{"id":22995,"date":"2022-06-05T08:29:11","date_gmt":"2022-06-05T08:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=22995"},"modified":"2022-06-05T08:29:11","modified_gmt":"2022-06-05T08:29:11","slug":"how-indias-new-taste-for-local-whisky-is-shaking-up-the-global-drinks-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2022\/06\/05\/how-indias-new-taste-for-local-whisky-is-shaking-up-the-global-drinks-market\/","title":{"rendered":"How India\u2019s new taste for local whisky is shaking up the global drinks market"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, Mohinder Singh\u2019s trips outside India\u00a0meant an obligatory stop at the airport duty-free liquor store, where he would join long queues to stock up on imported single-malt whisky. Then three years ago, he came across a brand \u2013 Paul John \u2013 that he had never heard of, at a tasting event a few miles from Delhi\u2019s Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he teaches politics. It was an Indian single malt; its smoky smell was rich, the taste was even better. Singh was hooked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a gamechanger for me,\u201d he says. Singh introduced his friends to the brand, which is now their drink of choice when they meet. \u201cEveryone loves it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

They are not alone. Drinkers in India, the\u00a0world\u2019s most lucrative whisky market\u00a0\u2013 worth $18.8bn (\u00a315bn) last year \u2013 have traditionally clinked glasses of blended whiskies or imported single malts. Now several Indian single malts that were launched internationally a few years ago \u2013 led by Paul John, Amrut and Rampur \u2013 are grabbing a major share of the domestic market. It is a seismic shift for the global whisky industry.<\/p>\n

Vinod Giri, who heads the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), says homegrown single malts constitute 33% of the market in India, up from 15% five years ago. That figure is poised for an even more rapid rise: sales have surged by an average annual rate of 42% over the past three years, compared with just 7% for imported rivals, according to CIABC data.<\/p>\n

\n
\"D\u2019Souza<\/div>
Michael D\u2019Souza, master distiller at India\u2019s Paul John, prepares to taste from a cask.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This trend has caught the attention of global firms too. Diageo, the world\u2019s second-biggest alcohol company by valuation and headquartered in London, launched an Indian-made single malt in March called Godawan. \u201cGlobal giants are recognising the demand for homegrown single malts in India,\u201d says Sanjeev Banga, an executive at Radico Khaitan, the makers of Rampur. \u201cWhat bigger endorsement could there be?<\/p>\n

That \u201cendorsement\u201d comes two decades after the European Union\u00a0refused to even recognise Indian whisky. Historically, India grappled with shortages of grain, but it produced lots of sugarcane, so liquor companies such as Amrut, which was founded in 1948, relied on spirits derived from molasses. The EU, however, said that meant that what India claimed to be whisky was actually rum.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Now India is\u00a0one of the world\u2019s largest producers\u00a0of wheat. In 2004, Amrut launched India\u2019s first single malt in Glasgow, before expanding across Europe. It entered the Indian market in 2010. Paul John took a similar route \u2013 introducing its single malt in the UK in 2012, and then to Indian consumers in 2013. Rampur joined them in 2015.\u00a0<\/a>Indri Trini, a new Indian single malt from the northern state of Haryana, was launched last year and has already\u00a0won international awards.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of Indian society was familiar with single malts until recently, and it only knew and trusted foreign whisky,\u201d says Pramod Kashyap, Amrut\u2019s head of international operations, explaining why Indian brands were more confident about launching their whiskies globally than they were about their home market.<\/p>\n

However, their gamble on Indian consumers has paid off handsomely as India\u2019s whisky drinkers\u2019 tastes have evolved.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

A new generation has grown up without the colonially ingrained assumption that imported goods are superior to Indian products, says Giri. \u201cThey go by their judgment of quality rather than origin of the product,\u201d he says. \u201cThere is in fact a reverse underlying notion of Indian products being at par or even better than global products.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indian whiskies also offer unique tastes, says Devaki Rajagopalan, a Bengaluru-based marketing executive. Her favourite is Amrut Amalgam, which marries the fruity flavours of nectarine, melon and pears with the smokiness of peat and the sharp punch of Indian black pepper. \u201cI\u2019ve tried whiskies around the world and I\u2019ve never had an aftertaste that lingers so powerfully,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Her father, she says, only drank blended whiskies and was reluctant to change, but the subtle infusion of Indian tastes \u2013 such as the pepper in Amrut Amalgam \u2013 converted him.<\/p>\n

It is not just what is added that makes the flavours different, though, says Giri. India\u2019s hot and humid weather plays a critical role too, ageing whisky faster than Scotland\u2019s cooler climate. \u201cSuch rapid ageing lends some unique taste profile and texture to Indian single malts,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The rise of Indian whisky-makers has led to the emergence of enthusiasts who meet for tasting sessions and review new offerings.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Amrut<\/div>
Production at the Amrut distillery in Bengaluru.<\/span>\u00a0Photograph: Mint\/Hindustan Times\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n

It was at one such session, organised by Bengaluru\u2019s\u00a0Single Malt Amateur Club, that Rajagopalan first tried Amrut two years ago. After seeing the club\u2019s online review of\u00a0Amrut Neidhal\u00a0\u2013 a new limited-edition whisky described as having notes of sea salt, orange peel and the smell of coastal peat \u2013 last November, she rushed to get a bottle. In her Tamil language, Neidhal means a coastal town. \u201cThese little associations make it a personal, warm experience,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Breaking with the elitism often associated with single malts in India, reviewers are appraising homegrown whiskies in\u00a0local languages, as well as English, reaching new audiences.<\/p>\n