Of Devilish Tendencies

 

Blogger and dear friend Sushmita Sarkar of My Unfinished Life at the Samsung Party Bloggers event at Underdoggs Sports Bar and Grill.

Black Dog Scotch Appreciation Event at Namche Bazaar

If you think ‘scotch’ and immediately associate it with a mustachioed old gentleman in a high-backed opulent chair smoking a pipe while dressed in a plaid dressing gown or overcoat, you are quite possibly in my head. Now, I have neither a mustache nor a penchant for high-backed chair; I don’t smoke pipes and thank goodness I’m not into plaid (not yet, atleast). But not too long ago, I developed a taste for scotch when a friend presented me with a measly quantity stolen from her grandfather’s collection. Ever since, scotch and I have had this clandestine affair going on.

Last Sunday, I attended the Black Dog Scotch Appreciation event at Namche Bazaar, Golf Course Road, Gurgaon organised in conjunction with Ginger Claps.

Now, I’ve been a Scotch fan for quite some time now, and I went with the intentions of enjoying a nice evening, but it turned out to be much more than that. As Rohan, our host, started explaining the nuances scotch-blending, I found myself appreciating the delicate finesse with which a scotch blend is created. In fact, to truly appreciate this “Aqua vitae” or “water of life”, it is imperative to understand its rich history, which is precisely what this event was all about.

Here are some photos from the event.

Contrary to popular perception of drinking scotch from old-fashioned tumblers, we had regular wine glasses for the tasting. While the logistics of this worked out rather well – it was easier to identify and appreciate the different aromas and of course they made a rather pretty picture – I found myself drawn to the regular chunky glasses when it came to enjoying my scotch.

While scotch-lovers may dissuade you from adding a splash of water to your drink, our host suggested that it is in fact a good idea to add a couple of drops of water. This opens up the whisky and kills the hot fumes, thereby reducing the the well known ‘burn’ effect and allowing for more flavour to permeate the senses.

Pawan from indianfoodfreak.com asked a rather pertinent question about the the distinct smoky flavour of a scotch whisky which led to us learning about peat (partially decayed vegetation) and its importance in the process of creating a scotch. Did you know that a major part of the feeling of a particular whisky comes from the wood used to create the barrels? In case of Black Dog Scotch Whisky, this wood is oak.

It is said that in the year 1883 Walter Millard, a Scot from the British East India Company came searching for the perfect Scotch and eventually discovered the great taste of this whisky in these misty shores of Scotland.
Being a keen angler, Walter Millard named the whisky Black Dog in honour of his favourite salmon fishing fly used in the Spey and Tay rivers of Scotland since the early 19th century. (Source)

Snow Leopard of The Snow Leopard Shoots busy checking out the different varieties of Scotch on the menu. We ended up tasting the Black Dog 8, Black Dog 12, and Black Dog 18 varieties.

Dahi ke sholey (or dahi ke kebab): starters served with the Black Dog 8.

The Black Dog 12. Undoubtedly my favorite of the lot was also the best variety when it came to photography. Just look at that marvelous amber-coloured beauty. You can read more about the Black Dog 12 here.

Ekta, Pawan and Snow.

Blended scotch whiskies, as the name would suggest, require a mix of dozens of different malt whiskies combined with grain whisky and as each whisky lends its unique character to the blend, a remarkable new blend is created.

Rohan prepares the Manhattan.

Preparing an Old-fashioned.

The old-fashioned. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how I like my scotch.

The ice-cube made for an interesting photo-op

Once the spirits started flowing, so did the conversation and it proved to be an interesting, informative and a rather pleasant evening. Here are some more photos…

Our host for the evening – Rohan.

Ekta aka NumeroUnity.

Black Dog Easy Evenings: https://www.facebook.com/blackdogeasyevenings

Sketch

 

 

If I knew what I know now then
way back when we first met
I’d point to the sunset and say

I drew that for you

see

it’s wrinkling in the rain.

– Sketch by Shane Koyczan

 

(The lady in the picture can be found here: Dr. Poison Ivy’s Beauty Blog)

Philips Foodathon at V Spot Cafe Bar

Philips Foodathon promised to be a one-of-its-kind event. While it was certainly interesting, it wasn’t exactly the food lovers’ paradise it offered to be. The Venue, V Spot Cafe Bar, left much to be desired in terms of services and space.

