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muzaktomyears · 1 year ago

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Secret life of the Beatles and the man who got them groupies and pot

Mal Evans was the Beatles’ fixer, roadie and confidant, but little is known about the man the Fab Four adored. Now a new book reveals all

For eight years, Malcolm “Mal” Evans was, in his way, as fundamental to the Beatles as Brian Epstein and George Martin. He was their long-time roadie and personal assistant, sometime lyricist, occasional performer and regular fixer at the height of the group’s fame and beyond.

Over the years he became friend and confidant — attending their weddings, fending off fans, procuring groupies, accompanying them on holiday, joining them on acid trips, going to India on their infamous pilgrimage to see the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. But Mal’s dedication to the “boys” and his own desire for stardom took its toll, leading to the end of his marriage and his untimely death in January 1976.

Until now, Mal’s life remained shrouded in mystery. Drawing on hundreds of exclusive interviews and with full access to unpublished archives — including his personal diaries, manuscripts and memorabilia which for 12 years were forgotten in the basement of an American publishing house — this is the first complete portrait of a complicated figure at the heart of the Beatles’ story. Just when you thought there was nothing new to know about the Fab Four, here comes the extraordinary tale of one ordinary man right in the middle of it all.

AT 27, MAL HAD FIVE YEARS on John Lennon and Ringo Starr and even more on Paul McCartney, who had turned 20 in June 1961, and George Harrison, still a teenager at 19. Mal – was the odd man out in more ways than one. He held a real job, as a telecommunications engineer for the General Post Office, and he had a home and a family. With his wife, Lily, he lived in Liverpool’s Allerton district, where they were raising their 15-month-old son, Gary.

It was a simple twist of fate that landed Mal behind the wheel of the band’s Ford Thames van on a January day in 1962. Neil Aspinall, the Beatles’ road manager, had fallen ill with flu. He was hardly the only person felled during that severe winter. During the last week of December, a blizzard swept across England and Wales, leaving snow drifts of up to 20ft in its wake.

By the time Mal and the Beatles began the long drive to London, around midday on Monday, January 21, the van’s brakes had begun to slip. During the early leg of their journey, brakes didn’t really matter. But it was on the journey home that disaster struck in the middle of the night. As Mal drove along a quiet rural road, the windscreen “cracked with a terrible bang”, as he’d write later in his Post Office Engineering Union diary. With the windscreen splintered, Paul observed as Mal “put his hat backwards on his hand, punched the windscreen out completely and drove on”.

Mal was left to contend with the gale-force winds now pummelling the van’s interior. The bandmates gathered up stray caps and scarves and wrapped them about their beleaguered driver, who had pulled a paper bag over his head to battle the cold. “It was perishing,” John later recalled. “Mal had this paper bag over his head with just a big split in it for his eyes. He looked like a bank robber.” Meanwhile, John, Paul, George and Ringo huddled together in the rear of the van, sharing a bottle of whisky while stacked one atop the other to generate much needed warmth. “And when the one on the top got so cold it was like hypothermia was setting in,” Ringo recalled, “it was his turn to get on the bottom, and we’d warm each other up that way, and keep swigging the whisky.” It was, in Paul’s words, “a Beatle sandwich”.

All the while, Mal and the boys maintained a steady banter to stave off exhaustion. As the Big Freeze raged — swirling both inside and outside the van — the Beatles regularly pestered their driver about how much further they had to go. “[Two hundred] miles to go!” Mal would reply, referencing the approximate distance between Liverpool and London. In the years to come, “It became our own private joke, and ‘200 miles to go, Mal’ was heard whenever things were tough.”

DURING HIS YEARS WITH THE BAND, Mal discovered that the best way to avoid being ribbed by the boys was to be ready for virtually anything. To this end, he carried around with him an ever growing doctor’s bag to meet the Beatles’ every possible whim. It was swollen with musical instrument paraphernalia — plectrums, guitar strings and the like — along with household items such as aspirin, chewing gum, a torch, crisps, biscuits, tissues and cigarettes, of course. As the years went by, he had another piece of luggage, which he lovingly called his “dope bag”: a brown suede bag with an om sign prominently displayed, complete with freshly rolled joints.

This began after Bob Dylan dropped by their hotel in New York in 1964 during their first tour of North America. Not long after Dylan’s arrival, the Beatles offered their guest a sample from their motley collection of pills — Drinamyls and Preludin (both uppers), mostly. But Dylan wasn’t having it, instead suggesting “something a little more organic”. At first, Brian Epstein demurred, sensing the Beatles’ apprehension.

That’s when Dylan said, “But what about your song — the one about getting high?” At that, he began singing the middle eight from I Want to Hold Your Hand: “And when I touch you, I get high, I get high.”

John quickly interjected: “Those aren’t the words. It’s ‘I can’t hide, I can’t hide’.”

Ringo tried Dylan’s marijuana first. A few puffs from Dylan’s joint left him smiling and suddenly marvelling at the way the ceiling seemed to float down onto him. Soon, they were all stoned. George recalled that, “We were just legless, aching from laughter.” And for Paul especially, the Beatles’ first brush with the devil weed seemed not only mind-blowing, but a moment of great import. To him, it felt exactly like the kind of experience that should be captured for posterity. Having dutifully provided his roadie with a pencil and paper, Paul ordered him to, “Get it down, Mal, get it down!” Despite being quite stoned in his own right, Mal managed to record the Beatle’s most insightful thoughts. The next morning, Mal retrieved the musings, which boiled down to a single sentence: “There are seven levels,” his notes read. Roadie? Bodyguard? Fixer? Now Mal could add “amanuensis” to his evolving portfolio.

AS EARLY AS 1963, it was clear that there was an unusual zeal among Beatles fans, one unbounded by the conventional social behaviours of the day. “As if attacked by a virus that changed their moral standards, teenage girls wanted sex with the Beatles and they didn’t care how they got it,” wrote Tony Bramwell, Brian Epstein’s assistant. “When they tried to grab a live one, crawl through windows or hide in wardrobes, they were sorted out by Mal and Neil Aspinall like M&Ms, to be sampled and tasted first. Brian — who was puritanical where his protégés were concerned — would have had a fit had he only known, but he was kept totally in the dark.”

