that is its price: the Highland whisky retails for about $60 a bottle.
Summer calls for Belgian loafers. A pair from Baudoin & Lange would be ideal, but since they cost an arm and a leg (or should that be foot?), we’ll be more than happy to consider these unlined Santorini loafers from Asteri Man.
The Mumbai-based shoemaker uses goat suede to create soft, supple loafers, which are handlasted and come with a rubber sole. Asteri Man takes about a week to make a pair. Hit @asteriman on Instagram for more details.
Rs 6,999
If you are scrolling through this webpage, chances are you’re the kind who is prone to a splurge here and a splurge there. Watches, shoes, fine spirits… But what about a home bar? When was the last time you thought of acquiring a proper one? Delhi-based custom bar solutions firm SpeedX’s Model X might help you set out in that very direction.
The Model X, geared towards compact homes, is equipped with a mirror display cabinet that can hold 20 bottles; an in-built 30L thermo-electric fridge and a mini cocktail station; and a wine rack that can store 8 bottles (at room temperature). If you love entertaining at home, this one should be in your crosshairs.
Rs 44,095; hausofbars.com
H Moser & Cie has (slightly) downsized its popular pioneer sports watch line and adorned it with an electric Arctic Blue fume dial. The result is a sensational pair of watches. The Pioneer Tourbillion Arctic Blue and the Pioneer Center Seconds Arctic Blue are both available in 40mm steel cases.
True to Moser’s minimalist philosophy, the brand’s logo is set in transparent lacquer beneath the 12 o’ clock mark and the leaf-shaped hands are finished with Super-LumiNova. The watches are water resistant up to 12 ATM, and powered by the HMC 200 movement (Centre-seconds) and HMC 804 (Tourbillion). Strap options range from rubber, steel, and textile to leather straps.
Pioneer Tourbillion Arctic Blue: CHF 49,900; Pioneer Center Seconds Arctic Blue: CHF 12,900
Peter Frankopan’s Silk Roads: A New History of the World, which aimed to provide a different understanding of history, was one of the smash hits of 2015. Now, the historian and author is back with The Earth Transformed: An Untold History (Bloomsbury), which, at its core, is about the crucial role the natural environment has played in shaping global history. The book, according to Frankopan, also sets out “the story of human interaction in the natural world over millennia” and looks at “how our species exploited, moulded and bent the environment to its will, both for good and for ill.” The book, released earlier this month, has impressed reviewers. The Sunday Times called it a “vast, learned, and timely work”, and we think it’s required reading in the Anthropocene.
