INDIAN WHISKY

India consumes a great volume and broad range of whisky, for example:

In fact, India produces a wide range of “whisky” that does not follow the usual regulations: it’s distilled from molasses with caramel (rather than casks) and added colour.
India’s two oldest malt whisky distilleries are Rampur, established in 1943 and Amrut in 1948.
John Distilleries on the other hand has been operational since 1996, producing Paul John single malt.

The Indian climate lets farmers cultivate winter barley, which is sown in October-December and harvested in March-May.
Cultivated barley comes from Rajasthan and Punjab in the northwest India and reaches maltings located in Jaipur and Delhi.
Two Indian distilleries, John Distilleries and Amrut, produce peated malts, but since peat is not found in India both distilleries import peated barley from Scotland.
Average time of ageing for Indian whisky is three years: because of the lack of regulations they follow the EU minimum standard. How the whisky changes during this time is partly determined by the climate, which varies significantly depending on the location: the hotter the climate, the faster the rate of reactions that take place inside the cask.

John Distilleries, is based in Goa on the southwestern coast of India, where summer temperatures are usually around 32°C and winter temperatures fall to 23°C, with an annual evaporation rate of 8%.
Bengaluru, once called Bangalore, is a capital city of the state of Karnataka in southern India and it’s the home of Amrut. Here temperatures vary from 28-40°C in summer, and 18-30°C in winter. Evaporation rates are 10-12% a year. This particular characteristic is used to name some of Amrut’s bottlings: Greedy Angels refers to the term “angel’s share”, a euphemism for evaporation.
Rampur base is in the north of India, by the foothills of the Himalayas, where temperatures inside warehouses peak at 32-36°C in the summer and fall to 0°C in winter, with 12% annual evaporation loss.
Evaporation rates are not fully understood, but what we know is that fluctuations in temperature result in the whisky extracting flavours from the cask. Even if it’s not clear how much the climate changes may influence Indian whisky, we do know what this whisky tastes like.
In 2016 for example, Rampur released a malt aged in Bourbon barrels and finished in Pedro Ximénez casks: a fresh and delicate texture, indulgent richness and a hint of sweetness, with creamy vanilla and raisins, orange marmalade and maltiness emerging in the end while elegance is maintained throughout.