Paul John Nirvana - 70cl
Paul John makes its whisky in Goa, on India's west coast, from Indian six-row barley, and matures it in the tropical heat, which changes everything. Where a Scotch might sit quietly in a cool warehouse for a decade, the Goan climate pushes spirit and cask together hard and fast, so young whisky drinks with the depth of something older. Nirvana is the distillery's entry point, and one of the best-value single malts around.
This is unpeated, bottled at 40% and matured in second- and third-fill ex-bourbon barrels, casks with just enough oak left in them to season rather than dominate. It pours a bright copper.
The nose is warm and sweet: treacle and butterscotch, baked pineapple, a note of fruitcake and honeyed cinnamon. The palate keeps that generosity going, with barley sugar and ripe orchard fruit, vanilla and milk chocolate, and a little salt-tinged malt keeping it from tipping into pudding. Crystallised ginger lingers on a soft, honeyed finish.
Don't overthink this one. It's an easy, sunny dram for a weeknight and a gentle introduction to Indian whisky. As Paul John themselves intend, it's also a genuinely good malt to build a cocktail on. At the price, it's hard to fault.
How to Serve
Neat in a tulip glass shows off the tropical fruit. A drop of water lifts it, and it makes a surprisingly good Old Fashioned.
Where to Drink It
Black Rock in Shoreditch, for a proper look at world whisky. Scarfes Bar at the Rosewood, for something off the usual path. Artesian at The Langham, if you'd rather it in a cocktail.
Food Pairings
Try it with sticky toffee pudding, or a handful of salted almonds.