At its height, the stage and its environs would take on the look of a battle zone. “Unconscious teenagers were being dragged out of the audience,” Mal wrote, describing a gig in San Francisco in 1965, “and we hauled them on to the stage for safety. Some were in a terrible state, bruised, battered, cut and unconscious. Their clothing was torn and their hair dishevelled. We put them backstage, where the casualties mounted into the hundreds as the show went on. A chain of policemen organised to get them to the first aid centre.” At one critical juncture, a fan hurled a metal folding chair onstage. Eventually, the situation became simply too dangerous for the band to continue. “It’s no good,” Brian was told. “You’ll have to cut the show. Only one more song.”

As the casualties mounted, Mal prepared to usher the Beatles to safety. “Sobbing girls lay slumped against the walls or huddled in the corners,” he wrote, “and I caught a glimpse of Joan Baez trying to revive some of them with smelling salts. Every artist in the show was backstage helping out and trying to get the fainting youngsters back on their feet.”

When the concert mercifully ended, the Beatles dropped their instruments, ran from the stage and climbed into an enclosed freight truck to make their escape. Afterwards, “Pandemonium broke out in the auditorium,” Mal wrote, “and I thought the whole place was going to collapse around us. But somehow, the police managed to keep the tide at bay, all the exit doors were thrown open and people were hustled out. The scene behind them was of devastation, with seats overturned, people still trying to get onto the stage and more people fainting.”

By the next morning, the Beatles and their entourage were winging their way back to London. But the perils of the band’s second North American tour would not be so quickly forgotten. For his part, Brian Epstein would chalk up the chaos and violence to lax security. But it was more than that, Mal realised. He had long felt that there was a dark side to Beatlemania, that not all the attendant hysteria could be understood as the simple byproduct of fandom.

Meanwhile, as the tours mounted up, for Mal the sudden availability of sex, seemingly free from consequences, represented an irresistible bonanza. After a lifetime of self-doubt over body issues and inveterate shyness, he simply couldn’t control himself.

“Big Mal was a demon for sex,” Tony wrote. “His stamina would have been remarkable in a harem. In the flat, sooty back streets of Birmingham or Manchester, he was a stud straight from the Kama Sutra. Like sacrificial virgins, a lot of the girls willingly accepted that they would have to do it with Mal to get to John, Paul, George or Ringo, and Mal knew it.”

Years later, John would liken the Beatles tours to Fellini’s Satyricon, suggesting that their worldbeating jaunts were a fantasia of sexual decadence. Lloyd Ravenscroft, the Australian tour manager, confirmed that the band members “had girls in their room, yes. That was in the hands of Mal Evans, who was very good at picking the right girls. It was very discreet and well organised.”

Mal became “a suave and smooth procurer”, in the words of Larry Kane, a broadcast journalist who was embedded with the band on one of their US tours, “able to spot a target with incredible intuition. It was as though he could pick up on the scent of women who were willing. Only rarely did I see him alone in a hotel corridor. At least his flair for recruiting included an understanding of the difficulties the Beatles could face if any female companion was underage or wronged in any way. If one could get an Oscar for safely procuring women, Mal Evans would have received the lifetime achievement award.”

Back home, Mal’s reunions with Lil and Gary were tempered by the infrequency of his correspondence and by the odd scraps of paper his wife had discovered in his suitcase — addresses and telephone numbers, invariably written in a feminine hand, from the “pen pals” he would meet on the road. Mal brushed off their significance, but Lil knew better. “It used to break my heart,” she recalled.

By 1968 — a year in which he had tried in vain to remake himself as a record executive — Lily’s mistrust of her husband had reached a fever pitch. By this point, she wasn’t just finding “silly groupie letters” in his suitcase, but also the occasional stray pair of knickers and other telltale signs of infidelity. She recognised that Mal was being seduced by overwhelming forces, impulses with which she could hardly begin to compete. “One minute he would be in Hollywood,” she said. “The next day he’d be back here cleaning out the rabbit hutch.”

Mal had emerged as a celebrity in his own right, thanks to publications such as The Beatles Book. “It was OK for him,” Neil Aspinall recalled, “going out in front getting the instruments ready. Dead popular he was. As they cheered and shouted at him he talked to them and made jokes. He didn’t have to physically fight them off, once it started.”

All shook up: the Fab Four meet Elvis

ON THE NIGHT OF AUGUST 27, 1965, Mal and the boys met Elvis Presley at the King’s Bel Air mansion. The 30-year-old superstar was in town to shoot the film Paradise, Hawaiian Style.

Prior to his coveted meeting with the King, Mal spent time with Colonel Tom Parker at his Paramount Studios office, where the roadie was lavished with gifts, including a gold-plated cigarette lighter and, to his glee, a white bathrobe emblazoned with “Girls! Girls! Girls!”. Mal not only appreciated Parker’s generosity, but recognised that he possessed “one of the most astute showbiz brains in America”, adding that, “He has wrung every dollar he can out of the Elvis situation — and who can blame him?”

As Mal was lounging in the Colonel’s office that day, the telephone rang. “That was a news agency, Mal,” Parker said. “It looks as though word has got out about Elvis and the boys meeting tonight. There’s a story in the London Daily Mirror. Now Reuters wants confirmation.” At that moment, Mal’s heart froze. “For a moment, I thought Parker was going to call the whole thing off.”

