India’s Place in the World Whisky Market
The world revolves around whisky whether it is the economic prowess or the excitement of discovering its notes on the nose or palette. In most parts of the world, whisky also means Scotch, a belief popular even in our modern world. Few, if among the adventurous, connect India with the industry. However, India plays a vital role in both the consumption and production of whisky.
According to the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), India became the largest market for Scotch whisky by volume in 2022, importing 219 million bottles. The data also revealed that Scotch whisky imports are only 2% of the Indian whisky market. In 2019, India produced 189 million cases of whisky, becoming one of the world’s largest producers of the spirit.
India Forged its Place in the World Whisky Market
Notably, Indian spirits labeled with the word ‘whisky’ are typically distilled from molasses, coming shy of the popular single malt process. These expressions fall under the category of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) and are distributed to Indian consumers.
Historically, India produced malt whisky only in small batches due to widespread poverty and grain shortages. This implies a large consumption of barley by the people, making alcohol production from barley controversial. That is, people or whisky.
This forced the government to introduce restrictions on the usage of barley eventually banning the product from whisky production. Indian distilleries were at first, dismayed and some even abandoned the industry. Others stayed at a price of heavy financial loss.
As a result of the expanding single malt market driven by Scotch whisky, India’s distillers aspired to release their own premium single malt whiskies. Over time, the process showed how India’s tropical climate enhances whisky’s quality and character. This led to a rebirth of interest in the industry with a first rush of trial and error.
Finally, their resilience paid off. India makes its own style of whisky that is slowly penetrating international markets.
