This week in MC Recommends: Villa Palladio in Jaipur; a story of Scotch whisky, told through stories of the land, culture, and craft that birthed it; a luxury watch that riffs off Porsche's 911 Dakar; the smell of Delhi winters bottled by a home-grown perfume maker; and a mountain bike with RockShox suspension and SRAM Eagle drivetrain.
It’s unlikely that you haven’t been to the Bar Palladio, at the Narain Niwas Palace hotel in Jaipur, yet. The ten-year-old restaurant, inspired by maharajas’ palaces and done up in dazzling blue, is among the favourite haunts of the city’s social set as well as a mandatory pitstop for travellers from all over.
Late last year, its founder, Swiss-Italian expat Barbara Miolini, added another dimension to the Palladio experience by opening the doors to the Villa Palladio.
Miolini has worked at the historic Villa Cipriani, in Asolo, Italy.
Described as a “gracious country estate”, the nine-room Villa Palladio, which is located about 20 minutes from the city, close to the Galta leopard reserve, is awash in several shades of red that adorn its rooms and suites which feature, among others, carved marble screens from Jaipur and linens from Italy.
The two-acre property, which also features a meditation pavilion and a 43-foot swimming pool, is probably an ideal place to recover from the excesses of the New Year festivities.
villa-palladio-jaipur.com
Glaswegian Dave Broom has written several books on whisky and other spirits, including the award-winning 2017 book, The Way of Whiskey: A Journey Around Japanese Whisky. In his latest, A Sense of Place: A Journey Around Scotland’s Whisky, the whisky writer, who travelled to several distilleries in Scotland, from Islay and Harris to Orkney and Speyside, tells the story of Scotch whisky through stories of the land, culture, and craft that birthed it. Broom also reflects on what whisky is now and where it is headed.
The Porsche Design Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar is only offered to buyers of Porsche’s off-road-ready 911 Dakar, but don't let that stop you from admiring an excellent timepiece all the same.
The watch, a tribute to the gruelling Dakar Rally and to Porsche’s success in it, is based on the iconic Porsche Design Chronograph 1 and equipped with an insanely tough and incredibly light case made of titanium carbide, which, the company claims, is a world-first.
The 42.7mm chronograph riffs off several design cues from the 911 Dakar, including the winding rotor that is inspired by the rims of the car.
Powered by the in-house, chronometer-certified caliber Werk 01.240, which also offers a flyback function, prices for the watch start at $14,600.
www.porsche-design.com
Indigenous perfume brand Boond, which has attracted attention for its range of contemporary attars, is just out with its latest fragrance – Satparni. The fragrance is distilled from the flowers of the Saptaparni tree that bloom between October and December.
Saptaparni grows in the sub-Himalayan tracts across a major part of north and east India. The heady aroma especially evokes winter nights in Delhi, where it is a common feature along most avenues. The handcrafted fragrance contains no alcohol. Prices start at Rs 1,449 for a 3ml vial.
boondfragrances.com
Looking for a lightweight mountain bike? The Scott Scale 940 could be right up your alley. The hardtail 940 has impressive specs: Carbon Frame, RockShox suspension, an SRAM Eagle drivetrain, and Syncros components.
Scott says it is just the right combination of stiffness and comfort, and driven by three decades of carbon expertise. Keen cyclists will be especially glad to note that the Scale 940 shares features with bikes ridden by Nino Schurter, among the greatest cross-country racers of all time.
Rs 1,79,900, sportnetwork.in
