- Name: Sachin Uppal
- Instagram: @isthmus.44
- Industry Experience: 7 years
- Favourite Whisky Cocktail: A whisky sour but he also loves a Boulevardier
- Favourite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Kombucha
Against the backdrop of a reduced tariff on Scotch owing to the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), up-and-coming entrepreneur Sachin Uppal launched Isthmus 44. He wanted to connect Indian collectors to exceptional single-cask whisky that was chosen through disciplined evaluation and expert assessment.
Bottled In Origin, Isthmus 44 releases its whisky through numbered chapters. Chapter one, for instance, was a nine-year-old cask that came from The GlenAllachie Distillery in Speyside with a sweet, malty profile. We deep dived into an engaging conversation with Sachin and on all things whisky, bottling, and Indian whisky culture.
But first, we had to ask, why the name Isthmus 44? “Isthmus literally means a narrow strip of land that joins two larger land bodies,” he explains, “and there’s 4,400 miles of distance between India and Scotland.” Therefore, Isthmus 44 is the proverbial bridge that connects India and Scotland and the number 44 represents the distance.
Sachin started explaining the system of independent bottling and how the landscape of whisky consumption has changed progressively in India since 1992. Unlike big brands, the challenge of independent bottling remains the issue of scale and registration. India may be one country, but when it comes to doing business, each state presents numerous distribution and legal challenges.
While most big brands chase consistency across casks, Sachin leans on the inconsistencies. He compares it to having a home-cooked meal: reliable, dependable, and similar in taste (big brands), to eating an experiential dinner that creates memories and elevated moments (single-cask Scotch). Timing and trusting your own palate play a crucial role in the process.
We quizzed Sachin about how he chose the cask for chapter one. “To be honest, I was still fairly new to this when I found The GlenAllachie,” he reveals, “I tasted it and thought it had it all.” He felt consumers here have a need for something genuinely unique, novel and of provenance. Which is why despite loving The GlenAllachie, he still put together a small panel to test it. They unanimously voted favourably for it. This made Sachin decide that he will only bottle a cask if it gets a unanimous vote from the panel. He spoke fondly of The GlenAllachie, describing it as a perfect marriage between cask influence and distillery character.
Collectors love to chase independent bottlers over famous labels. Data suggests that they like to prioritise rarity and provenance. However, curators are the ones that decide which casks reach the world. Sachin described how the ecosystem of Scottish whisky is incredibly nuanced with a diverse range of people from brokers to entrepreneurs to blenders to traders and enthusiasts working tirelessly and experimenting to bring the most satisfying pours to consumers.
Even though Isthmus 44 was launched against the backdrop of the FTA, Sachin reveals that he was already thinking of setting up a company towards the end of 2024. And while the tariff drop is net favourable for everyone involved in this business, he warns that state excise policies and calculations are more complicated and nuanced than a central trade deal.
How would bartenders handle a single-cask bottle? Even though Isthmus 44 is a sipping whisky, Sachin encourages mixologists to stay true to the expression of the spirit and pay attention to detail if they are curating cocktails with it. Even during the launch of the first chapter, they designed a signature cocktail, called Affinity, that was developed around the cask’s profile.
Sachin says, Isthmus 44 wants to work with the bar community to build the experience around a single-cask Scotch, whether it is served neat or in a cocktail. That means creating rituals, suggesting accompaniments and designing a signature cocktail for each Chapter, so the whisky’s flavour and aroma are presented at their best.
Finally, Sachin said Isthmus 44 would be open to bottling whiskies from around the world—including casks from India. “If a whisky is good, we’d like to bottle it as an independent bottler,” he confesses. He applauded the quality of Indian casks and, interestingly, steered the conversation towards tropical maturation. Scotland, in contrast to India, has a cool climate. Which is why it takes 5 years to close to a decade for the casks to create something that’s interesting flavour-wise. India, with its hot and humid climate, could produce casks with a lot of flavour in as quickly as 2-3 years. Maturation becomes faster with hotter weather.
“We should stop treating the age [of any spirit] as this universal currency,” he emphasises, “So a 3-year-old Indian whisky is good. An 8-year whisky from Scotland is also good.” He explained how leaving whisky in a cask for too long can also hamper its flavour profile.
– Nemisha Sharma
