Tiring trips, hovering security. Vishwanathan Anand is not complaining. Is it the calm before he storms the chessboard? Find out

A bleary-eyed Jim Morrison shows you the way to the next whiskey bar and sits down with you for a drink, shaking back his shamanic locks. What would you order?

Sugarcane juice that Indian breweries are famous for is out of the question. Don’t ask why or Jim would perhaps tell you to die. Instead, lean forward over the counter and ask the bartender for two shots of Macallan 1947. In all likelihood, he would apologise and instead offer you a Bruichladdich 1964 because at Rs 28 lakh for a bottle of the Macallan it’s a little difficult to drink to India’s independence. Only 16 bottles were culled out of that rare single malt and even a miniature came for Rs 1.75 lakh. But Jim wouldn’t mind the 40-year-old Islay-bottled Bruichladdich either. With no more than 500 bottles made available worldwide, it’s a quick way to cement your class in the country’s premium bars and also stop Jim from closing the doors on you.

Says the 23-year-old bartender at Taj Palace Hotel’s Blue Bar, Hemant Kumar Pathak: “Even at Rs 20,000 a peg, it’s not too difficult to push the Bruichladdich. Status is important to a lot of our customers.” And a glance at the drink menus of different bars across the country shows that Pathak is not tipsy. To get high on the social scene, well-heeled Indians are not hesitating to get bankrupt. Or at least, the thought is quirky enough to attract them.

Like the moniker sported by the non-fussy bar at the Ambassador Hotel in Delhi’s Khan Market – Insomnia. Push open the glass doors and grab a barstool. Among the rows of glitzy bottles of all shapes and sizes there is no way you can miss the most expensive vodka in India, in what would appear to be a fancy oversized perfume bottle. The name’s Kauffman and a peg would set you back by around Rs 10,000-20,000. Made by the WH Import Company in Moscow, this luxury vodka is produced from the wheat of a single harvest; thus, it has a specific vintage. Each year, only 20,000 bottles are produced. “This is our second bottle in the last two months,” says the F&B executive at Insomnia who did not wish to be named.

He also points out that more and more people are enjoying premium single malt whisky in bars. Delhi-based whisky expert Sandeep Arora has a similar view. “There are three segments of whisky aficionados in the country: People who enjoy traditional high-end single malts such as Talisker, Laphroaig and Ardbeg. Then there are some who are seeking out newer malts like Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain and Balvenie 15-21 year old. And the third group prefer something more discreet and rare like perhaps a Glenfiddich 50 year old.” Arora, who is also the Indian representative of the Whisky Magazine, mentions only two bottles of the Glenfiddich 50 year old and four bottles of the 40-year-old Glenfiddich have found their way into India this year.

The Leela Kempinski in Gurgaon serves the half century old Glenfiddich. “It’s Rs 1,20,000 for a 60-ml shot sir,” says Samuel Makhija, the bartender at Leela’s Rubicon bar. He could also pour you 60-ml peg of the 40 year old for Rs 30,000.

According to Arora, apart from these famous brands, a select group is opting for customised handcrafted whisky. One of them is the ITC Welcomgroup with its line of luxury hotels. “I have tied up with a few distilleries in Scotland and produced the ITC Welcomgroup Private Vintage,” Arora says. “It’s a 32-year-old whisky and a bottle would range between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh.” The range will be officially launched in a couple of weeks and ITC Welcomgroup is most likely to offer it to its customers across its hotels and bars.

But a lot of connoisseurs of distilled beverages do not mind cold shouldering premium hotels and bars when it comes to savouring their favourite liquor. Well-known columnist Bhaichand Patel thinks that it’s ridiculous to spend such huge sums on a single peg in five-star hotels. “Sometimes with the money that you cough up for a peg you can perhaps buy the whole bottle,” he says. “I don’t disagree that there are some people with inane amount of money who would do it to impress people. But that’s not the way to enjoy your drink.” He would rather ask for a Teacher’s or a Hundred Pipers in a five-star and enjoy his Black Label at home.

And sometimes, home is where the bottles are. Despite some five-star hotels queuing up to bag prestigious labels, some of the most expensive ones end up at collectors’ homes or…err…bladders! For instance, a $58,000 (Rs 27 lakh) Dalmore Highland Malt Scotch was bought by a man in 2005. Reportedly, one night he downed it with five of his buddies. In the same year, a Korean businessman paid $70,000 (Rs 33 lakh) for a Macallan’s 1926.

Most of the labels mentioned above are limited editions like the $10,000 (Rs 4.5 lakh) Chivas Regal Royal Salute, 50 year old – in 2003 only 255 bottles were released worldwide, which helps account for the high price. But you still have a chance. Director-India & area countries at The Edrington Group Paramjeet Singh told FC Roar that a single one litre bottle of Macallan Cire Perdue, read 64 year old, is slated to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in November this year. Anybody sober enough to bid?