Drinking is an important activity for survival of any living being. So it starts from drinking milk to water and other beverages. But as a human ages and crosses the adolescence the avenues open up. In Indian context let him/her attain lawful eligibility (statewise) to savor other forms of beverages namely beer, whisky (IMFL), whisky (Scotch), rum, vodka, wine...
The rest of the blog is related thickly to my experiences and tastes and may not apply to everyperson who likes to be washed down in spirits regularly/often/occasionally/seldom.
How it all starts?
If you happen to be a good student in your school days whereby the whole idea of alcohol is a taboo it so happens that when you land up in a residential educational institution in your college days, in other places you cross the freshman year or you have a circle of friends who didn't satisfy the first crucial requirement i.e. idea of alcohol wasn't a taboo for them in school days, you get exposed to liquor. For the first timer who satisfies the first requirement after several nos the first few drops are thrusted down the throat by seniors. Our Indian roots then guarantee that with due regards for the social obligations, for sake of good relation and in order to obey the elders the first glass/peg/shot/pint goes down voluntarily but regrettably.
The initial hiccup and then pick-up!
Its always good to try the thing by yourself in absence of many/a crowd/a large gang/seniors. Now the question is what to drink. If you have the same background as mine and you also went to IIT and you satisfied all the traits of a first timer, the first decision that needs to be made is based on the size of the pocket/depth of wallet and then which one of rum/gin/vodka/whisky/beer/tequila..So what you want to/can/afford to have is directly proportional to the money you carry. Thus with due respect to Indian-ness in my case Punjabi-ness will opt for whisky for it sounds more Indian, its well heard in bollywood movies (Daroo is more synonymous to whisky) and appeared in more advertisements at that time than any other spirit and also because it takes time to know the other forms like vodka/rum/cocktails/draught beer/lager beer/strong beer and definitely not tequila. For the sake of simplicity lets leave out the Indian country liquor out of the discussion.
So the crucial decision is made and the affordability at the first time is higher because you haven't spent on "what will" become a new found pass time and probably no other activity drains you out more than this one. The first bottle/half/quarter/large peg/small peg called is the Antiquity the costliest of the IMFL and soon to become my favorite. A close knit group is formed who cherish the moments spent at a small shady bar discussing all sorts of things that can be discussed or after a few drinks even those which were supposed not to be discussed. As the number of trips to this local bar rise in number affordability goes down with rising expenses you start ordering an Imperial Blue, Bagpiper and such other brands to maximise visits. A whisky is a whisky and also an IMFL is an IMFL but as you become regular the tastes become more apparent and you tend to become more choosy. But affordability holds the key. Thus the trade off is between quality and quantity. This is when there is a likelihood of you making a choice of beer over whisky. A Rs. 60 beer is 650 ml while a 750 ml Antiquity is about Rs. 650. Even when you dilute the whisky with water the volume/re doesnt catch up :-). Hence, alcohol is alcohol so a beer is like whisky and a whisky is like a beer. But soon you become familiar to the reality that a beer is 4-8% alcohol and a whisky is a 40-50% alcohol.
After the baby steps its time to race...
The next stage is reached as your desire, to have more bang out of the buck/drink/passtime, grows you get introduced to other subtle forms of alcohol beverages which get passed onto you like any more normal beverage apart from say an old monk rum :-). Vodka in orange juice/screw driver, a vodka with lime, a gin, from strong beer in college days to draught beer during early career. Beer bottle orders become beer mug orders and a mug order becomes an order for a pitcher. Transformations happen. The biggest one of these being graduated to level of a Tequila. For the first time it takes guts/money/an understanding of one's capacity/a lot of convincing that a neat drink is not harmful/idea of accompanying salt and lemon :). Eventually you can stop worrying about any of these even lemon and salt :-)
As affordability increases you move from the small shady bar to a restaurant to a pub eventually you also get to learn that gathering at one's place is better than any of the other options. Your stickiness to a brand becomes more apparent so if the favorite is Antiquity its difficult to switch, a smirn off is smirn off and no romanov can replace it. Also foreign brands make inroads into the monthly budget. Hence, comes in a Johnny Walker, Black Dog, Teachers (all scotch) and more premium ones a Chivas,Glenfiddich, Corona for beer. Wine is a late addition amongst men but it does gain its own special place amongst others.
So by now Pappu has not just learnt to dance but choreograph as well. Many nights pass by getting very very wet and very very high!
IMFL: Indian Made Foreign Liquor
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