London Dreams - My Experiments With Truth

Taking over from the hangover of the histories that I mentioned yesterday, I am now going to pen down my experiments with the icons of that history. Yes, indeed, I did try every single type of drink - I practice what I preach, you see ;-).

It will not be possible for me to express in precise words what the experience was like, when tasting some of those beautifully blended, well mixed, scrumptious drinks. Hence, I will constrain myself to just exhibiting my experiments with truth :-D

Standing (L-R): That is some nalla blended scotch whisky, this was my first trial in an attempt to save some pounds. I don't even remember the name of this whisky - not important anyways.

Red Label: Laal cchhadi (stick) maidan khadi, kya khoob chadhee, kya khoob chadhee (kick) . That says it all and I am sure you all will agree.

Smirnoff Ice - a pre-mixed Smirnoff Vodka with some lime flavour. It tastes ok. Just chill it, gulp it, forget it.

Teacher's Highland Cream Blended Scotch Whisky - one of UK's favourite blends, they say. In the UK this goes in smooth, tastes best when consumed ON THE ROCKS.

That chintu little thing in the center is Martell Cognac, a brandy. My initial days in London were chilling enough; I was transported straight from Mumbai's 35 degrees to London's 15 degrees. I needed this brandy then, though the fancy was only short lived.

"Lo ho gayi tayyar hamari Army" Beers! Beers! Beers! Ooo la la la! I simply love beers, they are my favourites and I was fascinated with the variety that I found there in London. At times, I used to get so confused at the supermarket stores that it used to take me more than 30 minutes to decide on which beer to take.

The names are very much evident from the picture itself, so would excuse myself from repeating and writing about them. Most of these are now available in India, except John Smiths, Tetleys, and Abbot Ale (this on a special recommendation from a very special friend). Just recently I saw Stella Artois in one wine shop near Powai, just opposite our elite IIT Bombay.

My best pick among these - John Smiths, so much so that I had started calling it Uncle John. Ameet and I used to often joke; "kya re, kya kar raha hai"..."kuch nahi yaar, uncle John ke saath baitha hoon" :-)

These are some exotic ones, at least from their names. Morgan's Spiced is a flavoured rum, usually to be had with soda or cola. I love rums too, Bacardi being my favourite.

Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, in a desperation to taste a champagne and in an attempt to find the most affordable one, I picked up this one. Can't really comment on the taste, as this is the only one I had tasted for the first time, no benchmark to rate. Read more

Mateus, a sweet rose wine from Portugal. It is believed that Saddam Hussain used to stock this wine in his palaces. I liked it too.

Thwaites Wainwright, this is a golden ale (a beer of course). Thwaites is the brewery that manufactures this cask ale. Interestingly, Thwaites has around 450 pubs of its own across North England.

Mission Saint Vincent Bordeaux, a crisp and light wine. Bordeaux is a region that produces most of the wine in the world, with more than 9,000 distinct châteaux totaling over hundreds of millions of wine bottles per year.

 

Our good old Mr. & Mrs. Bacardi. And that's the best man sparkling soda next to Mr. Bacardi and Gordon's Gin posing next to Mrs. Bacardi as the bride's maid. As you can see, Gordon's is London's special dry gin, and it really is. And that I am a great and loyal fan of Bacardi, I am going to flaunt about it a lot - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacardi

 

That is an assorted wine cellar rack stacked with best liquor from various parts of the world. Psst: did you notice the familiar bottle at the top, apna Old Monk re, no fun without desipan, even when in London.

 

You have seen them before too. Only change, uncle John has turned bitter now. And that Canti Pinot Grigio is a rose Brut, a wine obviously.

 

The best beers I have ever had. Duvel - a damn damn good beer. It is an ale from Belgium with golden colour similar to that of hay. Looks beautiful when served in an over sized wine glass with a large white foam on top of the golden layer. It tastes amazing as well, for its soothing citrus tang added with a tinge of green apple flavour.

Leffe, again a Belgian beer brewed with some nice floral notes. There 6-7 varieties of this beer, and the one in the picture is Leffe Blonde with 6.6% of alcohol by volume. The other types include Leffe Brune (6.5% ABV), Leffe Triple (8.5% ABV), Leffe Radieuse and Leffe Vieille Cuvée (both 8.4% ABV), Leffe 9 (9% ABV), Leffe Ruby (5% ABV), Leffe Christmas (6.6% ABV) - content courtesy: Wikipedia.org

 

Strongbow, this is not any rum, whisky, vodka, wine or beer. It is cider and can be drank like a juice, one glass enough to give you an enjoyable high. A cider is basically an alcoholic beverage made from apples - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cider

The Isle of Jura - Taareef karun kya uski, jisne isse banaya. The most amazing single malt whisky I had. I got to know about this when I was touring Scotland. Jura is an island in Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides, from where this wonder originates. Isle of Jura is a smooth and graceful dry malt, with a honey and/or coffee like taste. I had once thrived on the "king of good times", however, this truly is the "emperor of all times".

Cheers!!!

Drink Responsibly; Don't Drink & Drive