Soaring Spirits

IT WAS SOMETIME around 2006 that Hemanth Rao began to explore the world of whis­kies. "People talked about smelling different kinds of flavours, and all I could smell was alcohol. So, I went through the journey like probably anyone else," he says. Rao, who works in the telecom industry in Bengaluru, became so interested that he went on to establish what is probably the largest and most passionate club for single malt con­sumers in India. The Single Malt Amateur Club, with over 7,000 members, organises masterclasses, tasting events, whisky trails, and a host of other events, apart from also getting single malt companies to develop exclusive drinks just for their members. In the past, a lot of what they consumed tended to be imported single malts. But when they meet now, they are increas­ingly clinking their glasses to those made by Indian companies. "The general notion used to be that they [Indian single malts] are inferior. But that's not the case today," Rao says. "Consumers look at Indian single malts as probably comparative to Scotch, or Irish, or even Japanese whiskies."

India is the world's fifth-largest alco­hol market, and according to the market research firm International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR), accounted for a third of global growth in the industry in 2021-22. This love is especially so for whisky. India, it is said, accounts for almost one in every two bottles of whisky sold in the world. Seven of the top 10 global whisky brands (by volume) are Indian. And while the proportion of Indians who drink Scotch will be relatively small, this number was still large enough for the country to dis­place France as the world's biggest buyer of the drink last year. Whiskies made in India haven't always had the greatest reputation but Indian single malts are changing that. It's picking up prestigious awards and laurels, and establishing itself in the global competitive universe of this drink. Like Indri, a single malt launched in 2021 by Piccadily Distilleries. Piccadily had been supplying bulk malt to global distillers for several years before ventur­ing into single malts. Last year, Indri's Diwali Collector's Edition won a "double gold best in show" at the Whiskies of the World Awards in the US.

The first single malt off the stables in India was Amrut in 2004 but in the last few years, the category has come into its own, with a slew of new ones joining the fray. Indri belongs to this new lot. Siddharth Sharma, the founder of Piccadily Distill­eries, says that the company had been wanting to come out with a single malt for a long time. "We were experimenting and seeing different permutations and combi­nations. It took us almost two to three years to finalise it," he says.

To Sharma, what makes the flavour of Indri stand out compared to the single malts from other countries—and this is something which connoisseurs of Indian single malt often bring up—is the differ­ence in the raw materials of the drink (Indri, like other single malt producers in India, uses six-row barley, instead of two-row variety favoured elsewhere, for instance, in the production of Scotch) and the unique weather conditions in which the drink matures. "In India, the weather is one of the biggest factors. We're at about 1 degree [Celsius] where the dis­tillery is [at the location in Haryana]. And in the summer, this goes all the way up to about 45 or 48 degrees [Celsius]. This variation of temperature accelerates the maturation and interaction with the wood and we get a very nice colour and the flavours come out much quicker… Also, the two-row barley that Europeans use gives more yield, but in the six-row barley that we use, the flavour is very dif­ferent," Sharma says. While the Indian single malt is different from other single malts made abroad, the likes of Rao say that even within itself, there is plenty of diversi­fication. "India is a large and diverse coun­try. And that almost reflects in the kind of single malt that is being manufactured to­day. Amrut is significantly different from Paul John, which is different from Rampur. And Rampur is different from Indri, and there are so many other brands, each with their own inherent characteristics," he says.

While winning fans abroad, these drinks are now also reshaping the Indian market. According to a report released re­cently by the industry body Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), single malts made by Indian brands overtook their foreign competitors for the first time last year. Out of the total sales of around 6.75 lakh cases (nine litres each) of single malts in India in 2023, In­dian makers sold 53 per cent (or around 3.45 lakh cases), with Scottish and other international brands making up the rest of around 3.30 lakh cases. An earlier report by the IWSR found that consumption of Indian malts is set to grow 13 per cent a year compared to 8 per cent for Scotch till 2027. "For a long time, Amrut [by the Indian firm Amrut Distilleries] was the only Indian single malt around. But there has been a lot of activity in the last two to three years, a lot of new launches," says Vinod Giri, the director general of CIABC. "There's a kind of disbelief that Indians are producing such great single malts."

