And he�s been to the tribal areas in the north-east and had their rice beers. �It�s not a sophisticated drink, I get high on it.� He was once hooked onto Sake. �I spent one winter in Japan, and, apart from the hot Sake and Korean food, there was little else for me.� He�s had beer all around the world and exhausted more Italian wines than that country can produce.

In Germany, he drinks Unterberg. What�s that? �It�s a liquer that�s like a digestive. It settles the stomach.� And he likes Feni. �It is a nice, clean drink. Not the cashew. It smells. I prefer the coconut, it�s cheaper.� He admits to having tried everything. �You name it... I even smoked pot for the heck of it!�

He begins drinking only at 7 in the evening. �I�m particular about this. I don�t eat much, although I am quite a foodie, because I want to enjoy my drink on an empty stomach. If you have a huge lunch and tea, you ruin your drink.� He restricts himself to three �mucche-gili-ho� pegs. That�s been his quota for the past 10 years. �I don�t want to get drunk, because I have work to do next morning,� said Khushwant Singh.
�I like to drink like a gentleman. Have you heard this one...

I hope I drink like a lady
One or two at the most
The third puts me under the table
The fourth under the host.

�He was on his third �mucche-gili-ho� peg now and by his bawdiness, I could see Khushwant Singh was enjoying himself. But Kaval Singh was on her feet. It was 8.15 p.m. Without so much as a bottoms-up, Khushwant Singh tossed the peg down his throat and saw us off at the door. �But why Scotch,� I asked in farewell. �Because,� replied the Sardar of Scotch, �it gives me no hangover.