Email
Print
ShareThe concept of an after-dinner drink in India is much like a faithful husband or a unicorn -- utterly imaginary; often spoken about but with no proof to support its existence. In India, a social gathering is timed unlike anywhere else in the world.
People arrive mind-bogglingly late, then they pour over aperitifs far longer than any civilisation must and can allow and finally, when dinner is served, they seem to pace up faster than "The Bolt"!
Food eaten, they only pause to briefly wipe their faces clean before blurting a quick bye and hurrying off home. After-dinner drink then mostly means a cup of tea that the host and his wife will make themselves once they have washed the expensive crockery and stuck the leftovers into neat little Tupperwares -- lunches for thecoming week.
Sad and confusing at the same time. For a nation that prides itself on having one of the richest cultures of family and bonding and no real modern-day past-times, we sure seem to shy away from an after-dinner drink without much explanation. If anything, it should be the most popular part of our days, reminiscing with family and loved ones, or lover, and nursing a cosy drink that delivers us to slumber.
So, if you were to suddenly find interest in this so-far unknown, alien territory, what would be your call? What poison would you beckon to aromatise the inside of your fine cut-glass? Here are a few options.
Cognac rules roost as the ultimate after-dinner pour which perhaps also explains why the poor producers are facing the losses of their lifetimes, with after-dinner drinking at an all-time low and are trying to pass themselves off as an aperitif. Lots of brands exist and I won't name-drop without reason here. Just know that to have them chilled or even with ice is completely acceptable and let nobody tell you any different.
Armagnac is not so well known but those who like it will always pass over Cognac for it; I don't know why though. They taste fairly similar although the processes are different and neither can be adjudged 'better'; just different.
Scotch too has its post-food followers but fewer still. Rum, gin, vodka and other white spirits would find even fewer takers. Grappa is big but more in Italy than elsewhere. In India, we seem to shoot more of and savour less and that is not the idea of an after-dinner drink.
Liqueurs are a big commercial success in this category. People often skip dessert in favour of a shot of their favourite Creme de Menthe or Irish Cream liqueur. Wines, especially sweet wines then, could also be seen as an excellent way to seal an evening.
Nothing can beat the aromatic appeal of a good Late Harvest or Noble Grape wine. The best come from Austria, France, Germany and Canada. In India the only sweet dessert wine of any standard will be the soon to be launched wine from Big Banyan (or is it Chateau de Banyan, I never remember). The rest is unbearable sugar syrup.
There is nothing wrong with mixing drinks, grapes with grains, any other twisted way you like it. Just ensure you have enough water in the system to not dehydrate. That is where hangovers lurk, not in fine alcohol.
