On a balmy summer evening, the promise of a great view leads you on a 30-metre climb up a metal staircase protruding from an oasis of teak, sal and rubber. From the top of the tower of a distillery, you witness the sweeping expanse of the bright city lights of Assam melt into the distant galaxy of Nagaland across the border. From being a part of India that rarely made news other than for its political unpredictability and civic unrest, things have turned around in recent years. Nagaland is now a bucket list destination thanks to the annual Hornbill festival. From traditional dances and costumes to local food, you’ll find everything here. All of this is accompanied by the local chaang (rice beer) traditionally consumed in this otherwise 'dry' state. This fermented brew, though the local flavour, sits in a cauldron of creativity that has been stirred in recent times to produce a taste not just unique to the region, but also more refined.
The late ’60s saw a modest retail liquor store open for business in the quaint hill town of Kohima. But that was not the end of a dream for owner Dani Chand, who grew up in Assam. A generation later, his son, 48-year-old Vicky Chand helms the production of high quality small batch whiskey, the only one to come out of the northeast. “What sets us apart is that despite being in the industry for years, we are still willing to learn,” smiles Vicky.
Being a dry state, Radiant distillery was set up in 2012 just across the border from Dimapur in Nagaland, in Assam’s Khat Khati, a small town in Karbi Anglong, which is one of Assam’s only two hill districts. The hilly environs and cooler temperatures played a significant role in how the brews turned out to be, not to mention the waters of the Dhansiri, a tribute of the mighty Brahmaputra, that go into their making. All of these factors, along with the magical hands of master blender and distiller John Mc Doughall from Scotland, launched this small, passionate Northeasterner-run family business into the league of the extraordinary.
Mc Doughall blended the grain spirits sourced from Chand’s distillery, perfectly with the choicest scotch malts sourced from Scotland. The journey continued by setting a maturation unit on site in Assam wherein they began maturing fresh malts and their own grain spirits made from broken rice and locally sourced corn. Under Mc Doughall’s able guidance and together with resident master distiller Jeevan Chand, the distillery launched Castle Hill Dark Knight, a bamboo charcoal filtered, smokey whiskey that earned them top spot as India’s only 100 per cent corn whiskey. And now, it is their recently launched three-year blended whiskey, Infamous, a complex but exclusive small batch whiskey that has sealed their supremacy in the niche alcobev space. “The water changes each time you change the location as does the temperature, so the spirit we create here, will be unique just by virtue of that,” says Jeevan.
What makes it special though is not just its no-additives nutty flavours or the long aftertaste, but the heritage of the region it carries. The logo is inspired by the famed headhunters of the Naga motherland, but look closely, and tipping the hat to the place where the distillery stands, the bottom half of the logo also resembles a horai—an Assamese bell metal artefact used to welcome guests for ceremonies.
The spirit of the best of the northeast is alive and well.