Sharma believes the growth of Indian single malts is indicative of a wider change in the mindset of Indian consumers. "India is changing very rapidly. The younger generation is willing to experi­ment and try new things. And you know the old mindset of India not being up there in the premium segment. But that's not there anymore," he says. To Giri, there are multiple reasons behind this growth. The high-spending demographic in India is growing rapidly, the quality of the single malts being produced in India itself is top-notch, with the Indian barley and weather conditions providing a unique flavour, and the old notion of Indian products being seen as inferior is getting discarded. "And the companies themselves, they have the confidence that they can be among the best in the world. The Japanese did it, and the Irish and Canadians did it. There is this be­lief that we can do it too," Giri says.

India might be a big whisky consumer, but it has never had a great reputation in­ternationally as a whisky producer. In fact, what passes for a lot of whisky in India is nothing of the sort, but rather a molasses-based spirit with whisky-like flavouring, colouring and branding. The European Union, for instance, has said that what is claimed to be whisky in India is actually rum. "So, from that position to creating single malts as a category itself, that's a very big achievement," Rao says.

Bars and restaurants are also reporting increasing numbers of orders of Indian single malts. "Traditionally, single malt drinkers tend to be older individuals, and they are usually set in their ways. But among the younger lot, or people who are visiting on travel, you see a lot of interest in them. And when they try it, there is al­ways a degree of surprise, at just how good it is," says Yash Bhanage, the founder and COO of Hunger Inc Hospitality, which runs a number of popular establishments in Mumbai like The Bombay Canteen and O Pedro. Bhanage himself is becoming a fan of Indian single malts, he says, espe­cially of the drink Indri.

Another popular Indian brand is John Paul, the second Indian single malt to be launched after Amrut back in 2012. Pro­duced by John Distilleries, whose blended whisky Original Choice is one of the largest-selling whiskies in the world, the firm had been working on a single malt drink, set­ting up a malt [manufacturing] plant in Goa back in 2008. "Our chairman Paul P John started his liquor company in 1992. Over the years, as he travelled and visited distill­eries, especially in Scotland, it occurred to [him] that we in India, should be able to pro­duce world-class quality whisky too. With in-depth research we grew to believe that the Indian six-row barley, our water and our tropical climate should be favourable in producing premium quality single malts," says Asa Abraham from John Distilleries.

The rapid growth in Indian single malts is leading global brands to rethink and come out with their own made-in- India drinks. Diageo, for instance, launched its first Indian single malt, Godawan—named after a large, endan­gered Indian bird—in 2022. This sells in five foreign markets, including the US. This was followed by the launch of Longitude 77 last year, Pernod's first Indi­an single malt, with plans to expand sales to Dubai, and then the rest of the world.

So, what is causing this growth in the market? Deepak Roy, former executive vice chairman of Allied Blenders and Dis­tillers and the founding CEO of Diageo India, points out that the alcohol market in India has been rapidly graduating towards more premium products in the last eight to 10 years. "There used to be a low-priced seg­ment, which was big but which you hardly hear of now. Then there was what we called the regular segment, a drink like Officer's Choice, which was the largest-selling whis­ky in the 1990s. Now, we have McDowell's and Royal Stag, which are the largest-selling whiskies in India. Royal Stag sells almost 30 million cases [annually]. So, it's always been moving upwards," Roy says. Accord­ing to him, it's no surprise that a big mar­ket for single malts is developing in India. "These Indian single malts are really very good. It might sound like an exaggeration but I believe that in the next three or four years, we will see an Indian equivalent of Macallan [in reputation]," Roy says, refer­ring to the famous Scotch brand. "There is a new single malt that has just launched, called Crazy Cock by South Seas Distill­eries. And they have two versions, which are priced at Rs 8,950 and Rs 8,500 per bot­tle. Ten years back if I heard those prices, I would have laughed. But there is a market for it now, and it will do very well."

There were other factors too. The disrup­tion of global supply chains, including the availability of foreign single malts, during the pandemic helped boost the growth of its Indian rivals. The ban on the sale of im­ported liquor in 4,000-odd shops run by the Army for service members and veterans in 2020 wouldn't have hurt either.

The demand in the market has left distillers scrambling to ramp up produc­tion. Abraham says that John Distill­eries is already in the midst of expand­ing its production capacities three-fold. Piccadily Distilleries, which currently produces about 12,000 litres of spirit every day, or over 4.5 million litres annually, is doubling its production capacities. "By the end of March, we should be doing about 20,000 litres a day," Sharma says.

For Sharma, much of the last six months has gone by in a blur. "We knew we would expand. But in the last six months, we haven't even had the time to sit back and reflect. It has just been about catching up with the demand, [upping the] production and all of that," he says.