But the Colonel wasn’t to be deterred. With the so-called Memphis Mafia — a group of Presley friends and employees who served and protected the King — at his beck and call, Elvis’s manager instigated a complex system by which they changed vehicles several times before arriving at Benedict Canyon. As the Colonel looked on, Mal, Neil Aspinall, the Beatles’ press agent Tony Barrow and the Beatles ducked into a black limo. “For once,” Mal later quipped, “John, George, Paul and Ringo were ready to leave on time, and they climbed into the waiting cars at the bungalow bang on the dot.” Shouting, “Roll ’em!” out of his car window, the Colonel’s vehicle snaked its way through Hollywood, the convoy followed by a police motorcycle unit. By 10pm, the motorcade had arrived at Elvis’s house at Perugia Way. Incredibly, the Colonel’s plan had worked.

Mal was beside himself, feeling a combination of reverence and utter shock. After being served a large Scotch and Coke by one of the King’s minions, Paul beckoned Mal to meet his idol in the flesh. “Presley turned, and we shook hands. ‘This is your number-one fan, El,’ said Paul. ‘And he’s with us.’” Mal was thunderstruck by the sound of the King’s “strangely quiet voice” as he said, “Sure pleased to meet you,” to the roadie.

As the evening progressed, Mal marvelled at Elvis’s luxurious home, with its well-stocked cocktail bar and lounge, its thickly carpeted rooms, and, in the den, a massive fireplace with a copper chimney disappearing into the ceiling at the centre of the room. “Pretty soon the record player was working full blast,” Mal wrote. “Elvis played a whole lot of albums, many of them the Beatles, but modestly, perhaps, did not play any of his own. The noise was terrific, the drinks were flowing, the talk was animated, and, as I say, it was just like being at home with the lads from Liverpool.”

Eventually, Elvis picked up a bass guitar that was plugged into an amp positioned near the television set. “He began to strum away on the thing, playing quite ably, but he insisted that he was only learning,” Mal wrote. “Keep practising, fella. You’ll get to the top yet,” Paul quipped. As Mal looked on, “the most fantastic impromptu unrecorded session of all time” ensued when “El found some guitars for John, George and Paul and a set of bongo drums for Ringo, and they began to make the place rock with an hour of improvised beat music. It was fabulous.”

“There was only one hitch during the little concert the boys put on,” Mal later reflected. Nobody had a plectrum. “Mal’s got a pick,” said Paul. “He’s always got picks. He carries them on holidays with him.” Crestfallen that he had neglected to bring his well-travelled doctor’s bag, along with its ready supply of guitar picks, Mal scurried to the kitchen, where he fashioned pieces of plastic cutlery into makeshift plectrums.

Ringo and Mal tried their hand at pool, losing four straight games to members of the Memphis Mafia, while, “John lost $9 at roulette with Colonel Parker and Brian Epstein, who had joined us on getting back from New York.” In one of Mal’s favourite memories of that night, John pretended to be a reporter.

“Once, when I was talking to El, sitting on a settee, John came screaming up to us and jabbed an imaginary microphone under El’s nose and began to fire off a string of meaningless questions — which I must say were a pretty accurate take-off of some of the daft things that interviewers ask at our own press conferences. ‘What are you going to do when the bubble bursts, Elvis?’ he asked. ‘What toothpaste do you use? What time do you go to bed? Do you like girls? Who’s your favourite artist?’ ‘Yeah, yeah,’ chuckled El. ‘I’ve heard ’em all before.’”

Escaping from guns and a mob in Manila

ON THE MORNING OF JULY 3, 1966, the Beatles and their entourage left for the Philippines by way of Hong Kong. “Manila was our next port of call on our way back to England,” Mal later remembered, “and it was here, for the first time in my life, I was to experience real fear.” As it turned out, things were cockeyed from the outset. After attending their usual post-arrival press conference, John, Paul, George and Ringo were hustled out of a rear entrance and taken to the harbour, where they were ushered aboard a motor yacht.

“It was really humid, it was Mosquito City,” George reported, “and we were all sweating and frightened. For the first time ever in our Beatle existence, we were cut off from Neil, Mal and Brian Epstein. There was not one of them around, and not only that, but we had a whole row of cops with guns lining the deck around this cabin that we were in on the boat. We were really gloomy, very brought down by the whole thing.”

Things would get worse. After Brian succeeded in securing the Beatles’ return to the mainland, they ensconced themselves in the opulent Manila Hotel for the night. What the members of the band’s entourage didn’t know was that the Beatles had received an invitation from Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos requesting their appearance at Malacanang Palace at 11 o’clock the next morning. Only, Brian and the Beatles never laid eyes on it. After an incident in America, at the British embassy in Washington, in February 1964, when the band felt they had been snubbed by upper class, titled guests, official requests for the Beatles’ presence were routinely ignored. Instead, the group went about their business in Manila, performing the first of two shows for 35,000 spectators at José Rizal Memorial Stadium and another audience of 50,000 later that same day.

For the moment, the band and their entourage hadn’t felt any blowback from having snubbed the First Lady, save for scathing news reports on Filipino TV. That night, the promoter arranged for a lavish party at the hotel, with numerous prostitutes on hand to cater to the boys’ needs. On the morning of July 5, Mal began to sense trouble when a pistolpacking member of the promoter’s staff requested autographed pictures of the Beatles. “I was in the middle of explaining that I had given away most of the photographs,” Mal wrote, “keeping a few for the plane crew on the way home, when I was cut short by the same gentleman brandishing a gun in my face and repeating the demand. I couldn’t give them to him fast enough. This was the prelude to a morning of terror.”

Mal could feel the tension rising as he sought out a truck to transport the luggage and gear to the airport. “The feeling in the air was that nobody wanted to be associated with us,” he wrote. “On arriving at the airport, I was informed by the police on duty that I couldn’t park near the airline gate, but in the normal parking area like ordinary people. Their attitude being, ‘Who do you think you are?’” When the band and their entourage arrived at the airport, Mal discovered that no one would help them, save for the KLM airline attendants, who processed their baggage.

Everything went to hell when they began making their way to the international lounge, only to be intercepted by a dozen Filipinos. “It was obvious that they were looking to cause trouble, and quite prepared to beat the hell out of us, because of the fiasco the previous evening with the First Lady,” Mal wrote. “They were standing on our toes, jabbing us with elbows, generally giving us a bad time, and the last thing we could do was hit back. Up to that point, they were just a nuisance and making us feel very uncomfortable. I would give my right arm for any of those boys, but under these circumstances, it was most inadvisable to retaliate in any way whatsoever.”

