By Vera Anyagafu & Prisca Sam-Duru

The evening of Friday October 25, 2024 was heavily blessed with downpour that lasted for several hours but it didn’t stop the Indians and their guests from enjoying memorable moments of whiskey tasting.

Just to ensure they made it to the event held at the India High Commission in Lagos,  the majority of guests held up by gridlocks that resulted from flooded roads in Lagos, left their cars and trekked all the way to the venue where assorted whiskey brands and yummy cuisines by Cilantro waited to keep them warm all through.

The atmosphere could be best described as elegant, with aesthetically designed booths that set the tone for a beautiful night out. The festival, which showcased  diversity of Indian whiskeys and delicacies, was a resounding success as expressed by the revealing mood of the tasters. 

The Consul General, India High Commission Lagos, Mr Chandramouli Kern, who was enthused by the efforts guests put in to be at the festival, said the High Commission featured India premium whiskey brands, foods and best of his country’s culinary tasting to delight whiskey aficionados and India food lovers.

According to Mr Kern,  the whiskey brands were sourced and produced locally and are available in many supermarkets and stores in Nigeria as well as distributed by notable companies in Nigeria.

He shares more about the festival. “The Indian Beverage and Food festival is a one-off thing. We have invited our friends from the Local Governments, Diplomatic world, Chamber of Commerce, Media, Business men and women, to come and have a taste of our premium brands. These brands have many accolades in different markets of the world.”

He described Nigeria as a very warm and hospitable place with huge market opportunity stressing that “these brands will gain prominence with their captivating tastes.”

Also speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Cilantro, Manoj Mohan, said that the premium whiskeys and foods featured are exotic and appealing, adding that, “They have won top whiskey awards in the world. They are also very popular in the US, Asia and we want to promote them in this part of the world. “Nigeria has a big market for these whiskey brands. These varieties of whiskeys featured tonight compete with top whiskeys in top countries of the world. Nigeria is a very promising and strong market in Africa and the beverage consumption is quite high.” 

On his part, the President of Indian Professionals Forum, IPF, Mr. Pradeep Pahalwani, expressed delight that the festival showcasing array of foods and whiskeys from India was indeed impressive.

The IPF president who introduced himself as Otunba Pahalwani, having lived in Lagos for over 30 years, spoke in a mixture of pidgin and English language fluently.

 He added that “The exhibited whiskeys are world-class. They have won many awards. So we want to showcase to the world the different whiskeys and different options that we have here. Nigeria is a strong market and I know that these products, in the long run, will be successful.”

Regarding quality of the products and the need to protect them from counterfeits, Pahalwani noted that while that is a menace, the National Agency for Food and Drug Control, (NAFDAC) is always on ground to take care of that adding, “So far, NAFDAC has been doing a great work on food and beverages and I trust them.”