The event got delayed by almost an hour and started off slow, but I wasn’t complaining because that gave me a chance to catch up with a lot of fellow bloggers. Sid from Chefatlarge.in opened with a general discussion about the influencing nature of bloggers in almost all walks of life and even more so when it comes to food.

This was followed by a lovely lady from Philips who showcased their latest range of air-fryers. Equipped with Philips’ patented Rapid Air Technology that uses fast-circulating hot air to create great-tasting fried food containing up to 80% less fat, Philips’ AirFryer  definitely found a fan in me. While my non-vegetarian friends told me the chicken-tikka cooked without oil wasn’t the best, the vegetarian me gorged on oil-free french fries.  The tasty fries even inspired me to do a short video-byte for Philips’ AirFryer. For the Indian cuisine, with its focus on oily, fried dishes, frying with air seemed promising and a healthy alternative to traditional frying.. You can read more about it here.

In the second session, a few presentations dragged on, fashion-photographer Hemant Sud made an appearance here as well (I blogged about meeting him at the last Fujifilm Meet), but it was Shangri-La’s Executive Chef and special guest Darren Conole’s quips that kept me interested. His lively sense of humour saved the session from dragging on. Post the presentation, Conole judged a special plating competition which witnessed two lovely ladies walking off with an AirFryer each: Deeba of Passionate About Baking and Priyanka aka TwilightFairy

The only thing that genuinely interested me was the food. Menu included fish, chicken curry, chicken & vegetarian lasagna,  rice,  wedges and a few salads and although there weren’t many options for vegetarians, I was duly satiated with the potato wedges and pudina-chutney and some well-cooked pasta. The brownies served for dessert were heavenly and when I was handed a box full of Dunkin’ Donuts as a parting gift, I was duly impressed. What a perfect way to bid adieu!

Sadly, what began and ended as a fantastic event, in retrospect seems to have been ridden with glitches. While I enjoyed the event and found it well-managed, the same cannot be said about everyone. The venue to begin with did not seem to interest the bloggers much. Simple things such as lack of drinking water and confusion over complimentary drinks turned an otherwise enjoyable event into a chore for some.

While I’d congratulate the 20:20 MSL team for a great effort, I do have a few suggestions. Hiring an emcee would be first on my list, followed by a smart choice of venue. But most importantly, avoid over-ambitious names as well as ones which come with a tonne of connotations attache.

Here are some photographs from the event.

An Afternoon at Cheri

In the last post I mentioned my visit to Cheri One Qutub. What was a random invite late one evening translated to a wonderful afternoon of pizzas, wine and conversation. The event kick-started with a short introduction to Four Season wine by Mr. Abhay Kewadkar, followed by a live cooking session by Chef Raman Kohli.

Chef Raman preparing scallops at the live-cooking session at Cheri

Scallops and wine, anyone?

So while he cooked and people watched, Cheri’s ambiance made sure I strayed from the group. I headed for the roof hoping it offered a view of Qutub Minar (located right across the road from Cheri). I was disappointed, though. Cheri’s trees lend it a very serene feel, but also blocked the view to Qutub.

In hindsight, I think I’d take the greenery over Qutub. The roof was probably the best place to sit and enjoy a meal in peace, but it was raining so I took a couple of hurried shots and headed back in.

The large windows that I fell in love with.

Inside, the live cooking and wine tasting continued.

Personally, I enjoyed the blanc most. It might have to do with the fact that it was the first wine served and I hadn’t yet started socializing.

Three wines were served with three courses. A sauvignon blanc with starters, a blush with the main course, and the prize-winning cabernet sauvignon (my personal favorite) with the dessert. To be perfectly honest, more than the food and wine, it was the photo-opportunity that kept me on my feet all day. Wine and wine glasses make beautiful subjects!

Arvind Khanna enjoying his sauvignon blanc

Crystal clear pretty!

Blush served with the main course: chicken mushroom.

Cheri’s quiet ambiance absolutely won me over. Helpful and polite staff only added to its charm.

Chef Raman’s delicious dessert.

 

Prize winning Four Seasons Cabenet Sauvignon served with dessert. My favorite wine and my favorite shot of the day. Love.

 

The winsome ladies.

