What good is a fine drink if it isn’t accompanied by great food? Singh Sahib at the Eros Hotel is the perfect setting to sample and enjoy the well matched marriage of the two. Poonam Thapa experiences the enriching saga of whisky pairing at their recent promotion.

Samvat 1780 is a well conceptualized endeavor to pairing the world’s most appreciated and enjoyed drink, whiskey, with the glorious cuisines of undivided Punjab that Singh Sahib is now so well recognized for.

The evening began with cocktails and munchies in the open sit out area of the restaurant. An ideal start for a relaxed evening, as a large screen  projected information on single malts and fine blends. It  made for an interesting engagement to the guests. 

Singh Sahib, stately oozes the regal culture seeped in traditions and legends while telling you a story of timeless history. Mellifluous live music and ghazals added further to the splendor and opulent setting as you prepared to rediscover the legendary and magical flavours of Potohar, Sarghoda, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Amritsar with authentic signature dishes accompanied by the finest of whiskeys that boasted of a  grand history of their own.

The menu  resembles a royal invitation and offers a  choice of five trails of single malts and fine blended scotches, matched against  a delicately hand crafted culinary experience befitting a king. Each trail in the menu includes four different types of tipples along with their age. Description in detail, with images, is handy for you to refer to through your majestic culinary journey. It is accompanied with wonderful dishes inspired from the yesteryears tailored to suit modern day tastes.

Sandeep Arora, Whiskey Ambassador, who is behind this concept, explains the trails to the guests as they sat down to a stately dinner. According to him  matching whisky flavours with food either enhances one’s taste or contrasts with the other and the favourite tipple, Whisky, speaks a common language of appreciation, when  matched with food being offered from the world over, tribes and traditions.

I sampled from the Trail of Exotic starting with the Balvaline Double Wood. It carries a whiff of sweet fruit and Oloroso sherry notes layered with honey and vanilla. A swirl of the spirit in the glass and a sip gave me a smooth  taste of sweet nuttiness, vanilla and spices. A tad too strong for me, I added water to dilute it. It is paired perfectly with delicately spiced Jallandhari seekh that just melts in the mouth. The delicious food is crafted by Suprabhath Roy, Executive Chef, who  says, “With Samvat 1780, we have revisited the journey of Singh Sahib, researched the origins of the dishes and have put on offer the signature dishes while focusing on quality ingredients for the classic blends and the complex malts to shine through.”

The next is Talisker, characteristic with its pungent smokiness, traces of kipper seaweed and apple peels on the nose. It feels fresh, tastes of strong barley-malt flavors that are warm and intense with a peppery finish. The Sarron da sole tikka that accompanied it is a fine match that has been well thought out.

The journey continues as we proceed to the third one, the Dalmore. On the nose, the deep golden colored liquor is orange, marmalade and of aromatic Spices. A sip of it gives a rich and elegant feel to the tastebuds that has traces of intense citrus with hints of vanilla. The accompaniment for this is the safeed chana de kabab.

The Highland Park is last on the list which is very aromatic bearing a floral note.  I refrain from taking further sips, not because the taste does not go well but, by now, I feel the tipple is starting to overpower me. However, the menu card tells me what the rest are enjoying, a taste of rounded smoky sweetness that delivers full malt with a heathery delicious finish. It is paired with the subz pudina seekh.  The finale is a dessert of gulab jamun  and shahi tukda that completes  our ceremonial feast, one that will remain in my memory for long.

The promotion is on for Dinner (Monday to Sunday) 7 pm to 11.45 pm. for the next three-months at Singh Sahib.