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AS SHOCKS TO THE system go, my experience of Happy Hour Bangalore style is up there with Leicester City winning the English Premiership and Rick Astley’s 2018 comeback.

As dark suddenly fell on the city and the countless tuk-tuks geared into manic mode, I’d expected to visit a plush hotel bar where office workers were sipping whisky, perhaps mixed with ginger ale, or a quaint hostelry alive with chatter and laughter.

The reality was rather different. A straggle of pathetic men buying plastic bottles of spirit from a shuttered window then downing it in one in a soulless, chairless room stinking of urine. And as each one did so, my host, with the sensitivity of an autistic amoeba, pointed at him, quite literally laughed in his face, and said: “See that! Happy Hour.”

The whole experience was both sobering and upsetting, but it provided a salutary reminder that, for the vast majority of Indians whisky does not mean single malt made with barley, but a cheap molasses spirit. And while the economy of India is becoming a powerful global force, three quarters of the sub continent’s vast population are not part of it. Few other countries have such a vast gap between haves and have nots. And no other country has two totally different worlds of whisky as India does.

We’re talking Venus and Mars here. On the one hand there are mass-consumed cheap blends sold for a few rupees to the biggest ‘whisky’ market on the planet. On the other are a handful of distilleries making single malt whisky, mainly for export. And very good single malt whisky at that. Most big selling Indian ‘whisky’ brands do not feature on stats charts because they are not recognised as whisky and are generally not exported.

For the suppliers of quality spirit, that creates a problem – or at least it did in the not-so-distant past. That’s because the sheer volume of cheap molasses ‘whisky’, flavoured with a dose of cultural superiority, snobbishness, and even racism, has meant that India’s single malt producers have had to fight harder than pretty much any other country to be taken seriously. It took first Amrut and then Paul John to produce consistently good expressions of whiskies and to pick up scores of awards for the whisky world to take the country seriously. The battle still isn’t over.

UPS AND DOWNS

“The last year has been pretty good,” says Amrut’s brand ambassador, Ashok Chokalingam. “But there are ups and downs in different markets, the reason being changes in the economic trends, more brands, and competition from all corners. It is certainly way better than it was when we started. But I would say there is still a long way to go but the trends are positive.

“Certainly the knowledge is growing. Maybe not at the pace that I wanted to see. Lots of hard work is going on in education and that’ll continue I guess. But we are in the middle of a transitional phase. Indian whisky is not taken super seriously as the Japanese category as yet. But it is coming and I do not know when the turnaround will come.”

John Distilleries has a slightly different perspective. While Amrut has been consolidating its position in various world markets – its new distillery allows it to triple its production – John Distilleries has recovered from an unsteady starting point a few years back to revamp its core Paul John offerings and to follow up with an impressive stream of consistently good special bottlings.

According to regional manager Shilton Almeida, regular tasting sessions, whisky festivals, and involvement on social media platforms have helped promote his whiskies. “2018 has been a very busy year for us, with the launch of our limited editions such as Kanya and the Christmas Edition whiskies,” he says.

“World brands are very much accepted today. People are more and more curious to try out new whiskies. Before there were questions such as ‘how old is it?’ and now we get ‘where is it from?’

“A lot of people are knowledgeable about the category now. They are also aware of the faster maturation that we get in hotter climates and are looking at trying different expressions from the category.

“Not far from now, people will start categorising whiskies by country, specially when there is more than one distillery there. Today I am often asked about how many more distilleries there are in India, and if there are any new single malts coming out in the future.”

THE NEXT LEVEL

Amrut’s Chokalingam agrees that the battle to establish Indian single malt is being won. It’s just he’s keen to take it to the logical next level.

“[The attitude to Indian whisky] has certainly moved on,” he says. “My answer is simple. We will be the next Japanese category in terms of recognition and awards. This is what created the momentum for Japanese whiskies. That day will come for sure.”

Given the success of Japanese whisky, and the current shortages of it due to exceptional demand, Chokalinga is not only aiming high, but must realise that the coming months provide the best opportunity for Indian whisky to achieve such status. It helps the Indian cause that the standard of its malt whisky are so good. Expressions such as Amrut’s Two Continents and Kadhambam and Paul John’s single cask bottling and special releases such as Mars Orbiter have been highly praised and have sold well.

The latest company to enter the whisky market is Radico Khaitan. The company was established in 1943, and operates two types of business: bulk spirits and branded bottled products.

“RKL is one of the largest distillers of ethyl alcohol in Asia, producing molasses grain neutral spirit and malt spirit,” says the company’s president for international business, Sanjeev Banga.

“Our distillery is based in Rampur, in the northern part of India at the foothills of the Himalayas. We currently export to more than 35 countries. On the branded side, we produce whisky, vodka, rum, brandy, gin, and ready-to-drink brands.” The company’s single malt whisky is named Rampur after the place where it is made. It was launched in America three years ago and is now sold in 20 countries. It has started picking up international awards in the same way that its countrymen have done. But Rampur is no overnight success.

“Our malt distillery has been in operation for 25 years and we have been ageing malts since then,” says Banga. “We were never in a hurry to launch our single malt. Once we felt confident of having a very fine product and adequate stock, we decided to venture in o our own single malt whisky.

“A lot of thought went into the packaging. We wanted to have a simple yet elegant pack. We are very proud of the fact that it is an Indian product and we wanted to highlight the Indian origin in our packaging as well. While the product itself says ‘Indian single malt’, there is a subtle usage of Devanagari script, a silk pouch with embroidery adds to the image,” says Banga.

HIGHER PROFILE

“We are not making any age claim on the product though it is matured for a very long time in harsh Indian weather conditions. We feel age is just a number and should not cloud the consumer opinion. For us the most important thing is that the consumer should like the liquid and want to have it repeatedly.”

With all three companies planning to increase their output in 2019 and planning special releases, Indian whisky expressions should be set for a higher profile than they have over the past couple of years. Even the threat of economic uncertainty, volatile markets and the effects of the UK’s exit from the European Union don’t seem to phase them. If anything it may even provide a trade advantage.

“I am very optimistic,” says Chokalingam. “With regards to our exports, Brexit has no role to play. As Britain will negotiate with India on a bilateral trade, I would think the domestic landscape for whiskies might change here in India.”

Shilton Almeida is ambivalent. “Let’s wait and watch for this,” he says. “Personally I think either ways people would like to come home after a long day and enjoy a good dram of whisky.

“There is a lot to look forward to. There are many more distilleries from around the world coming up to watch out for. Plus the current ones coming out with different experimental expressions. I’m excited about 2019.”

The future is very bright for Indian whisky concludes Sanjeev Banga. “Credit goes to Amrut for introducing Indian single malt to the world,” he says. “We are taking the legacy forward and to a new level. India has huge potential and it’s about time we made our presence felt on the world stage. Our Magic Moments vodka is already creating waves globally. So are Indian wines. And now is the time for Indian single malt.”