Cheers to 'new-age' whisky, spiked with butterscotch, tea and more

The overtly masculine image of amber liquid sloshing gently on rocks of ice as gentlemen hold their glasses and clouds of cigar smoke swirl around is changing rapidly with whisky brands tapping into a diverse customer base and experimenting with flavours as diverse as coffee and tea.

The staid whisky spirit is getting a fun makeover with cocktail connoisseurs joining in too, either using ingredients to enhance the velvety smooth flavour of whisky or disguising it, to woo those who usually stayed with sweeter fruity cocktails.

Shreshta Saha, who kept away from whisky for almost half a decade, now says Whiskey Sour is her drink of choice.

"Whip up a cocktail or dilute it enough with water to make the taste of hard liquor go away," 26-year-old Shreshta told PTI.

A sweet-n-sour concoction, a classic Whiskey Sour mellows the flavour of hard liquor with the addition of a sweetener, a dash of lemon and sometimes egg white.

Leading brands are hoping to break the old school imagery of whisky in their bid to attract non-conventional whisky drinkers like Saha.