World Whisky Day 2025: How Indian whisky gets its flavour, and is it spicier than imported whiskies?

Double, triple casks

Indian whisky makers from Radico Khaitan (Rampur whiskys) to Piccadilly Agro (Indri) share detailed descriptors of how and where their single malts are made and aged on their websites - and bottles. Rampur Asava, for example, is aged in ex-American bourbon barrels and finished in casks formerly used for Indian Cabernet Sauvignon wine. Indri Trini, which is triple-casked, is aged and finished in ex-bourbon, ex-wine and PX sherry casks, each of which imparts flavour and colour. Paul John, the Goa-based distillery which makes single malts like Mithuna as well as a yearly Christmas edition, uses casks made with charred American Oak, as well as casks that previously stored liquids such as Pedro Ximenez (PX) or Oloroso sherry wines, among others.

Paul John Master Distiller Michael D'Souza says picking the casks for any spirit requires careful calibration, keeping in mind the desired result, the ambient temperature and humidity, and then applying chemistry and pulling all the levers at his disposal, like where in the warehouse to place the barrels and for how long.

"You can't add any flavouring to single malt whisky. It has to be made with three ingredients - malted barley, yeast and water - and matured for at least three years. Where you can experiment is in what cask you use to finish it," he says. D'Souza adds this experimentation is the reason Paul John has been able to infuse its Christmas edition single malts with flavours and notes reminiscent of plum cake, spice, coconut, candied orange and dark chocolate over the years.

To be sure, not everyone on the Indian single malt scene is looking for something spicy. Farm to bottle, there are many factors which affect the taste and aroma of a single malt, says Prem Dewan, chairman and managing director of DeVANS which makes GianChand single malt. "Everything from the quality of the water, the weather, location, the design of the equipment used for distillation, etc., all affect the quality of the product. The individual stamp of the distiller, his objectives, and the procedures followed in the different processes also leave their impression on the final product," he adds.

This, of course, is the reason why whisky makers experiment and tinker. Prem Dewan, for example, custom-designed the stills used in his Jammu distillery. And Amrut last year released Triparva, which it distilled thrice instead of its usual double-distillation process.

At last closing on Friday, May 16, Radico Khaitan shares were trading at Rs 2572.10 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Piccadilly Agro shares were at Rs 622.10 a piece on BSE.

Amrut Triparva triple-distilled.

Taking the temperature

The maturation of whisky in India presents its own challenges and opportunities. Temperatures around or above 30 degrees in places like Goa (with a maximum of 33 degrees Celsius on the day of publishing, May 17) where Paul John is aged, Bangalore where Amrut is headquartered (28 degrees Celsius), Indri in Haryana where Piccadilly makes its Indri single malts (38 degrees Celsius), Rampur in Uttar Pradesh (38 degrees), Alwar in Rajasthan where Diageo makes its Godawan whisky (41 degrees Celsius), means that the liquid stored for ageing pulls colour, flavour and aroma from the casks at a much faster rate than in, say, Scotland or Ireland. The higher temperature also means that there's greater evaporation (bigger angel's share, as industry insiders say) and much faster maturation.

Anant S Iyer, director general of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverages Companies, explains that if Indian whisky makers tried to age their spirits for 12-18 years like Scotch and Irish whisky makers do, there would be very little left in the casks to bottle, thanks to the angels taking their share on account of India's tropical climate. "The cost also goes up on account of such loss. Malt spirits tends to mature faster in India as compared to Scotland which has much colder climate."

The faster rate of maturation and quality of casks also affects the chemistry of how the liquid and the cask wood interact. The distilled fresh malt spirit is colourless when it comes out of the stills. How much colour and flavour it pulls out of the casks depends on the quality of casks and quality of distillation and varies with both temperature and time.

Iyer adds that while Indian whiskies are not exactly spicier than foreign variants, there are factors that can accentuate certain flavours. Asked about Amrut Aatma that's only sold abroad, he says that its spicier and richer feel is on account of special casks as well as higher strength of alcohol.

Just for context, Amrut Aatma has an ABV of 56.5 percent compared with, say, Rampur Asava from Radico Khaitan which has 45 percent ABV and Diageo's Godawan which is bottled at 46 percent ABV. Indian-made single malts typically range from 40-71 percent ABV.

Godawan 01 PX Sherry Cask Edition and Godawan 02 Cherry Cask Edition from Diageo India are aged in Alwar, Rajasthan, where daytime temperatures can vary from 22 degrees in January to 41 degrees in summertime.

Chemistry set

Indian whisky - especially single malts - are getting recognized abroad. Diageo announced earlier this month that its Godawan 01 and 02 variants had won silver at the London Spirits Competition 2025, after getting "gold and silver wins at the Denver International Spirits Competition". But it's not just the awards. Indian whisky exports surged to USD 78.5 million in the first half of 2024. And in November 2024, Bloomberg reported that an American bourbon maker, Bardstown, is now using "emptied Indian whiskey barrels to add nuanced flavor to American whiskeys. Its Bardstown Bourbon Amrut ($160) finishes a blend of straight ryes and bourbon in former Amrut casks, adding nuanced smoke and spice."

On May 13 (incidentally World Cocktail Day, marked each year to commemorate the day - 219 years ago - when the word cocktail was first defined), Diageo India organized a virtual roundtable on cask innovation and cask influence - its usefulness in producing more complex flavours in spirit.

The presentation topics included flavour blocks, maturation conditions, single casks and multiple cask combinations, types of cask, "cask influence" and Diageo's India Rare Spirits Program, where it offers those who can afford it, the option to hand-pick a cask and spirit. As part of the programme, Diageo also offer a guide to what flavours to expect depending on the cask. For example, "Oloroso (Spanish Wine Cask)" offers a "flavour expression" that is "nutty, dried fruits like raisins and figs, with warm amber notes". And "Port Wine Cask", which offers "deep fruity sweetness with richness and roundness".

Diageo chief innovation officer Vikram Damodaran added that the company currently has 300 rare casks - including casks made with Indian Sal wood that are typically used to age rum. "Casks fundamentally form the building blocks of creating flavours," Damodaran said.