The local flavour of Madras

August 22, 2014 08:40 pm | Updated November 10, 2021 12:34 pm IST

Magandeep Singh is India's first sommelier, food, wine and travel writer and TV show host.

Magandeep Singh is India's first sommelier, food, wine and travel writer and TV show host.

Today, Chennai may be one of the toughest cities to set up a liquor business in. Bars don’t exactly thrive here and logistics can mar the most fanciful of lounges. In a bid to curb alcoholism, we have also managed to cull the very civility of the beverage which was not how our ancestors intended it to be; it is almost diametrically opposite to the inclusive history of this port town which embraced the arrival of every trade ship with warmth and an indigenous brand of hospitality.

Gazing into the crystal ball and reminiscing for a bit, we see that Madras was crucial in the arrival of spirits of all kinds into India. The English military gentry needed their rations, and shipments for the East India Company were recorded landing here as early as the late 18th century.

More than spirits, it was beer that was the preferred evening drink for posted infantry and tradesmen, something they felt more appropriate given the sultry climes of these tropics. Trouble was that the beer was almost always sour and spoilt on arrival. Research yielded the idea of adding more hops to make it resilient during the journey. It also made the beer more bitter. Thus was born the Indian Pale Ale a.k.a the IPA (something we have discussed here before). What we didn't mention was that it was right here in Chennai that the initial stocks would have landed. Soon enough Bombay and Calcutta too were receiving supplies.

Eponymous brands like Hodgsons (by George Hodgson) were already doing brisk business circa 1790s, so one can well imagine just how old and established the trade must have been. By the 1820s, Hodgson was the unanimous market leader and overshadowed the sales of other brands like Meux, Whitbread, and Barclay.

Another popular tipple of the day, once again thanks to the English, were the fortified wines of Madeira. While one may like to make a case that it was taste that encouraged this indulgence, the fact remains that this island was given as dowry to the English (by Catherine of Braganza) and therefore enjoyed some trade concessions at British outposts in the East. Another reason why the wine worked was that, being fortified, it could withstand the voyage and also subsequent storage in this high temperature zone.

By 1716, over a 100 Pipes (pronounced pipas, special barrels of about 600 litres) were being sent to India and Madras was the main port of entry. Success for the Madeira producers was unprecedented and soon they were all setting up a small sales outpost in India, including smaller players who couldn’t afford to miss out on the action. It was probably a good decision, for fourscore years later, trade had grown to almost 6400 pipes or roughly 40% of the total production of Madeira!

But it wasn’t just the receiving that Madras excelled at. Given the scarcity of pure drinking water, and understandably reduced supplies of alcohol for a returning European ship, sailors often made a pitstop to stock up on arrack, the indigenous intoxicant which was not just popular with the locals but also found fair acceptability with the seafaring crowd. And mind you, this custom wasn’t just popular with the English in the 19th century; in fact, since the 17th century, the Dutch had stopped at the city (and the Portuguese in Goa) to visit local drinking houses where a traditional flavoured concoction made of five ingredients was served: arrack, spices, lime juice, sugar, and water. Paanch (five) transfigured into Punch, and thus was born a drink that would soon take over clubs all over in the West! Madras (Calcutta and Goa) where Punch houses were all the rage had somehow given birth to a drinking format that would never lose its significance over time. So, as we gather to reminisce about the Madras that was, we must channel all the positivity and remind ourselves of what Chennai can become. That said, concoct your own recipe for this special day. Cheers!

Magandeep Singh is India's first sommelier, food, wine and travel writer and TV show host. His passions include studying languages and choking the saxophone. In his free time he works.

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