It was chauffeur Alf Bicknell who could no longer contain himself. Daring to strike back at the assailants, he was viciously attacked, ending up flat on the airport floor with a pair of cracked ribs. Despite his large size, Mal sustained numerous blows, as did Ringo, who was knocked down with a swift uppercut and crawled away as assailants kicked him. Things seemed to get worse as the group approached customs, where John and George were punched and kicked. Paul managed to avoid the brunt of the violence by sprinting ahead. Along with Alf, Brian suffered the most, sustaining a sprained ankle during the mêlée. At one point, Mal realised he was bleeding from his leg.

Mal would never forget the surrealness of walking across the tarmac after the violence they had experienced in the terminal. The ruffians were still in evidence, hurling insults and epithets as the Brits made their way to the waiting KLM plane. But the fans were there too, shouting, “We love you, Beatles!” and tossing bouquets of flowers at their feet.

Once on board the plane, Mal wrote, “We all gave a sigh of relief, thinking we were safe on neutral territory. We were all shaking, beads of fear running down our faces.” That’s when immigration officials boarded the plane, demanding that Mal and Tony Bramwell follow them back to the terminal.

In the immigration office, they found themselves once again at the whimsy of the mob, being jostled, pushed and shoved as officials demanded they fill out new immigration forms. As TV crews recorded their every move, the two struggled to complete the forms, their hands visibly shaking in terror. And then, just like that, they were being led back to the plane, once again experiencing a strange gauntlet of violence and insults on the one hand and the goodwill of the assembled Beatles fans on the other. After some 40 intense minutes away from their friends, Mal and Tony were back in their seats. “The last words we heard before the doors closed were, ‘We love you, Beatles,’” Mal wrote.

Mal Evans died on January 4, 1976. He was shot by the police in a California apartment as he brandished a rifle, having taken a suspected Valium overdose. His diaries and memorabilia lay on the floor next to him.

Extracted from Living the Beatles Legend by Kenneth Womack (Mudlark, £25), published on November 14.

(source)

#mal evans #kenneth womack #from today's times

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nationedition · 12 hours ago

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Top 10 Whisky Brands in India with Prices (2024 Edition)

India is one of the largest markets for whisky, and the country offers a wide range of premium and affordable options to suit every palate. Whether you are a seasoned connoisseur or a casual drinker, the Indian whisky market has something for everyone. Here’s a look at the top 10 whisky brands in India, complete with their prices. 1. Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky Price: ₹3,500 (750…

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skycity-hotel-experiences · 2 months ago

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SkyCity Hotels' Culinary Adventure at the Best Restaurants in Gurgaon

Gurgaon, a hive of modernity, is well-known for its thriving food scene in addition to its skyscrapers and corporate districts. With so many dining options, SkyCity Hotels is a top choice for foodies, with a wide variety of restaurants to suit all tastes. The best places to eat in Gurgaon, whether you're a guest or a native, can be found at SkyCity Hotels.

Club Tokyo Offers A Touch of Elegance

Club Tokyo at SkyCity Hotels provides a genuine dining experience that whisks you away to the heart of Tokyo for those who enjoy the delicate intricacies of Japanese cuisine. The clean, contemporary design of the restaurant creates the ideal atmosphere for a visually arresting and excellent dinner. Savour the freshest tempura, sashimi, and sushi, skilfully prepared by our talented chefs utilising the best ingredients. To make the experience full, pair your meal with a choice of fine sake or Japanese whisky.

Exploring Indian Flavours at L'attitude

L'attitude is the spot to go if you're in the mood for classic Indian food with a modern twist. With a menu that honours the nation's rich culinary legacy, this SkyCity Hotels restaurant is well-known for its creative take on Indian dining. L'attitude transports you on a gastronomic voyage across India, from the fragrant spices of North Indian curries to the subtle flavours of South Indian specialities. It's a favourite among both locals and visitors because of the wonderful service and cosy, welcoming atmosphere.

International Delights at The Restaurant on the Roof

A worldwide gastronomic adventure is available at SkyCity Hotels' RoofTop Restaurant for people who like a little bit of everything. This restaurant is ideal for a romantic evening or a laid-back meal with friends and family because it offers panoramic views of Gurgaon's cityscape. Fresh ingredients are used to make a diverse range of international cuisines, such as Mediterranean, Italian, and Asian meals, on the menu. The RoofTop Restaurant offers a wide selection of dishes to suit every taste, including hefty steaks, crisp salads, and wood-fired pizza.

Relax and Reward Yourself at The Sky Bar

Unwind at SkyCity Hotels' luxurious bar, The Sky Bar, after a day of touring Gurgaon. It has a stylish yet laid-back vibe. The Sky Bar is the ideal place to unwind and enjoy the evening thanks to its chic decor, housemade cocktails, and assortment of premium wines and spirits. With breathtaking views of the city, The Sky Bar offers an exceptional experience, perfect for a nightcap after dinner or a get-together with friends for drinks.

Go to SkyCity Hotels Right Now

You need look no further than SkyCity Hotels to find the greatest restaurants in Gurgaon. We guarantee a delicious experience with our wide selection of eating alternatives that will tantalise your senses and leave you wanting more. Come see why we are Gurgaon's best option for foodies by coming in today.

For more information : https://www.skycityhotels.com/

#LuxuryRestaurants #GurgaonDining

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vkmliquor · 2 months ago

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Top 5 Tips for Identifying the Best Indian Whisky Brands

India's whisky market has flourished over the years, with a wide range of brands that cater to diverse palates. Whether you're a seasoned whisky enthusiast or a newcomer looking to explore Indian whisky, knowing how to identify the best brands is key to a delightful experience. Among these brands, DOT Whisky stands out as a prime example of excellence. Here's how to identify the best Indian whisky brands, with DOT Whisky leading the way.

