India: Indian single malt whiskies gaining traction and snapping up awards abroad

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, SCMP.com reported on November 4.

Just a few years ago that would not have been possible, says Sameer Bhatt, a partner in the restaurant. Although India is the world’s largest whisky market, its whiskies are typically blends, often made with a rum-like molasses distillate.

Until recently, Indian single malts were virtually unknown, if they were even available outside the subcontinent.

Now, with domestic whisky 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 are not only gaining traction but also snapping up awards.

Amrut Triparva was named in the best in class section of the US-based Whiskies of the World Awards 2024, while in 2023, Indri Diwali Collector’s Edition 2023 took home the top prize in the same competition.

This year, Indri Founder’s Reserve 11-year-old wine cask was named one of the top 15 whiskies at the International Whisky Competition, another US-based event.

Now, Bhatt says, “my Indri is selling more than my Macallan”.

Sanjeev Banga is president of international business at Radico Khaitan, the parent company of Rampur Distillery, which is based in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. He says he tells people that “what happened in the wine industry is now happening in single malt”.

Just as New World wines drew the spotlight from the European old guard, so have Indian whiskies enticed drinkers away from Scotch, he says. “Malt consumers are always looking for something new and innovative.”

At its most basic, single malt whisky 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 often done to produce a consistent product.

Amrut Distilleries, which was founded in Bengaluru 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 the Goa-based Paul John distillery releasing its first single malt in 2012, and Rampur, which debuted its own version in 2016.

Newer entrants include Indri, produced by Piccadily Distilleries about 160km (100 miles) north of New Delhi in the small city of Indri; Longitude 77, a distillery close to Mumbai owned by Pernod Ricard and named after the longitudinal line passing through India; and Godawan, a Diageo brand in Alwar, in the state of Rajasthan, which took the single malt whisky of the year 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 flavour that 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, while fennel seed, sandalwood and incense-like spice notes sometimes also came through.

Of course, peat is not 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 much more 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 – mean the barrels expand and contract frequently. This sees the oak make more contact with the whisky, 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,” says Rampur’s Banga. That rapid maturation also means it is rare to find long-aged single malts – and some producers eschew 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 US is the single largest export market for Amrut, says Raj Sabharwal, founding partner of Las Vegas-based 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 is because of the diaspora of often well-heeled Indians in the US – including those running acclaimed restaurants like Bungalow, or Semma or Junoon, also in New York, which gladly boost the visibility of Indian spirits or mix them into cocktails.

“Fifteen years ago, we did not target the Indian community,” Sabharwal says. “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 whisky 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,” agrees Rampur’s Banga.

But it is not only the Indian community pouring these drams.

“Indian single malt is still considered new,” explains Ben Wald, head of beverage programming at whisky-focused Manhattan bar The Flatiron Room. That novelty is part of the appeal for American whisky 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,” Wald adds.

Looking ahead, one thing is abundantly clear: more Indian single malts are on the way.

Currently, 24 distilleries in India make single malt whisky, Sabharwal estimates, with six more under construction.

That includes one from Pernod Ricard, which broke ground in October 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-to-age ratio is more agreeable for their budget,” Flatiron’s Wald predicts.

“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 whisky has captured attention in the US: Kentucky-based bourbon maker Bardstown is using emptied Indian whisky barrels to add nuanced flavour to American whiskeys.

Its 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 whisky finished in Indian whisky barrels,” says Bardstown’s master blender Dan Callaway. “It’s Bengaluru to Bardstown.”

05 November, 2024