Know all about The Glenwalk, actor Sanjay Dutt’s new scotch whisky brand, priced at Rs 1,550

Actor Sanjay Dutt invested in alcobev startup Cartel & Bros and launched a Scotch whisky named The Glenwalk.

Celebrity-owned liquor brands are not uncommon. While Sting, Jon Bon Jovi and Emma Watson sell wine, David Beckham has been churning out a single grain scotch, Fast and Furious actor Dwayne Johnson owns a tequila brand, Kate Hudson a gluten-free vodka, Bruno Mars a white rum and Bob Dylan is the owner of a whisky that feature his own artwork on the bottle. Sanjay Dutt is the latest celebrity to enter the pantheon of booze brand owners.

The actor has invested in alcobev startup Cartel & Bros and launched a Scotch whisky named The Glenwalk. The company which is looking to import and retail liquor brands into India, runs in a shared partnership of Manesh Sani and Mokksh Sani of Living Liquidz, one of the largest liquor retail chains in India; Jittin S Merani of Drinq bar academy; and Rohan Nihalani, the owner of Morgan Beverages. The timing is crucial. India has been ranked as one of the fastest-growing markets for alcohol sales. The country overtook France to become the UK's largest Scotch whisky market in terms of volume, with a 60 per cent surge in imports in 2022 over the previous year, according to Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) data.

All about The Glenwalk

Glenwalk whisky is produced and bottled in Scotland.

Cartel & Bros has hired a distillery in Scotland to produce and bottle The Glenwalk. “Unlike other Scotch whiskies in India, where the alcohol comes at a higher ABV from Scotland and is then bottled in India with Indian water, The Glenwalk is made and bottled in Scotland with Scottish water. This guarantees an authentic taste of Scotch,” says Jittin S Merani.

The biggest challenge for the company was to get the blend right. The partners made three visits to Scotland just for this. The Glenwalk contains 85 per cent grain and 15 per cent malt. The price point of Rs 1,550 was arrived at after studying the Indian whiskey market. “One of our partners is Living Liquidz which gives us an inside view of data on the bestselling whiskies in India. The Blenders Pride category market in Maharashtra is almost 50,000 cases a month. We wanted to launch a whisky that is close to this price point and also encourage this whisky-drinking category to upgrade to Scotch at a small premium. Our target is to get 10 per cent of the 50,000 cases which will come to 5,000 cases a month,” explains Merani. The company plans to launch the whisky in their home turf, Mumbai, roll it out in other parts of the state and then expand their footprint across the country. A single grain whisky and Glenwalk finished in six different casks are on the cards by the end of this year. Cartel & Bros will also be getting a brand of vodka called Rodchenko in November to coincide with the festivities and party season in India. The category they are looking to target is the Rs 3,200 — between Grey Goose and Absolut.

Celebrities and alcohol

While Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan have been asking us to "make it large", and Ajay Devgn extolling the virtues of friendship (Khoob Jamega Rang…), celebrities in India have rarely moved beyond brand endorsements for alcohol brands. The only exception is actor Danny Denzongpa who owns breweries in Sikkim and Assam. Dutt being a whisky drinker himself tested multiple blends of the scotch to settle on the final one for The Glenwalk. In fact it was at one of the tastings that Dutt volunteered to be an investor in the company. And why not? The alcoholic beverage industry is unquestionably a profitable one. Online alcohol sales, takeout cocktails and alcohol apps all flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Statista predicts that by 2025, the global market size for alcoholic beverages will surpass $2.2 trillion. It makes sense, then, that celebrities looking for big profit potential would flock to this market sector.

We caught up with the actor himself on the boozy association!

Why whisky?

There’s a large market for whisky in this country. India is the largest whisky consumer in the world. I personally started my alcohol journey with whisky when I was a teenager. I remember sneaking out with friends to have my first taste of the amber spirit.

Is whisky still your drink of choice today?

Yes I love it, but I can’t have it everyday because of my illness. Now a days I have shifted to small amounts of tequila and vodka. Wine is the best. I sometimes like to have a glass or two of red wine.

What’s your favourite chakna (munchies) with whisky?

My all-time favourite is a plate of chicken tikka. Boiled watana (green peas) with chopped onions, masalas and a splash of lemon comes very close.

How involved were you in the blend for The Glenwalk?

It was a very long process. From ideating to multiple tastings, making changes — we worked together. I wanted the whisky to be smooth so it can be had on the rocks. But most importantly it had to be priced right. The idea was to make it accessible to a wider section of consumers and not just the elite.

At Rs 1,550, you have priced it dangerously on the brink of affordability and cheap.

People may think it’s cheap only till they taste it. Once they taste it, I have no doubt in my mind that they will love it.

Lastly, when can we see you on the screen?

My film Leo will release in October. Then there is the Kannada movie KD with Dhruva Sarja.