At Bungalow, celebrity chef Vikas Khanna’s Indian restaurant in New York’s East Village, a dozen Indian single malt whiskies are spotlit in their own section on the spirits list. Just a few years ago, that wouldn’t have been possible, says partner Sameer Bhatt. Although India is the world’s largest whiskey market, its whiskies are typically blends, often made with a rumlike molasses distillate.
Until recently, Indian single malts were virtually unknown, if they were even available outside the subcontinent. Now, with domestic whiskey consumption rising hand-in-hand with the country’s growing affluence, distilleries are turning out high-quality single malts in quantities available to export—and they’re not only gaining traction but also snapping up awards. Amrut Triparva was named to the 2024 Best in Class roster at Whiskies of the World; last year, Indri Diwali Collector’s Edition 2023 took home the top prize there.
This year, Indri Founder’s Reserve 11-year-old wine cask was named one of the Top 15 Whiskies at the International Whisky Competition. Today, “my Indri is selling more than my Macallan,” Bhatt says. “I tell people what happened in the wine industry is now happening in single malt,” says Sanjeev Banga, president of international business at Radico Khaitan Ltd.
, the parent company of Rampur Distillery, based in Northern India’s Uttar Pradesh. Just as New World wines drew the spotlight from the European old guard, so have Indian whiskies e.
