Chandigarh, Jan 22 (IANS) In the cluttered world of gifting, Scotch whisky is the best a man can get, say two leading divas, extolling the virtues of a drink that is steadily making inroads into the Indian space and proof of another glass ceiling being shattered as women celebrate its virtues.
“Growing up, the strongest memory that I have when I think of parties, or a celebration, is my father pulling out a bottle of whisky, a Scotch whisky, for his friends,” actress Chitrangada Singh told IANS at the launch of spirits major Diageo-USL’s Scotch Whisky Collection (SWC) here.
“Mostly it was a VAT 69 bottle. He is a whisky drinker even now and he enjoys it, he savours it. He often talks about the art, the whole craft, the time it takes to make whisky… did I grow up on Scotch? Yes, I grew up on the smell of scotch… so, I think if I were to gift it, it’ll be a VAT 69 to my father who enjoys it even today, a good drink of whisky,” added Chitrangada Singh, proof that Indian women are giving their male counterparts a run for their money when it comes to discussing alcohol.
“I would gift it because I do hear a lot of my friends (talk about it), a lot of my male friends enjoy it and I think a lot of young people are starting to enjoy Scotch whisky which is something that was something else earlier,” she explained.
The SWC comprises four brands — Black Dog Triple Gold Reserve, a luxury blend of the finest aged malt and grain whiskies, triple matured in oloraso sherry casks for depth and character; Black Dog Black Reserve, blended with a multitude of malts from various regions of Scotland; Black&White with the finest Speyside and Highland whiskies to balance body and flavour; and, of course, VAT 69, chosen out of 100 such blends by world-renowned blenders — each in an exquisite gift bag.
“When you know a person is a drinker then a bottle of Scotch whisky is a very good gift. You know it’ll not be wasted and will not be put in a corner. You know it will go into a bar and will be enjoyed by people,” Chitrangada Singh explained.
Sports anchor Shibani Dandekar, the face of innings’ breaks during the last few editions of cricket’s hugely popular Indian Premier League (IPL), elaborated on the theme.
“People think women are hard to buy for… but I think, actually men are quite hard to buy for because you don’t know what kind of shirt they need… do they need another set of cufflinks… do we send them more ties.. it’s such a taste-specific thing that I think the dilemma has just ended with the (SWC) collection because it’s just a guaranteed thing that they’re going to love it.
“At a social gathering or something, that’s when they’re going to love it. It’s something that’s never going to go waste,” Dandekar told IANS. “I have a lot of male friends, so I know when they get together and when they have conversations about Scotch whisky it is always about the origins, the taste… what kind of food it goes with… they’re very into it and very particular about it… so if I were to give a gift to someone I know what to give,” she added.
Cheers to that!
(The writer’s visit to Chandigarh was at the invitation of USL. Vishnu Makhijani can be contacted at Vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)