ITC Grand Chola launches ‘Cholatails’ in collaboration with The Happy High 

• Cholatails is a beverage menu made for the global palate and it celebrates the Chola legacy and the local cult. It is now available at The Cheroot Malt and Cigar Lounge and Tranquebar at ITC Grand Chola Chennai.

Mumbai, India: The Happy High, the Mumbai based beverage consultancy curated the beverage list, the Cholatails for the ITC Grand Chola, Chennai with an aim to bring nuggets of the Chola legacy and local favourites to the fore.

Curated by a dedicated team of beverage enthusiasts, the Cholatails comprise unique concoctions and innovative flavours designed to tell stories of the Chola dynasty and on key ingredients that form the core of the Tamil cuisine. Blending flavours like pisin, nannari, long pepper, a local grape cola, basil seeds among others makes the beverage books elevate experiences ideal for the locals and global travellers. XOXO finds its place on the esteemed list to symbolize the grand life with XO Cognac, Smoky Malt and more and perhaps is the most expensive beverage in the city.

“We are thrilled to introduce, ‘Seven Venues, Seven Menus’ at ITC Grand Chola, curated to elevate every guest’s experience with a fusion of in-house creativity and craftsmanship. The books together cover a range of over 100 recipes such as the Tokyo Mary, Seoul Mate, Makuwa, XOXO and one called 1958 that brings a cult favourite grape cola to the fore.  What we are showcasing tonight is the main book, ‘Cholatails- Beverage Recipes from the Tamarind Town’, that we have launched at our bars. While ITC Grand Chola is an ode to the history, architecture and culture of the Mighty Cholas, this book aims to represent little nuggets of flavours, ingredients and anecdotes about the dynasty and the Madras we know today.”

Shaariq Akhtar, General Manager of the ITC Grand Chola 

“We are elated for our Chennai debut happening at the ITC Grand Chola. Our aim was to get the tales of valour and conquest into a glass as much as we wanted local ingredients and flavours on a beverage list that travellers from around the world would savour. We have used basic techniques, fresh ingredients to make concoctions that are delicious, alluring to the eye and can appeal to different palates.”

Ajit Balgi, Founder, The Happy High

About “The Happy High”:

The Happy High is a Mumbai based wine and spirit consultancy and education firm founded in 2014. It also runs a bartending and wine school and is now one of the leading beverage education cos in India. It works with hotels, liquor cos and corporates on skill development, beverage experiences and experiential marketing.

About ITC Hotels Group: www.itchotels.in

With the enduring Namaste as the symbol of its brand experience, ITC’s Hotel Group is one of India’s leading luxury hotel chains offering comprehensive hospitality solutions through more than 130 hotels with over 12000 keys across 80 destinations in the country. Embodying ‘Responsible Luxury’ as its guiding premise, ITC’s hotel group integrates India’s fine tradition of hospitality with globally benchmarked services to reflect the culture and ethos of each destination, through a collection of hotels. Staying ahead of the sustainability curve, ITC Hotels became the largest chain in the world to have 23 LEED Platinum certified hotels. The first 12 hotels in the world to receive LEED Zero Carbon Certification and the first 4 hotels to be LEED Zero Water Certified are ITC Hotels. ITC’s hotel group operates under six distinct brands; ‘ITC Hotel’ at the Luxury end, ‘Welcomhotel’ in the upper upscale space, ‘Fortune’ in the mid-market to upscale segment and ‘WelcomHeritage’ in the heritage leisure segment. Brand Mementos in the Luxury segment and brand Storii in the premium segment are the latest addition to the ITC Hotels portfolio.

-----