23/04/2023, 11:08 Bernard on Booze: When Johnnie Walker becomes Johny Walk

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Bernard on Booze: When Johnnie Walker becomes

Johny Walk

Indian whisky has ben associated with headaches, illness and death.
Published Aug 27, 2017

Written by

Bernard Gutman

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Put on your swimming costume, grab your sunglasses because we're

going to the beach...in India. 

 
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23/04/2023, 11:08 Bernard on Booze: When Johnnie Walker becomes Johny Walk

Goa is on the Western coast of India and is famous for its beaches and all-night
parties.

It's also home to the John distillery, producers of Paul John whiskies, one of the most
exciting brands to hit the whisky market in the past few years.

With the exception of the excellent Amrut brand of whisky, Indian whisky was
associated with headaches, illness and death. 

High in methanol, these toxic spirits are sold in plastic buckets while the more
unscrupulous distillers colour the spirit with vegetable dye, bottle the poisonous
liquid in empty bottles of well-known whisky brands, or bottles with fake labels.

Johnnie Walker becomes Johny Walk. Drink that and you'll be Johnny dead. It's a
serious issue and one responsible liquor companies are keen to stamp out. Another
warning: don't drink in the sun, on the beach. There's a bad element on some beaches
and you may fall asleep in India, only to wake up as a slave in a Middle-Eastern
country, with no whisky to drink.

Back to Paul John. India is a very hot country and the angel's share of the whisky, the
spirit that evaporates into the atmosphere, is around 8%, compared to 2% in
Scotland. It could be even higher but at the John distillery, the barrels mature
underground, where it's easier to control the temperature. In a warm climate,
whiskies mature a lot quicker than spirits in cold climates. 

The distillery started selling whisky fairly recently, in 2012, with a successful launch in
London and have been available in South Africa since earlier this year. Michael
D’Souza, the master distiller, started distilling in 1993, so there's a fair amount of
history in the bottles. The barley used to make the whisky comes from the foot of the
Himalayas, which is pretty unique in the whisky world. Try Signature for richness and
Bold for some smoke and peat. 

From underground in India, we head to Taiwan, where Ian Chang, Kavalan’s master
blender will take us 5 stories high in the maturation warehouse at King Car Distillery,
home to Kavalan whisky. Actually, I'd prefer to stay on the ground as the temperature
high up in the maturation warehouse reaches 45 degrees. You may pass out from the
stifling heat and inhaling the angel's share evaporating from the barrels at up to 12%.
That's not the way you want to end a whisky tour.

After a brief absence from South African shelves, Kavalan is back in South Africa and
we look forward to seeing Ian again. He was a regular visitor to South Africa and the

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23/04/2023, 11:08 Bernard on Booze: When Johnnie Walker becomes Johny Walk

Kavalan stand was a popular place at Whisky festivals. Ian absorbed much whisky
knowledge from Dr Jim Swan, a renowned whisky consultant to distilleries around the
world, who is now enjoying his dram with the angels. 

Dr Swan's particular area of expertise was optimizing whisky production and

maturation for newer distilleries, extracting flavours and character earlier than usual
in the maturation process. It made perfect sense for him to get involved with Kavalan,
where flavour extraction from the oak barrels needs to be carefully monitored to
make sure the whisky is not over-oaked.

Kavalan is one of the most popular distilleries in the world with over 1 million visitors
a year. The distillery was only planned soon after 2002, the first year the Taiwanese
government allowed private companies to own distilleries. The whiskies are superb.
Yes, you can add ice if you like and also try the whiskies with green tea. 

You'll enjoy some of the cask strength drams, at around 57% ABV, alcohol by volume.
Normal whisky is 43% ABV so be careful…

Questions about drinks: email bernard@drinksmag.co.za or tweet @bernardgwhisky

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