Cheers to a glass of Kanosuke Whiskeys. —CHAN TAK KONG/The Star
New York: At Bungalow, celebrity chef Vikas Khanna’s Indian restaurant in New York’s East Village, a dozen Indian single malt whiskies are spotlit in their own section on the spirits list.
Just a few years ago, that wouldn’t have been possible, says partner Sameer Bhatt.
Although India is the world’s largest whiskey market, its whiskies are typically blends, often made with a rumlike molasses distillate.
Until recently, Indian single malts were virtually unknown, if they were even available outside the subcontinent.
Now, with domestic whiskey consumption rising hand-in-hand with the country’s growing affluence, distilleries are turning out high-quality single malts in quantities available to export – and they’re not only gaining traction but also snapping up awards.
Amrut Triparva was named to the 2024 Best in Class roster at Whiskies of the World; last year, Indri Diwali Collector’s Edition 2023 took home the top prize there.
This year, Indri Founder’s Reserve 11-year-old wine cask was named one of the Top 15 Whiskies at the International Whisky Competition.
Today, “my Indri is selling more than my Macallan,” Bhatt says.
“I tell people what happened in the wine industry is now happening in single malt,” says Sanjeev Banga, president of international business at Radico Khaitan Ltd, the parent company of Rampur Distillery, based in Northern India’s Uttar Pradesh.
Just as New World wines drew the spotlight from the European old guard, so have Indian whiskies enticed drinkers away from Scotch.
“Malt consumers are always looking for something new and innovative.”
At its most basic, single malt whiskey is made at a single distillery using only malted barley in the mash – a distinct expression of that distillery’s output. Blending different barrels from different years is okay and often done to produce a consistent product.
Amrut Distilleries Ltd, which was founded in Bangalore in 1948, is generally credited with pioneering India’s single malt industry, with the 2004 release of Amrut Single Malt, a Scotch-style spirit made from germinated barley and flavoured with smoky peat.
That was followed by Goa’s Paul John distillery, which released its first single malt in 2012, and Rampur, which debuted its own version 2016.
Newer entrants include Indri, produced by Piccadily Distilleries about 160km north of New Delhi in the small city of Indri, which gives the whiskey its name; Longitude 77, a distillery closer to Mumbai owned by Pernod Ricard SA (and named for the longitudinal line passing through India); and Godawan, a Diageo Plc brand in Alwar, Rajasthan, that took the best single malt in the world trophy at the 2024 London Spirits Competition.
Distinctions start with the malt.
Most distillers use India’s six-row barley, which has higher protein and fat content compared with the two-row barley preferred elsewhere.
The smaller granules create a robust flavoir some distillers describe as “sharp”.
Especially when fermented with local yeast, it can produce distinctly Indian flavours. Tasting across multiple brands, I frequently detected cardamom, ginger and orange; fennel seed, sandalwood and incense-like spice notes sometimes also came through.
Of course, peat isn’t native to India, and those using peated barley such as Amrut and Paul John import the ingredient from Scotland.
India’s hot, humid climate is another key differentiator.
Once barrelled, the distillate ages very quickly than in cooler Scotland or Japan. In some regions, wide swings in temperature and humidity – mostly from hot and damp to hotter and damper – means the barrels expand and contract frequently, meaning the oak makes more contact with the whiskey, allowing it to extract vanilla and spice.
The liquid also evaporates quickly, a phenomenon known as the Angel’s Share, creating a more concentrated spirit.
Producers say one year’s worth of ageing in India is akin to three or four in a cooler climate.
“A 10-year-old Indian single malt is equivalent to a 40-year-old Scotch,” said Rampur’s Banga.
That rapid maturation also means it’s rare to find long-aged single malts – and some producers avoid age statements altogether.
Most of India’s producers follow the rules set by the Scotch Whisky Association, which requires whisky to be aged a minimum of three years. However, some smaller distilleries are bristling against that, lobbying to age single malts a minimum of one year.
The United States is the single-largest export market for Amrut, said Raj Sabharwal, founding partner of Glass Revolution Imports, estimating the country accounts for one-third of global sales.
“The American appetite for it has grown and continues to grow.”
In part, that’s due to the diaspora of often well-heeled Indians in the United States – including those running acclaimed restaurants like Bungalow, Semma or Junoon, which gladly boost the visibility of Indian spirits or mix them into cocktails.
“Fifteen years ago, we did not target the Indian community,” Sabharwal recalls.
“They would not have been familiar with it, and there was a sense that anything made in India wasn’t very good,” a throwback to the blended whiskey days.
He remembers a sales call to Junoon around that time, when the beverage director deflected that their customers preferred Scotch. “Now they buy everything that we release.”
“The Indian diaspora is our biggest brand ambassador,” agreed Rampur’s Banga.
But it’s not only the Indian community pouring these drams.
“Indian single malt is still considered new,” explains Ben Wald, head of beverage programming at whiskey-focused Manhattan bar Flatiron Room.
That novelty is part of the appeal for American whiskey lovers: “There has been, and always will be, a desire to be the first on the boat. Indian single malt is still capitalising on this desire.”
Looking ahead, one thing is abundantly clear: more Indian single malts are on the way.
Currently, 24 distilleries in India make single malt whiskey, estimated Sabharwal, with six more under construction. That includes one from Pernod Ricard, which broke ground earlier this month and is anticipated to have a production capacity of up to 13 million litres of alcohol a year, making it the largest malt distillery in the country, and Asia.
“We are still a nascent category,” Banga says, welcoming the potential competition. “The more brands in the market, the more people exposed to single malt, they will start liking it and then hopefully loving it. Like what happened to Japanese whisky, I’m sure the same will fall over to Indian single malt as well.”
With the US election looming, tariffs are a wild card for growth.
“If the Scotch whisky tariffs come back into play, some consumers may look for another choice where the price/age ratio is more agreeable for their budget,” predicted Flatiron’s Wald. “The key will be who can convert Scotch whisky drinkers over to their single malts. Suppliers talk a lot about ‘liquid to lips’ being the best marketing strategy, and for global malts still in their infancy, getting consumers to try Indian single malt is key.”
A further sign that Indian whiskey has captured attention here: Kentucky bourbon maker Bardstown is using emptied Indian whiskey barrels to add nuanced flavour to American whiskeys.
Its Bardstown Bourbon Amrut (US$160) finishes a blend of straight ryes and bourbon in former Amrut casks, adding nuanced smoke and spice.”It’s the first American whiskey finished in Indian whiskey barrels,” says master blender Dan Callaway. “It’s Bangalore to Bardstown.”
While some Bollywood stars have backed single malt Scotch and other whiskies, there isn’t yet a Bollywood celebrity Indian single malt; we’re calling it for 2025, in the vein of all those celebrity tequilas. — Bloomberg