Examine the Craftsmanship Behind the Brand

- What to Look For: The quality of a whisky often lies in the craftsmanship. Brands that take pride in their production process, from selecting the finest grains to aging in the best barrels, are more likely to offer a superior product.

- DOT Whisky Insight: DOT Whisky which is one of the best whiskies in Delhi exemplifies meticulous craftsmanship. Each bottle shows a careful process that honors tradition and welcomes new ideas, ensuring a smooth and refined taste that stands out in the crowded Indian whisky market.

Consider the Heritage and Legacy

- What to Look For: A brand's history can be a good indicator of its reliability and quality. Brands with a long-standing reputation often maintain high standards to preserve their legacy.

- DOT Whisky Insight: Though relatively new, DOT Whisky has quickly built a reputation for quality. Its dedication to high quality and new ideas has positioned it as a brand to watch, bringing a fresh yet authentic approach to Indian whisky.

Pay Attention to Flavor Profiles

- What to Look For: The best brands for whisky offer distinct flavor profiles that cater to a variety of tastes. Whether you prefer something smoky, spicy, sweet, or smooth, the range of flavors can tell you a lot about the brand's versatility.

- DOT Whisky Insight: DOT Whisky offers a balanced flavor profile that appeals to both traditionalists and modern whisky lovers. Its rich notes of caramel, subtle spices, and a hint of oak make it a versatile choice for any occasion.

Evaluate Consumer Reviews and Feedback

- What to Look For: Customer reviews offer a real-world perspective on a brand's quality. Look for consistently positive feedback on taste, value for money, and overall satisfaction.

Identifying the best Indian whisky brands involves examining craftsmanship, heritage, flavor profiles, recognition, and customer feedback. DOT Whisky has all these qualities, making it a standout choice in the Indian whisky market. Whether you're enjoying a quiet evening at home or celebrating with friends, DOT Whisky is a brand that promises to deliver a memorable experience every time. Cheers to discovering the finest that Indian whisky has to offer!

#dot whiskey #dot whisky #whiskey brand in delhi #whiskey brand in india

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tradewithraj · 2 months ago

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Gurugram has a king of good times. Lakeforest Wines is both liquor monopoly & a renaissance

‘It used to be the monopoly of Ponty Chadha,’ Neeraj Sachdeva, Lakeforest founder, said. After running a wine business in California, Sachdeva now rules Gurugram.

Neeraj Sachdeva, founder of Lakeforest Wines, at his office in Gurugram's Sector 18 | Photo: Sagrika Kissu | ThePrint

Gurugram: Neeraj Sachdeva’s world of affluence is divided into two hemispheres. On weekends, he tees off at Gurugram’s exclusive DLF Golf Club, often sharing the greens with the likes of cricket legends Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh. But come Monday, he’s back at his Sector 18 office, steering the growth of his liquor empire, Lakeforest Wines, now virtually a household name across Delhi-NCR.

But 55-year-old Sachdeva is no ordinary booze baron—he’s the first mover behind Gurugram’s transformation into Delhi-NCR’s liquor mecca. Selling everything from Red Label to Chilean reds to Japan’s Suntory Whisky Toki, shiny, mall-like chain outlets have become a symbol of the city’s pride and identity. In Haryana, a state where alcohol was banned between 1996 and 1998 and the market was long confined to dingy shops, Sachdeva returned from the US in 2004 with a vision to reshape how alcohol was sold, seen, and savoured in Gurugram—and pulled it off. Today, he’s not just a local player; he’s one of India’s biggest importers of wine – the quintessential drink of the wealthy.

“I always had confidence in myself that I would make it very big. I always wanted to make a lot of money,” Sachdeva said, seated in his plush office, surrounded by shelves of top-selling wine bottles.

A certified sommelier, Sachdeva ran a successful wine business in California before he decided to return to India 18 years ago, when the liquor market was dominated by barons like Ponty Chadha and Vijay Mallya. At first, Sachdeva had plans to manage the import section of Chadha’s operations, but the deal fell through. That’s when he opened his own upscale liquor store in Gurugram in 2007, located in the buzzing Sahara Mall and with celebrities like Ajay Devgn and Shilpa Shetty adding glamour to the inauguration.

Back then, convincing Sahara Mall’s management to allow a liquor store wasn’t easy, and he ended up with a shop tucked away at the back. But nearly two decades later, Gurugram’s liquor market has exploded, and there’s even a local saying: “There are fewer people and more liquor stores in Gurugram.”

With Haryana’s relatively liberal excise policy, a per capita income that’s topped the national average by about 70 per cent for years, and Gurugram’s cosmopolitan corporate culture, competitors like Discovery Wines and, later, G-Town are also vying for the high-end space now.

Sachdeva, however, had already carved out his advantage by securing the only Imported Foreign Liquor (IFL) licence in the region until 2018, establishing an early monopoly in the sector.

“From 2008 till 2017-2018, Neeraj Sachdeva was the king of imported liquor,” said a senior excise official in Gurugram on condition of anonymity. This dominance was largely due to Sachdeva’s control over the exclusive bottle in licence (BIO) and the L1 BF licence, which allowed him to import and distribute alcohol across Haryana. The official also noted that no one else could afford the steep import license fee until prices dropped from a high of Rs 50 crore in 2018. As a result, Haryana now has 16 L1B license holders.

Even though we now have an L1-BF licence, we still source certain wines from Neeraj because we don’t have the same access to international wine markets. He was ahead of his time and had branded himself in a way that made him stand out

-Abhimanyu Singla, owner of Discovery Wines

“While domestic players like Singlas, Mahalaxmi, and ADS stayed local, Sachdeva supplied top hotels like the Taj, Crowne Plaza, and Oberoi and through this he established relationships with big hoteliers, bars, and HNIs (high net worth individuals), building a strong distribution network,” added the official.

