Indians Love Scotch Whisky, But Does It Rule Indian Shelves: How Imports, Tariffs, Premiumisation and Local Giants Shape India’s Whisky Market
Published December 3, 2025 by John Fegan
India is a nation fond of intensity, the sort of place where flavour arrives wearing big boots, opinion travels in a crowd, and alcohol occasionally joins the parade to keep everyone in good spirits. Scotch whisky has somehow muscled its way into this environment, a traveller from the frozen north now sweating politely on Indian shelves while pretending not to notice the heat.
In 2024 the country bought 192 million bottles. That figure would make even the most hardened analyst raise an eyebrow and mutter something unprintable about market volatility. Imports have risen more than 200 percent in a decade, a rate of growth that would alarm any planet that believed in sensible moderation.
And yet despite all this fuss Scotch accounts for only about 3 percent of India’s whisky by volume. Local whisky reigns: affordable, familiar, and available in heroic quantities. Indian brands dominate global bestseller lists, and their ubiquity makes it entirely rational that everyday drinking habits favour domestic bottles. Scotch is the fancy bottle that gets opened for big news or big company, the liquid equivalent of wearing your good suit.
The majority of Indian whisky starts out as molasses, which surprises people who assume whisky involves barley somewhere and not something that looks like it escaped from a distillery’s plumbing diagram. This makes it closer to rum, a detail that tends to irritate connoisseurs who enjoy being irritated. Only a small fraction is actually produced from malted grain, which is the stuff most whisky drinkers think they are getting when they grab a bottle in a hurry.
But the top shelf is getting busier. With rising incomes and an expanding middle class, it had become a stage filled with bottles that shimmered with ambition. In early 2025 premium spirits grew by 8 percent, and families began treating single malts and elegant blends as if they were trophies earned through persistence and good taste rather than impulse buying and a hopeful glance at the bank balance.
Scotch had its own challenge to overcome. Price stood in its path like a stubborn narrative obstacle, thanks to India’s import duty that hovered near one hundred and fifty percent. A price tag that turns the purchase of a bottle into an act of financial bravado. Yet there was a glimmer of plot movement. Trade talks between India and the United Kingdom hinted at tariffs falling to seventy five percent and perhaps even to forty percent over the next decade. If the story played out that way Scotch might become easier to reach, import numbers might climb, and in a twist of economic irony the government could benefit from the surge.
Meanwhile, the whisky trade is becoming a two-way exchange. Indian single malts from Paul John, Amrut and Rampur were picking up awards abroad, the sort of shiny validation that makes distillers stand a little taller. Their rising fame even made the Scotch Whisky Association lean in with interest, which is what happens when an old and established guild realises there might be room at the table for new friends or at least for new business. As the SWA is exploring collaborative opportunities that could help Indian brands expand globally.
So, does Scotch rule India’s shelves? Not by volume. But it dominates the concept of the top shelf, a place of ritual significance where a bottle waits patiently to be opened for guests, announcements, and moments that seem to demand a little cosmic grandeur. India’s affection is split between Scotch and its own creations, each with a place in the narrative. With falling tariffs and rising incomes, both sides of the market seem poised for further growth, making the next few years an intriguing chapter in the story of global whisky consumption.