Indian Whisky
Indian whisky includes some of the top-selling whiskey brands in the world, but it is defined and regulated very differently than American or European-made whisky. In fact, most of the whisky produced in India, which is designated IMFP or “Indian-made foreign liquor,” contains spirit distilled from molasses (essentially rum). Indian whisky may also be flavored or blended with other spirits (often imported Scotch). While most Indian whisky is made in this way, some 100% grain-based whisky is also produced that adheres to international standards, most of it by two distilleries: Amrut Distilleries and John Distilleries (makers of Paul John Single Malt). Whiskies from these distilleries are typically bottled much younger than their European competitors (3 to 5 years old), owing to India’s extremely hot and humid climate which reportedly ages whisky roughly three times faster than in Europe.
Top Indian Whisky Posts:
Tasting Indian Rum and Whisky with Amrut’s Ashok Chokalingam
Paul John Bold Indian Single Malt Whisky
Amrut Spectrum 004 Single Malt Whisky
In a recent review, we noted that Rampur Indian Whisky was starting to expand their offerings. Introducing Royal Ranthambore. This new whisky is distilled and distributed by Radico Khaitan, which is the new name for what was previously the Rampur Distillery. Royal Ranthambore is unusual in that it is a blended whiskey that includes neutral…
One of the most notable distilleries in India, Piccadily’s Indri has become the largest-selling single malt whisky in India. Its latest release, Agneya, derives its name from the Sanskrit word meaning “belonging to fire.” As such, it’s a lightly peated expression aged in both sherry and bourbon casks, though it carries no age statement. As…
It’s been almost a decade since Rampur distillery first began exporting Indian Single Malt Whisky, and they are now starting to expand their range of whiskies. The non-chill filtered Single Malt we are trying today was made entirely with Indian Barley produced by the distillery. Interestingly, after this whisky was aged in ex-bourbon barrels, it…
The ImpEx Collection enters round four this year, with six whiskies comprising the lineup. Four are Scotch, and two are from elsewhere in the world (namely New Zealand and India). We had a full bottle of the Benrinnes release to play with and received smaller samples of the rest. Thoughts on the full lineup follow.…
It wasn’t long ago when we reviewed the belated release of Paul John’s Christmas Cask from 2023. This year we’re taking a much more timely look at Christmas Cask 2024. While it’s always an unpeated Indian Single Malt from Goa, the whiskey’s aging process is different each year. For 2024, it’s finished in Caribbean rum…
India’s Paul John has graced our pages several times in the past. With this post we look at a pair of releases — a fresh bottling of its iconic Classic Select Cask, and the most recent release of its seasonal Christmas Edition single malt. No standing on ceremony, let’s get going. Paul John Classic Select…
Vermont-based Bhakta Spirits rose to prominence via highly aged brandy, particularly Armagnacs dating back to 1868. The brand more recently dipped its toe into rum and whiskey, with both finished bourbons and American ryes hitting the market over the past two years. It was only a matter of time before Raj Bhakta’s latest venture looked…
Last year we had our first taste of Piccadily Distilleries’ whisky when we reviewed Indri Trini, followed by its 2023 Diwali Edition. Today we sample a new release. Indri Dru is a cask strength single malt whisky that has been aged exclusively in ex-bourbon barrels. This makes it quite different from Trini, which was aged…
Piccadily Distilleries’ Indri Indian whisky brand gets a special edition in the form of this late-breaking release from the tail end of 2023: Indri Diwali Collector’s Edition 2023 is limited to just 450 bottles, and is a peated single malt that undergoes maturation in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. No age statement. It’s a wildly different…
We first reviewed Rampur Select when it was new to U.S. shores in 2019, a few years after its 2016 introduction in its home country of India. After tons of awards and fandom, the single malt — made from 100% Indian barley and aged exclusively in first fill bourbon barrels — was “reintroduced” as a…