Sachdeva’s taste for luxury is reflected in his wine brand, Niccolo Sanitino, which he claims is the Italian version of his name. His influence reaches far and wide —politicians, cricketers, and Bollywood stars alike buy from him because they “trust the quality” of his liquor, he said.

“I can easily say that right now I am the number one private liquor importer in India. I am the only one with a backward integration channel. I even supply liquor to my competitors, Discovery Wines and G-Town, and big bars and restaurants in Sector 29 of Gurugram,” Sachdeva added. “For me, buying liquor should be akin to a shopping experience, and I have ensured Gurgaon has that. I want the world to learn the Gurugram way.”

Global ambitions

When Neeraj Sachdeva was growing up in Delhi, he had his fair share of brushes with future celebrities—playing cricket with Shah Rukh Khan, his senior at St Columba’s school, partying with fellow Delhi University student Akshay Kumar in Vasant Kunj, and, later, forging a close friendship with Vivek Oberoi.

“As a kid, I admired many people. Now, those people are my fans,” he smiled.

But Sachdeva isn’t content with merely lubricating the parties of India’s rich and famous or running his glitzy retail outlets—20 in Gurugram and a few in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

The two other pillars of his business are import and distribution and that’s where he is smelling the greatest opportunities.

His goal is to become the world’s biggest distributor of liquor, and he is doing everything he can to get there. He already owns a distillery in France and breweries in Chile, Spain and Scotland, where Lakeforest Wines produces its own gin, wine, and tequila. It also imports and sells its wines in India under brands such as Woodbridge, Temalo, and La Fantasia, starting at Rs 900 per bottle.

Currently, Lakeforest Wines owns around 12 liquor brands worldwide and represents one of the world’s largest wine groups, Constellation, in India. They are also launching their own tequila brand, Don Santos.

“Popular brands in the world don’t get entry into India. We partner with them and import those brands under our panels. We have already given people our retail experience. Now, we want to show how distribution is done,” said Sachdeva.

First wine, then beer

As Sachdeva gears up to conquer new realms in the liquor industry, his competitors are taking notes.

“Sachdeva has followed in the footsteps of Amandeep Singh Dhall from the Brindco Group,” said a competitor, asking to remain anonymous. “Dhall began by focusing on the import and distribution of premium wines before later expanding into beer.”

Dhall was a top player in the wine business—until his arrest last year in the Delhi excise policy case for allegedly paying kickbacks to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders. Other than Brindco, distributors such as Pernod Ricard and IndoSpirits were also named in the case and denied licence renewals in Delhi last year.

With a gap in the market, other players are vying for dominance and Sachdeva is a frontrunner.

“India is developing a taste for wine, with consumption rates on the rise. Sachdeva stands out as one of the largest importers in this growing market,” said a senior official of the International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI). “The wine market is small and fragmented, but it is the most prestigious segment.”

India’s wine market dipped from Rs 1,900 crore in 2020 to Rs 1,625 crore in 2021 during the pandemic, but high-end wines weathered the storm better, according to an industry report by the consultancy firm Technopak. By 2022, the market was rebounding, with projections to reach Rs 3,795 crore by 2025.

The “premiumisation” of the alcohol industry and the growing social acceptance of wine are key drivers of this growth, with imported wines anticipated to make up 18 percent of the market, the report added.

According to a Forbes report last October, wine consumption in India increased by 29 per cent in 2022, with an estimated 10 million Indians reportedly drinking it regularly.

In 2023-24 alone, Sachdeva imported wine worth over Rs 85 crore. Even his main competitors, Discovery and G-Town (formerly Jagdish Wines), purchase a portion of their imported wine from him.

“Even though we now have an L1-BF licence, we still source certain wines from Neeraj because we don’t have the same access to international wine markets,” said Abhimanyu Singla, owner of Discovery Wines. “He was ahead of his time and had branded himself in a way that made him stand out.”

For Sachdeva, quality is paramount in his premium wine imports—reputation is everything. His import business follows a rigorous process—the company first procures wine samples, tastes them, and then visits the wineries in those countries to ensure consistency before starting the shipment.

“We get most of our shipments in cooler periods because temperature is a constraint and the fluctuation should not be more than 10 degrees. It’s very hot in June and July, so your wine will be cooked, and you are done,” said Sachdeva.

Much like Dhall, Sachdeva is also turning his attention to imported beer. His target is Europe, with a focus on bringing prominent beer brands from Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Germany into the Indian market.

I would go to people’s houses (in the US), teach them about wine, and do tastings with their friends. Soon, the word spread, and instead of going to wineries, people came to my store to taste wine and get it bottled

-Neeraj Sachdeva

These lofty dreams require deep pockets due to India’s prohibitively high tariffs on imported alcohol. Any finished alcoholic product entering India faces a 150 per cent basic duty, according to the ISWAI official—and that’s just the beginning.

“India has very high tariffs. After basic duty, the finished product that comes to India, goes to the states, and then there are additional duties charged on imported products, and that makes the entire process really expensive,” the official added.

But more than tariffs, Sachdeva’s biggest concern is retaining quality and freshness. To overcome this, he’s working on efficient distribution channels.

“Europe is a hub of good beers, but it’s a difficult market to crack because the transit time is too long. We plan to logistically bring the beer to India. The day it is brewed, we will get it here,” said Sachdeva.

The long game

Sachdeva’s life seems straight out of a Bollywood movie: a liquor baron living in the ultra-exclusive Camellias complex, hosting parties twice a week to strengthen his network, and playing golf with the who’s who of Gurugram. At the end of a long day, he enjoys his whiskey and vodka in the comfort of his opulent apartment, where the building even boasts its own movie theatre, cigar bar, and bowling alley.

“I am an out-and-out businessman, and you can call me a social butterfly,” said Sachdeva, whose flamboyant personality matches his bold business strategies.

Despite his straightforward nature and accessibility, Sachdeva draws strict boundaries to protect grand vision. He keeps his inner circle tight, allowing only three childhood friends—who work alongside him and know every detail of his business—into his confidence. He doesn’t like to name them and keeps them out of the public eye.

