London gin is pouring down

Shaken, not stirred. That's how James Bond takes his martini. And when it comes to the spirits, Ludhianvis show no less passion and exactitude. Whether it's the wine they swirl and sip or the single-malt they prefer as a nightcap, the lively hearts of this booming city take pride in the priceless bottles that stand tall behind those vintage mahogany cabinets.TOI salutes liquor's true connoisseurs who know their Campari from their Benedictine, and who raise the amber bar a bit higher every time they take a swig
LUDHIANA: There’s half a gale on the terrace and the mercury has touched a shade above 44 degrees. A svelte Gurpreet Bains slips out of his evening wet clothes, runs a flight of stairs at his Defence Colony home, turns the key on the beaver-brown louvered shutters to a terrace bar and rubs his fingers, unveiling his “city of peace”.
There’s a fibreglass turbaned Sikh, a dozen upside down hanging glasses — some with caricatures of Indian dacoits and Bollywood actors — and then a show of miniature and big spirits. “Ah, gin. Brisk, peppery gin. The drink that epitomizes summer elegance,” quips 31-year-old Bains, who works as a custom clearing agent at Ludhiana’s dry port. A green bottle with a red wax seal of approval will be his pick. “We will Tanqueray,” says Bains. Tanqueray is a London dry gin called so because of its distillation process. In 1830 it was distilled in Bloomsbury district of London by Charles Tanqueray. It’s made of four botanicals — juniper, coriander, angelica and liquorice — distilled four times.
Gin, which originated in Holland and developed into a popular style in England, is yet to have enthusiastic modern-day consumers in India. Even Bains is not an old admirer of gins. Ever since his school days, when he first pilfered from his father’s collection, gin remained the most unattractive option.
But the opinion changed when he picked up a connoisseurs’ suggestion in the market that gin spikes hard during hot weather. At his daughter’s recent birthday party, Bains didn’t mind uncorking the Tanqueray and serving guests before the Scotches and tequilas.
Gurpreet Bains’ love for gins is not very old. But now his terrace bar in the Defence Colony home flaunts several varieties of the spirit.
“Gone are the days when people thought of gin as an old guy’s drink. Young people in the age between 26 and 35 years old are also gin enthusiasts. These are usually entrepreneurs, managers and white-collar workers,” says Bains.
For most of his friends, gin means a cocktail such as martini or a simple combination “gin and tonic”. In his nuclear-room like bar, there are of course other gin varities - Bombay Sapphire, Beefeater and Gilbey's all stacked.
But then he admits that picking the right gin to pair with a tonic can be a tall order. “There are hundreds of different gins in the market, many claiming deep cultural heritage and tradition. And there are others just selling on the strength of their ridiculously cheap price and shatterproof plastic bottles,” he says.