Whisky guru Jim Murray thinks highly of GianChand whisky, which was launched earlier this week in Delhi. “This is one of the most fascinating whiskies I’ve come across. Unlike any other Indian malt I have encountered before,” says Murray.
In his Whisky Bible 2022, Murray notes: “GianChand is far more delicate and refined than any other Indian single malt, with soft barley and spice taking different but vital paths as the complexity increases. Although the casks have matured for several years in high heat, the oak involvement is gloriously restrained, allowing the fragile malt and exotic fruit notes space to perform.”
“Jim Murray called us some time ago and had great things to say about the whisky,” says Prem Dewan, the chairman and managing director of Devans Modern Breweries which distills India’s latest single malt in Jammu.
Devans Modern Breweries, which turned 60 recently, was set up by Dewan Gian Chand, a former journalist, in Bohri, Jammu, and started life as a liquor bottling plant. Today, the company has two distilleries in Jammu, including the one at Bohri, where the whisky is distilled, and operates two breweries in Kotputli, Rajasthan, and Samba. Its portfolio of beers includes the popular Godfather and Six Fields.
Dewan says that over the years, his company has supplied malt spirits to nearly every Indian liquor maker. “From Shaw Wallace in the 1990s to Amrut Distilleries, we’ve had relationships with several liquor companies,” says Dewan. And, then, as Indian single malts started becoming popular, Dewan says he decided to throw his hat into the ring and make a whisky that would also serve as a tribute to his father.
Sales of Indian single malts have shot up in recent times and account for about 30 percent of the whisky market. Companies such as Amrut sell more single malt whiskies in India than anywhere else in the world. “There is indeed a lot of demand for Indian single malts in our own country, and we see an opportunity there, because often that demand is unmet. Plus, every other whisky made in India claims to be made in the foothills of the Himalayas regardless of where their distillery actually is, so we thought it was time to launch a whisky that is actually made in the lap of the Himalayas,” laughs Dewan, who plans to sell about 20,000 cases of GianChand whisky annually.
The idea of a creating a single malt whisky took shape about four years ago, says Dewan, and the goal was to create a smooth, no-nonsense spirit. “We’ve stuck to the basics—we’ve used good quality ex-bourbon barrels, paid particular attention to ageing. And it has worked. It’s a smooth whisky that is also mildly smoky. GianChand has been compared by some of my friends to the Glenfiddich 18YO,” says Dewan. “A peated version is also being readied and that should be out in the next six-odd months.”
If you are looking for tasting notes, the company says that GianChand has an “elegant nose of gingerbread, dried apricots, and prunes”; is smooth and creamy on the palate; and “a medium to long dry finish with hints of bitter chocolate and the zing of white pepper”.
The whisky is priced at Rs 4,490 in Delhi, and has also been launched in Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. Devans Modern Breweries plans to make it available in ten states in the next six to eight months.
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