Sachdeva once learned the hard way about the risks of the liquor business when he opened a store in Faridabad and ended up spending a day in jail, accused of defrauding the administration.

“That store was run by my uncle but was in my name. I closed the unit. Can you imagine, I’ve never even been to Faridabad. You can’t trust anyone in this business. Rich people in India have a lot of money, and they want to pull everyone down,” he said solemnly.

Currently, Sachdeva and his team of three friends-cum-business partners are preparing to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to allow them to offer shares of the company to the general public and institutional investors. It’s a move that would place his private liquor company firmly on the industry map.

My father is very serious about his business. After graduation, he told me he wouldn’t give me any position without first understanding the business and working as a regular employee for a few years

-Riya Sachdeva, head of Lakeforest Wines’ media and public relations

He’s set a three-year target for this goal. His three-floor glass-fronted office is bustling with private equity investors, investment bankers, and auditors, all preparing him for this big step.

“You have to qualify for all the SEBI rules and regulations, get your accounts audited—listing on the stock exchange is seen as a sign of respectability for a liquor baron,” said an employee working at the headquarters of Lakeforest Wines.

At any given time, Sachdeva has multiple projects in the air. He’s even distributing a few brands for Diageo, one of the largest liquor companies in the world.

“I am going to meet Diageo India MD Ashish Parikh at Golf Club,” said Sachdeva, as he rushed out of his office on a busy afternoon in his Range Rover.

Love story with wine

Sachdeva’s is not a rags-to-riches story, but his family has gone through some rough patches.

His mother, Kamlesh, who now lives in The Magnolias—a high-end gated complex next to Camellias—recalled how she had to take charge of the family’s finances after her husband, Sachdeva’s late father, suffered losses in the auto ancillary business he ran in Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate. To make ends meet, she stitched school uniforms, eventually hiring 10 workers as her business grew. But luxuries were few. When wealthier relatives visited and bought Coca-Cola bottles for the kids, Neeraj would never touch them.

“He always felt that the relatives were being arrogant and mocking our financial situation. He would say, ‘Mumma, I will be super rich someday,’” said Kamlesh, smiling.

After finishing his schooling and college in Delhi, Sachdeva moved to the US in 1994, chasing the capitalist dream of becoming a wealthy businessman—not in wine, but in garment trading.

While staying with his uncle, an Intel employee in California, a visit to a vineyard changed everything. Sachdeva shifted his focus to the wine industry, taking jobs at wine stores and earning his certification as a sommelier. His entrepreneurial instincts quickly kicked in.

“While working at a store, it crossed my mind that wine tastes different every year—so what if I open a wine tasting room inside the store?” said Sachdeva.

At the time, he encountered scepticism about whether an Indian could pull off such a venture, but he persisted, and eventually, his wine tasting room became a hit. His concept was simple: pay $5 to taste a flight of 5-6 wines, and if you bought a bottle, the tasting fee would be adjusted.

Whenever I ask (Neeraj) to slow down, he says, ‘Ma, it’s not about me anymore but about the 400 people who work with me. Their lives are dependent on me. They expect an increment every year, and I can’t be selfish

-Kamlesh Sachdeva

“I would go to people’s houses, teach them about wine, and do tastings with their friends. Soon, the word spread, and instead of going to wineries, people came to my store to taste wine and get it bottled,” said Sachdeva.

This is when Sachdeva began networking. He conducted wine tastings with the MD of Intel, the Rockefeller group, and built valuable contacts in the industry. In 1996, he opened his first store in El Dorado Hills, marketing himself by conducting tastings with the city’s elite.

Business was thriving, but in the mid-2000s, his wife Ruchira set India plans in motion. As a homeopathic doctor, she was unable to practice in the US and wanted to return home.

Sachdeva followed her in 2004. Within just two months in Gurugram, it struck him that he could create a wine oasis in the city.

“Back then, stores were dingy, shabby, and had black-coloured grilles as if the alcohol was being supplied from a jail,” recalled Sachdeva. “There was nothing here, and I had all the knowledge of the industry. I was sure I couldn’t fail here.”

A few initial hiccups didn’t deter him.

“It used to be the monopoly of Ponty Chadha back then. So, I met him and asked him to let me handle his import section of the business,” Sachdeva said. When the deal didn’t materialise, he devoted himself to opening his new store. Since then, there’s been no looking back.

A slight hangover

In April 2022, actor Nargis Fakhri inaugurated Lakeforest’s grandest outlet yet—an 11,000-square-foot luxury store, L1 West, in Sector 17/18, complete with a sommelier, a vast selection of high-end brands, and even a wine gallery. Sachdeva, dapper in a cream-coloured suit, was present at the event, mingling with other members of Gurugram’s high society.

Earlier this month, another Lakeforest outlet opened at the Delhi-Gurugram Rajokri border, touted in social media posts as a “woman-friendly store with an immense parking space”.

Puttering around her luxury apartment, however, 75-year-old Kamlesh Sachdeva said she wishes her son would press pause for a while. She pointed out that he has earned enough to secure the future of their family for generations.

“But whenever I ask him to slow down, he says, ‘Ma, it’s not about me anymore but about the 400 people who work with me. Their lives are dependent on me. They expect an increment every year, and I can’t be selfish,’” she said.

A devout follower of the Brahma Kumaris, a spiritual movement that advocates teetotalism and simple living, Kamlesh fills her days with meditation, kitty parties, and card games with her society friends. But it still gets lonely in her Magnolias apartment, which her son gifted her two years ago, while he shifted to the nearby Camellias.

“Such a big house, and see, I am alone. We got so involved in building our empire that we forgot to enjoy our lives,” she said, pointing to family pictures on the walls.

Sachdeva’s wife, Ruchira, shares similar sentiments.

“As you grow bigger, you’re bound by obligations that must be fulfilled. You see couples enjoying their time together; we don’t have that, and I often complain about it,” said Ruchira, who runs a charitable dispensary in Gurugram.

