Samarkand Bar, Noida - Quick Review
Posted on March 13, 2009 -- By: Johnny Walker
In the old Noida, with mushrooming new sectors like 93A, 62, 61, 63 and what not, somehow sector 25,26,29,37 are now the ‘Old Noida’, there is a this bar called ‘Samarkand’. In old days, Sector 29 used to the 2nd point in terms of action after the legendary sector 18. I would have visited ‘Samarkand’ before but I went there recently and thought that would write a small review.
Location - Very well located. Right in the heart of Noida in sector 29, Ganga Shopping Complex.
Ambience - Mixed. There are two sections. They have tried to give this warm feel by using lot of wood but somehow it seems to have lived its life. The look is very much a yesteryear red-maroon kinds so it doesn’t look fresh nor modern.
Quality of Food/Drinks - Its a good place for non-cocktail crowd. Its difficult to ruin a old monk or a Kingfisher. Food was pretty good but they offer Mughlai and Indian-chinese kind of stuff so no special variety.
Pricing - High. A beer costs Rs 175, a 30 ml Smrinoff is at Rs 225 and a Chilli Chicken is at Rs 225. Their happy hours go till 8.30 PM and its at 40 % off. Considering that its Noida, prices are not too steep but for the kind of service and overall infrastructure, they can do well with either giving more discount during ‘Happy Hours’ or to increase the potion.
What to do - I wont not recommend this place so if you find yourself there, try to grab a seat in the open-terrace, you get some fresh air and you can smoke without leaving your table.
Overall, ok place for couple of drinks.
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Moets, Defence Colony, Delhi - Review
Posted on January 20, 2009 -- By: Johnny Walker
Couple of weeks back I was at Moets, Defence Colony and I thought that I would write a small note on what we experienced there. Moets is one of those old, very popular hang-out zones which are still doing very good in terms of overall business. On any evening, though its not very hard to find a place but usually the place is full.
We were a large group and we did a long lunch there at the basement of main Moets, which serves Mughlai line of food along with drinks. There is another Moet, just across the road, called ‘Moet Sizzlers’. Most of us had a drink there, all sorts, some snacks and the regular lunch.
Location - Very well located, in a plush neighborhood market. Well connected since it can be access from the ring road. The address is “50, Main Market, Defence Colony, Delhi”
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What is ‘Cask Strength’ or ‘Barrel Proof’ of a Whiskey ?
Posted on January 9, 2009 -- By: Johnny Walker
‘Cask strength’ or ‘barrel proof’ is the strength of whisky while its maturing in the cask. As we all know that when Whisky is taken out of Cask, its diluted with Water, typically spring water. The dilution is not necessarily done to decrease the strength but also to bring out the flavor.
Bottled Whiskey is usually at 40% Alcohol-By-Volume so you can imagine that the strength of Alcohol while its in the Cask is more than that. Its not very common to find bottles which are directly from Cask but sometime you do get one, for a very niche segment. But this is not very common, for variety of reasons. Probably one of the reasons is around the laws where you would need to mention the exact % of Alcohol and you would not want to print a new set of labels for every cask.
Also as the Whiskey ages in a Cask, its strength decreases and it may make more sense to not dilute it further if the strength has already gone down.
I could find this link - http://www.maltwhiskydistilleries.com/Distilleries/CaskStrengthEditions/tabid/99/Default.aspx, which has a mention of some of the popular ‘Cask Strength’ Whiskeys which have been released in market. By the way, I do not how much aged the above link is.
Enjoy your drink and have a good day.
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What is Chopin ?
Posted on November 4, 2008 -- By: Johnny Walker
Chopin is a new bloke in the world of Vodka. Named after Frédéric Chopin, the famous Polish Romantic composer, Chopin was introduced in North America in 1997. Unlike most of the other Vodka where typically multilple grains are used, here a single ingredient is used and that is potato.
I have written before on how Vodka is made. In case of Chopin, its said that potatoes are sourced from Podlasie, a region in Poland and then its distilled as many as 4 times. It is produced by Siedlce-based Podlaska Wytwórnia Wódek Polmos company.
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What is Krolewska ?
Posted on October 29, 2008 -- By: Johnny Walker
Krolewska is a Vodka from Poland which is grain based. Poland and Vodka are linked and the association probably goes as back as 8th century. It is believed that initially Vodka was used as a form of medicine. Krolewska is a very premium Vodka and it comes in a stained glass bottle which is tall and slender.
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Jewel of Russia - Classic : The Royal Vodka
Posted on October 24, 2008 -- By: Johnny Walker
Russia and Vodka are synonymous with each other and when you bring in something which is as old as 300 then its has to be really big. ‘Jewel of Russia’ is truly a jewel vodka from this land and for apt reasons its called ‘The drink of the czars’.
Jewel of Russia - Classic
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What is Ciroc ?
Posted on September 16, 2008 -- By: Johnny Walker
First thing about Ciroc is that its a Vodka and the next thing is that its not done out of rye or potatoes or wheat but rather from grapes. And its not a wine. Well, that makes its very confusing but I have heard good things about it. I read a review here, just a while back and one in a magazine and I thought that I would share this with fellow readers.
How Ciroc is made ?
There are two main ingredients viz. two varieties of grapes i.e. Mauza Blanc and Ugni Blanc. These are grown in the vineyards of the Gaillac and Cognac regions of France. The process is a little complex.
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Cachaca - is it a Rum ?
Posted on September 3, 2008 -- By: Johnny Walker
Cachaca is pronounced as Ka-Sha-Sa and is the most popular alcoholic beverage in Brazil. Even though it has similarities with Rum but its not really rum. Cachaça is the product of the distillation of fermented sugarcane juice, with its alcohol strength between 38% and 48% by volume. Cachaça differs from rum in that it is made from sugarcane juice while rum is made from either molasses or sugarcane juice then aged in oak barrels.
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Pisco from Peru or Pisco from Chile
Posted on August 25, 2008 -- By: Johnny Walker
Pisco which is pronounced as Pee-so has two owners viz. Peru and Chile. Both the countries claim this drink and its a ‘national’ alcoholic drink for both of them.
But anyway, who cares as long as you can have them. Its a little more viscous then Vodka and is of pale yellow color. Its pretty strong and the alcohol content is in the range of 30-50 %. Its distilled from grapes and has a very clear fruity taste. As the name, the story goes that in Peru, there is a kind of bird called ‘pisqu’ which is mostly seen. Since having this drink gives them high, it was named Pisco.
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Sambuca or Raki or Ouzo - Whats common
Posted on August 22, 2008 -- By: Johnny Walker
When you go to Italy, you find Sambuca. In Greece there is Ouzo and any visitor to Turkey must have Raki. Even though these three sound different they are all same since all of them are made from an anise essence, a flowering plant. Though all of them do use alcohol which is distilled from another base, the most common being grapes.
Anise Flowers
Anise is a native of Mediterranean Europe and there are other variants of alcohol from this plant which you can find in some of the balkan states.
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