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Indian whisky is adistilled beverage that is mostlyIndian-made foreign liquor and is labelled as "whisky”.[1]blends based onneutral spirits are commonly distilled from fermentedmolasses with only about 10 to 12 percent creating traditionalmalt whisky. Outside India, such a drink would more likely be labelled arum.[2]
 An advertisement for Bagpiper whisky on a building in Pondicherry | |
| Type | Distilled beverage |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | 13 |
| Country of origin | India |
| Introduced | 1855[3] |
| Alcohol by volume | 42%[4] - 71%[5] |
| Colour | Caramel to pale yellow |
| Flavour | Fruity and sweet (Vanilla.caramel,citrus,spices,chocolate,honey)[6] |
| Variants | Single malt,Grain whisky[7] |
| Website | https://indianmaltwhisky.org/ |
Molasses-based blends made up 90 percent of the spirits consumed as "whisky" in India in 2004,[8] although whisky wholly distilled frommalt and othergrains, was also manufactured and sold.[9] By 2004 shortages of wheat had been overcome and India was one of the largest producers.Amrut, the first single malt whisky produced in India, was launched in Glasgow, Scotland in 2004.[10] After expanding in Europe it was launched in India in 2010.
By 2022 India produced many whiskies both for the local market—the most lucrative market for whisky in the world—and export. Indian single malts comprised 15% of the local market in 2017, increasing to 33% in 2022. In the three years to 2022 sales of Indian malts increased by an annual average of 42%, compared with 7% for imported rivals.[11]
The drinking of Scotch whisky was introduced to India in the nineteenth century, during theBritish Raj. In the late 1820s, Edward Dyer moved from England to set up the first brewery in India atKasauli. The brewery was soon shifted to nearbySolan (close to the Britishsummer capitalShimla), as there was an abundant supply of fresh springwater there. TheKasauli Brewery site was converted to adistillery becoming India's first distillery, which is currently operated byMohan Meakin.[12] Production of alcohol from grain was hampered by shortage of extra grain, due to food shortages. Allowing grains to be used for alcohol manufacture is a controversial subject in India, due to poverty and alcohol's ambivalent reputation.[13]Economic liberalisation in the 1990s led to the moderate reduction ofimport duties, to about 35%, giving distillers access to better technology.[14]
The manufacture of whisky from malted grains in India was pioneered byAmrut Distilleries in 1982.[15] Amrut Distilleries began procuring barley from farmers inHaryana,[15]Punjab andRajasthan, in addition to molasses,[16] and launched Prestige Blended Malt Whisky in theCanteen Stores Department in 1986.[17] The first batch ofsingle malt whisky was ready within 18 months. Because India had no culture of consuming single malts at the time, the company did not consider bottling it as a single malt. Instead, the whisky was blended with alcohol distilled from sugarcane to produce MaQintosh Premium Whisky.[18] According to Neelakanta Jagdale, "The alcoholic beverages industry was not a priority in the country. Although we received help to a certain extent from theCentral Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), we had to find our own ways to learn about improved distilling methods".[14] Amrut Distilleries launchedAmrut, the first single malt whisky to be made in India, on 24 August 2004.[19] The production of Amrut single malt whisky was the result of the distillery having malt that wasageing far in excess of what was needed for its medium range Prestige Malt Whisky.[15] Initially, Amrut aged malt whisky for around a year before blending it. However, due to changing customer preferences, less malt whisky was being added into blended variants.[17] Surinder Kumar, themaster blender at Amrut Distilleries, has estimated that because of climate differences, one year of barrel ageing in India is equal to three years of ageing in Scotland.[15]
John Distilleries had been making blended whisky since its foundation, but decided to manufacturesingle malt whisky in 2008 in an attempt to enter the premium end of the market. The first bottling ofPaul John whisky, branded "Paul John Single Cask 161 Whisky", was launched on 4 October 2012.[20]
Economic liberalisation also lead to the entry of foreign companies to the market, whose brands were seen as more authentic and attractive by affluent Indian consumers. This led several Indian manufacturers to acquire foreign liquor companies.[13] UnderVijay Mallya's direction, the Indian companyUnited Spirits Limited acquired a number of noted whisky brands and distilleries in Scotland, includingDalmore,Isle of Jura, andWhyte & Mackay.[21] (In 2012,Diageo acquired a 55% stake in United Spirits.[22]) Since export of single malt whiskies in any container other than sealed bottles labelled for retail sale was banned by the UKScotch Whisky Regulations 2009,[23] a limited amount of exportable Scotch whiskies are used in Indian blended whiskies. Whyte & Mackay has since been sold as of 2014 to Emperador, a company based in the Philippines.
According to theScotch Whisky Association's 2013 annual report, unlike in theEuropean Union (EU), "there is no compulsory definition of whisky in India, and the Indian voluntary standard does not require whisky to be distilled from cereals or to be matured. Very little Indian 'whisky' qualifies as whisky in the EU owing to the use of molasses or neutral alcohol, limited maturation (if any) and the use of flavourings. Such spirits are, of course, considerably cheaper to produce than genuine whisky."[24][25][26]
On February 20, 2025 theIndian Malt Whisky Association submitted a request to have Indian whisky recognised with ageographical indication, this includes a requirement for whiskies to be made from maltbarley and distilled in a copper pot still at a single distillery.[27]
In terms of volume, India is the biggest consumer of whisky in the world.[28][11] It has a complex tax structure with taxes levelled by bothCentral andState Governments. Import taxes are applied by the Central Government on imported spirits. State level taxes are levied by each individual State, with taxation levels and methods varying significantly.[29] The sale of alcohol is alsoprohibited in some States.
Whisky accounts for nearly 60% of theIndian-made foreign liquor market. India accounted for nearly half the global whisky market by volume in 2010.[29] The market is generally divided into segments based on price.[30]
The consumption of native-distilled, molasses-based whisky in India is encouraged bytariff barriers of up to 150%[33] that impose a significant markup on imported whiskies in India. Imported Scotch whisky bottled under its own brand names makes up only 1% of the total market share. The substantial tax markup on imported whiskies has been categorised by theScotch Whisky Association (SWA) as "pure protectionism".[34] Indian distillers accuse theEuropean Union of erecting its own sort of trade barriers by means of rules that forbid the marketing of molasses-based spirits as "whisky". Mallya has objected to the EU's refusal of entry to molasses-based whiskies, claiming that the "imposition of British imperialism is unacceptable".[34] In a lawsuit brought in India by the SWA, theDelhi High Court in April 2006 enjoined Indian whisky manufacturers from labelling their product with the words "Scot" or "Scotch".[35] However, on 27 May 2008, theSupreme Court ruled in favour of distillerKhoday India Limited, allowing the company to keep itsPeter Scot whisky brand trademark.[36]
In 2019, India was the world's second largest Scotch whisky market by volume (the equivalent of 131 million 70cl bottles exported)[37] and 7th largest by value (£166 million).
Following is a list of whisky producers in India in alphabetical order. The location of the company headquarters is given in brackets.
The following manufacturers have ceased operations.
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