Old Monk being bottled at a Mohan Meakin brewery. PIC/Getty Images 

On January 6, following the demise of Brigadier Kapil Mohan, widely known as the creator of India's best known rum, Old Monk, there came a flurry of posts about the nostalgia value the spirit entails. Till date, it's perhaps the only Indian alcohol brand to have acquired a cult status not just on home ground, but the world over as well. Old timers will tell you how people would gift a bottle of Old Monk back in the day, especially to friends abroad, as the bottle with its distinct shape and label was seen as a prized possession. A distinct subculture wafts around the vanilla notes of this dark rum, a culture of people who lost their alcoholic virginity to this spirit. For many Indians, it's the drink they first tried out in college. And, while some stuck on, others grew out of it, while still others continue to linger on the periphery.