Murree Brewery

When I first went to work in Pakistan to work one of the 'issues' I was anticipating facing was that of no alcohol. It being a Muslim nation I thought that perhaps there would be a slight to zero chance that there would be any chance of getting a drink on my three month visa turn around. How wrong I was.

Beer has been brewed in Pakistan for a long time with the brewery due to celebrate 150 years of production from their original brewery in the Murree Hills above Islamabad. This article covers the Murree Brewery in Rawalpindi and the only thing I take exception to is the authors comment re there being "a couple of gloomy premises in five-star hotels". None of the hotels I stayed at or visited were in the least bit 'gloomy'. If anything they were vibrant and fancy places. Not only does the Murree Brewery they produce beer, they also produce a passable whiskey; one three year old distillation carries the 'Vintage' title and they have also produced a twenty year old malt which could be interesting IF you were able to get it outside of Pakistan. One day perhaps... alternatively I will just have to pay the country a visit at some point in the future.

At the moment, there is a lot of unrest in the country which is a shame. The people I met there are truly decent, hard-working, and simply ''nice'. It was not how I imagined the country to be and the areas I visited should be on any tourists destination list. Taxila, an area to the northwest of Islamabad, was positioned adjacent to several important trade routes including the Grand Trunk Road and has a long history preceding Alexander the Great with some fascinating architectural sites that are well worth a visit.