Ruchira has been urging Sachdeva to take a trip to Europe with her to visit their younger daughter Rima, who’s studying in Spain, but he hasn’t found the time.

“I’m going alone now,” she said. “When I got married in 1994 and went to the US with him, I didn’t know we would become so big.”

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brawinrajaduraia · 3 months ago

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4 Major Mistakes of Old Monk

Business Case Study: The Rise and Fall of Old Monk

Old Monk, a brand that evokes nostalgia and pride among many Indians, was once the third most-selling rum globally in the alcoholic beverage industry. Known for its distinct taste and affordable price, Old Monk became a household name across the country. However, despite its widespread popularity, the journey of Old Monk involved both remarkable success and significant decline. In this blog, we will explore the 4 key reasons that led to the decline and Rise of this legendary brand.

The Beginning of a Legend

What the British couldn't foresee was that the same manufacturer would later become the third-largest selling rum globally.

During that period, India had just gained independence, and there were very few companies producing strong alcohol, leading to a significant demand in the market for hard liquor.

In 1954, the son of Narendra Nath Mohan launched the now-iconic Old Monk rum. Following its launch, Old Monk quickly became one of the most beloved rum brands across the country, so much so that a bottle was sold at three times its price in the black market.

This widespread demand propelled Old Monk to become the third-largest selling rum in the world, with 8.4 million cases sold annually, surpassing many other brands of the time.

4 Reasons for the Rise of Old Monk

Availability of Raw Materials

When we delve into the details, it becomes clear that producing whisky, beer, brandy, and wine requires barley, wheat, corn, and grapevine.

However, during the 1940s, India faced severe food shortages, which led to a rise in the cost of these raw materials. Consequently, the cost of producing whisky, beer, brandy, and wine also increased.

On the other hand, the primary ingredient for rum production is sugarcane. Fortunately for rum manufacturers, sugarcane was produced in excess quantities, even after meeting the demand, which reduced the cost of raw materials for rum production in India.

With raw materials readily available, Old Monk was able to produce high-quality products at affordable prices, boosting sales and establishing itself as one of the top rum manufacturers in the world.

Unbeatable Taste

Old Monk's distinct taste is a carefully crafted blend of flavors, achieved through meticulous aging and blending processes.

While many other drinks on the market were synthetic, Old Monk boasted a rich, natural taste that set it apart.

The secret lies in the oak barrels used for aging, where the rum is stored for seven years. These barrels are not just containers but the key to Old Monk's signature taste.

The magic of the oak barrels elevates Old Monk, creating a rich and complex flavor that is truly unmatched.

High Import Duty on Foreign Alcohol

During that time, foreign alcohol faced high import duties, and with the majority of the population concerned about price, Old Monk had a significant advantage over other foreign brands.

As an Indian brand manufactured within the country, Old Monk was able to cut down on costs and offer its product at an affordable price.

Branding Strategy

Old Monk branded itself as the "tough man’s drink," with strong ties to the Indian Army and Navy, as it was frequently stocked by them.

This association with the military appealed to the general public, reinforcing the brand’s image as a robust and reliable drink.

These four reasons—availability of raw materials, unbeatable taste, high import duties on foreign brands, and a strong branding strategy—propelled Old Monk to become one of the most sold rum brands in both the Indian and foreign markets.

4 Reasons for the fall of Old Monk

Liberalization

The first and most significant reason for Old Monk's decline was the liberalization of the Indian market in 1991. This policy change allowed many new brands to enter the Indian market, offering a variety of products, including whisky, rum, vodka, and beer.

Liberalization essentially means that the country allows businesses more freedom, with fewer government restrictions, enabling growth and international trade.

With the influx of new brands, the competition increased, marking the beginning of Old Monk’s decline.

Increased Per-Capita Income

The next major blow to Old Monk came with the rising per-capita income, leading to the premiumization of the customer base. As incomes increased, consumers began exploring new drinks, such as scotch and other imported brands.

Other companies in the market were also experimenting with new flavors and products, adjusting their marketing strategies to meet evolving customer preferences. Premium and luxurious products began flooding the market, often with premium pricing.

Old Monk’s mistake was not innovating or marketing its products to match these changing consumer preferences. Instead, the brand reduced its prices without understanding the shift in the market, making the product seem inferior.

Government Intervention

Alcohol regulation in India falls under the jurisdiction of state governments, allowing them to set their own laws, rules, and taxes. This had a significant impact on Old Monk’s downfall.

In 2003, the Tamil Nadu government eliminated private parties from the liquor business, granting exclusive wholesale and retail rights to the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), a government entity. As a result, Old Monk lost 20% of its sales, as the brand disappeared from Tamil Nadu's shelves.

In 2009, the Mayawati government granted Ponty Chadha complete wholesale rights to distribute liquor in Uttar Pradesh, effectively creating a monopoly. Chadha focused on promoting his own brand, leading to Old Monk's disappearance from Uttar Pradesh as well—a state that was one of India’s largest alcohol consumers—resulting in heavy losses.

Neglected Marketing Strategy

While the previous three reasons were largely external, this one was purely a result of Old Monk’s internal missteps. The brand relied solely on word-of-mouth marketing, which had worked in the past, but failed to adapt to the evolving market.

As other brands developed new products and experimented with marketing strategies, Old Monk ignored these changes, continuing to reduce prices instead. This made the product seem inferior compared to the more premium options available, driving customers away from Old Monk.

Conclusion

From being a legend to nearly disappearing from the Indian liquor market, Old Monk has faced its share of challenges. However, the brand made a remarkable comeback, selling 8 million cases annually by 2021, up from a low of just 2 million cases in 2014.

While external factors like liberalization, government intervention, and rising per-capita income played significant roles in Old Monk's decline, the brand's failure to adapt was also a critical factor. In business, it’s crucial to anticipate risks and take proactive measures to minimize them. While the downfall of Old Monk may have seemed inevitable, timely interventions could have mitigated the damage.

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#business #case study #marketing #blog #old monk #rum

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