The big boom of Indian Whisky.

One in two.

What? One in two bottles. India drinks one in every two whisky bottle sold in the world.

Today marks the first of many times we are going to venture into the realm of Indian Whisky. So hello. Or should I say Namaste.

India consumes the most whisky in the world. In the last decade they’ve out-drunk the French to take the top spot and they now drink over half of the world's whisky. Consuming 1.5 Billion litres a year, which is 600 Olympic swimming pools or 2 Billion bottles. The market for Indian whisky has become so lucrative that now, it is in everyone’s best interests to start marketing to India. So again… Namaste. 

Does India only import whisky or do they distil their own? Good question.

The word ‘Whisky’ has a long and murky history in India. There has never been a true definition. Technically a rum, molasses was malted and fell under the umbrella of ‘Indian-made foreign liquor’ and until recently, only a small percentage of ‘Whisky’ has been the traditional single malt that we are so familiar with.

But then came 1982. Blade runner. Conan the barbarian. The one good Rambo movie. And on the other side of the planet, at Amrut distillery, the first true single malt was bottled in India.

After many changes in legislation and the wheat shortages being overcome, the Indian distilling market has burst into life. Firstly there is Amrut which has just won the ‘Best in Show’ award at the 2023 Whiskies of the World competition. Then there is Indri Dru which won silver in a number of international whisky competitions.

Well this all sounds good, but how does it affect me? The drinker. ‘My glass is empty’. 

So, finding Indian whisky in our shops is still difficult. This is because the EU has certain rules on what is ‘Whisky’ , meaning the tariffs are much higher for the molasses malts. Come on man (the EU). I wanna try some of these. 

However, if the market is anything to go by, these whiskies must be delicious. So, try and find some Indian whisky! Stay tuned for whisky spotlights on Indian whisky and more adventures in the distilleries on the warmer side of the world.