*Indians are crazy for foreign liquor, and love to shit on ‘desi daaru’* *But foreigners are picking premium Indian whiskies like Indri over their own!* *The Crazy Part? Premium whiskey exports from India DOUBLED over 2023-24, to $6.3 million!* *Here’s why this is happening:* India was never really known for its whiskey, despite the drink being popular in India for more than 50 years. So what changed all of a sudden that’s left foreigners craving Indian whiskey? India is the world’s largest whiskey market by volume. But for a long time, Indians had a pretty basic relationship with whiskey. The drink was popular simply because it was stronger than the alternatives, and offered the best way to get a ‘sastaa high’. Plus, India has long had loose standards as to what liquors count as whiskies, unlike other countries. So most Indian “whiskies” wouldn’t even count as whiskies abroad! However, the Indian whiskey landscape changed dramatically with the introduction of the first Indian-made single malt whiskey: Amrut Indian Single Malt. After testing the waters in Europe and receiving a favourable reception there, its makers brought it to India in 2010. This inspired several other Indian distillers to start producing single malts that could compete with the best whiskies in the world. So the next 10-odd years saw a flurry of Indian single malts hit the market: - Paul John Single Malt Whisky in 2013 - Rampur Single Malt Whiskey in 2016, and - Indri-Trini, which came out in 2021. And while critics were initially quite skeptical towards Indian single malts, most of them soon conceded that they deserved a place on whiskey lovers’ shelves. And over the last few years, Indian single malts have proved their mettle by winning several prestigious global awards. But awards ≠ revenue. That’s why it’s especially noteworthy that the global demand for premium Indian whiskey has also shot up over the last few years. Over Jan-Jun 2024, the value of premium whiskey exports was $6.3 million: double the value for the same period in 2023! So why exactly are Indian single malts such a hit globally? The first reason is obviously taste. Premium Indian whiskies have a distinct taste profile thanks to: The raw material used The production processes involved, and India’s climate Many Indian single malts use native 6-row barley, which results in a different flavour than foreign single malts that use 2-row barley. But most importantly, India’s hot and dry climate means that whiskies can be aged up to 3 times faster! Quicker aging means it’s cheaper to produce sumptuously tasty whiskies. A 3-year-aged Rampur could taste just as rich as a much more expensive 10-year-aged Scotch! The second reason is their smart branding and marketing. Remember how Air India used to be associated with royalty and prestige? Indian single malt makers are similarly making clever use of Indian motifs to suggest pedigree and exoticness. But there’s another, underappreciated reason for the growth of Indian single malts abroad: The influence of NRIs. You see, even though Indians abroad are extremely wealthy, almost nobody associates India with sophistication. Think about it: if you were an NRI, your fancy car would be Italian, your fancy watch would be Swiss, and until recently, your fancy liquor would be Scottish. Now, NRIs often subconsciously put white people’s approval on a pedestal. At the same time, they resent the apathy or hostility they may face due to their culture. That’s why many NRIs feel a strong desire to “prove” their “worth” by getting the admiration of their Western peers. But NRIs can’t use cultural exports like Yoga to do this, as they’re too intangible. But now, with premium Indian whiskies, NRIs finally have a tangible example of Indian sophistication to flaunt at parties or gift to their friends and colleagues. *If you liked this read, share it with your family & friends and ask them to join our WhatsApp channel:* https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va8oTAJ30LKGTk7lRh2Z