Livin' On Liquid Sunshine

Anand Chintamani recounts his fanboy moment at an evening with Jim Murray, the world’s definitive whisky writer and expert, at the Pullman New Delhi Aerocity

- Anand Chintamani

There is something about being the world’s best. The world follows you and then, attaches your name to anything that reaches such lofty standards. When discussing the very best of whisky, the name Jim Murray is never far behind.

At a recent tasting event organised by All Things Nice, the legendary whisky writer and critic kept spirits high with his knowledge, acumen and, most of all, his wit. While whisky in itself is a rather animated subject, heavily discussed in social soirées from South Africa to Scotland, its practitioners are rather dour. Murray is definitely its brightest spark—forthcoming, opinionated, and not afraid to speak his mind. He raised many eyebrows some years back, when he admitted that he ‘did not kiss anyone’ during the writing of his annual Whisky Bible, going on to say that the ‘germs’ ran the risk of making him sick, potentially trashing his tasting schedule of up to 30 whiskies a day.