Mumbai alone consumes more scotch than is produced in Scotland seems like an old refrain. It even sounds deceptive. I mean, how can consumption be more than production. Well, believe it or not! The fake scotch cuppa overfloweth. But what sounds like fiction is the fact that India has succeeded in edging out U.S. to become the largest international whisky market.
India’s catapulting to the top of the whisky trade graph has come at a point when European Union (EU) and Scotch Whisky Association have been throwing spanners in the form of non-trade barriers on definitional issues to keep Indian whiskies out of the global market.
Under threat from increasing popularity of Indian whiskies in the international market Scotch Whisky Association does not consider Indian whisky as whisky because it is non-matured alcohol mostly made from molasses.
It must be mentioned that nine Indian whiskies figured in the New York-based Impact International’s latest list of top 100 global spirits brands.
According to reports, Indian whiskies account for 98% of domestic whisky consumption, and are growing 8-10% annually, which makes it one among the fastest growing whisky markets in the world.