Of Wine and Conversations

I was invited to an event organised by Ginger Claps at Cheri One in conjunction with Four Seasons this afternoon. Wonderful ambiance, interesting conversations and oh boy, don’t even get me started on the wine. I believe I should let it do the talking.

 

Catch a Falling Star

For love may come and tap you on the shoulder some starless night
Just in case you feel you want to hold her
You’ll have a pocketful of starlight

– ‘Catch a Falling Star’ by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss

Updates

Hola people!

I know I only just returned, but I’m off on another hiatus. Since I’m in a hurry I”ll try to make this as short as possible.

1) I got a wonderful surprise two days ago. I’m not permitted to speak about it yet, but let me assure you, it’s keeping me occupied and elated.

2) Went for the biggest ever Blogger’s meet in Delhi. If I start counting the reasons why and how it was supermegafoxyawesomehot, WordPress will run out of space.

3) I won some really exciting prizes and met even more exciting people. More on this later!

4) Now I’m off to Bangalore tomorrow. I’ll try to sneak in a post tomorrow, if that doesn’t work out, I’ll see you all after June 20th.

 

Meanwhile, say hello to a little someone I met at The Park Hotel in Delhi (the venue for aforementioned Blogger’s meet)

 

 

Enjoy summer everyone!

 

Dell Blogathon 2012 – The unfortunately titled event

Dell Blogathon 2012 was an interesting event, that it had nothing to do with blogs per se is a different matter altogether.

The event was hosted at The Second Sin, MGF Metropolitan Mall in Delhi and sponsored by Dell, Belkin and Yebhi.com. Fairly big names who, as was expected, spent a decent amount of time self-promoting. Dell showcased its three latest laptops including the XPS 13. Fancy machine. Representatives from Belkin and Yebhi.com talked about their latest ventures.

The parched crowd having traveled from various parts of the city (and some even from different cities) in the scorching heat heaved a sigh of relief when the drinks started flowing (free Foster’s for the win!). Once the snacks were dished out the mood improved further. The taste palette was in for a real ride with dishes like Lazy Snakes Rolls, Farmville Potatoes and Spotify Paneer, but my favorite was the Instagram Cake, probably the tastiest strawberry cheesecake I’ve had in a long time.

Once everyone had had their full, we settled down again for the ‘Amazing People Series’ and met four interesting fellas. Karan Singh, the psycho-illusionist, wowed the audience with his ready wit and extraordinary talent. This was followed by a talk by Abhishek Baxi who planned his entire wedding on Evernote. Unfortunately, I missed Gaurav Mishra, or more popularly, Gauravonomics, for I was craving a smoke. But I’m glad I returned in time to catch Andrew Hoffland or Uncle Andy as he is fondly called. ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’ (his words, not mine), he is one colorful personality who infused a new enthusiasm in the crowd with his excellent mimicry skills and crackling wit.

I even got the chance to use my dormant Twitter account to tweet about the event, but since I was only doing so for the prizes, I got bored soon enough and stopped. Prizes were distributed and the event came to a close with cameras clicking away to glory.

Finally, to elaborate on the opening statement: here was an event that called itself a blogathon, but sadly, forgot an essential quality of bloggers. You may choose to disagree, but most of the bloggers I have come across are a tad socially inept (yours truly included), and take some time before opening up. Sadly, the maze-like decor of the venue, lack of open spaces and absence of a formal introduction session dampened the enthusiasm. I, for one, chose not to roam around and mingle because no matter where I went, I kept bumping into people or awkwardly placed furniture.  Another grievance many voiced was regarding the agenda of the meet. Bloggers come from all walks of life and the event saw in attendance food bloggers, photo-bloggers, writers, fashion-bloggers, social commentators, tech-bloggers and even power-point bloggers (wonder what that constitutes). It was a mixed bag of people who, at a certain level, failed to connect for myriad reasons. I reckon if the agenda was spelled out clearly in the invite, it would’ve helped attract like-minded individuals.

Nevertheless, one must applaud the organisers’ effort. For an inaugural event, it was quite successful. So, kudos to them, and here’s hoping that the next blogathon is even better.

Photographs from the event –

Yebhi.com

Demonstrating the Belkin contraption that connects to the set top box at home and lets you watch TV on the go.

Uncle Andy