India is the largest whiskey drinking country in the world. According to the International Wine & Spirits Research, the global authority on beverage alcohol data, about 230 million cases are consumed here annually, accounting for almost half of global whiskey sales.
But US-made bourbon brands, such as Maker’s Mark, have long remained a niche product in India, where whiskey drinkers traditionally prefer Scotch and domestic brands.
In 2024, India imported only $8.8 million (€8.1 million) worth of American-made whiskey, a relative drop in barrels for India.
But eventually it could be changed. For years, a 150% import duty meant that bourbon was extremely expensive in India, limiting both availability and consumer access.
Recent US-India trade talks reduced that duty to 100%, significantly improving the economics of selling American whiskey in the world’s largest whiskey market.
an industry under pressure
The timing couldn’t be better for distillers in the US state of Kentucky, which claims to be the home of bourbon.
After years of aggressive expansion, the industry is under increasing pressure. According to the Kentucky Distillers Association, there is now a record 16.1 million barrels of old bourbon in warehouses across the state, three times more than the inventory seen during the whiskey glut in 1985.
The assessed value of those barrels could reach $10 billion (€9.2 billion) in 2025, resulting in a tax burden of about $75 million.
Meanwhile, demand has declined sharply.
Bourbon sales in the U.S. fell nearly 8% last year, especially among younger consumers who are increasingly turning to tequilas, hard seltzers and non-alcohol alternatives.
Inflation, changing drinking habits, use of cannabis and even the rise of weight loss drugs have affected consumption.
wall street journal Recently there have been reports that Kentucky, which produces about 95% of the world’s bourbon, is now sitting on nearly a decade’s supply.
“We spent years making whiskey for drinkers who never came” was one experienced distiller’s summary of the crisis.
Against that backdrop, India’s whiskey drinkers have suddenly become more relevant than ever.
“From Kentucky, India looks to be one of the few serious growth markets left,” a representative of the bourbon industry told DW.
“If the pricing works and the story resonates, it could be much bigger than a small esports game.”
India’s premium changes
India presents almost the opposite picture of the US market: young, expanding and increasingly focused on premium spirits.
According to data from the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), beverage alcohol sales in India are expected to grow by 7% in the first half of 2025, with urban consumers increasingly shifting towards imported and premium brands.
Industry executives say young drinkers in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru are increasingly experimenting beyond traditional blends, gravitating towards Japanese whiskey, craft gin, tequila and premium Indian single malts.
Bourbon producers are now in a position to take advantage of an emerging landscape where consumers are more willing to experiment with unfamiliar styles.
For bourbon makers, this is not an opportunity to capture India’s massive whiskey market overnight. It is about establishing credibility in the country’s fast-growing premium sector.
cultural challenge
However, the challenge is as much cultural as it is commercial.
India’s whiskey market continues to be dominated by local blends and Scotch style whiskeys. Brands such as Officer’s Choice and Imperial Blue remain mass-market giants, while Scotch is still at the aspirational end of the market.
Bourbon, with its sweet, corn-heavy profile and strong vanilla oak notes, is unfamiliar to many Indian drinkers raised on a lighter, grain-forward profile.
“Tariff cuts help, but price is not the main issue,” Vinod Giri, director general of the Brewers Association of India, told DW. “Jim Beam is already bottled in India and often sells cheaper than imported bourbon, and even lower than some Indian bottled Scotches. The real drivers are marketing, visibility and execution.”
Giri argued that for bourbon to be successful, it could not present itself as another version of Scotch.
Giri emphasizes that what works for bourbon as well as other American spirits like Tennessee Whiskey is the increased exposure of urban Indians to the American lifestyle through TV and films, as well as the close ties with the Indian diaspora in the US.
“Bourbon has to stand apart from Scotch, not imitate it,” he said. “The category needed a clear and consistent identity and an all-American image.”
Rukn Luthra, managing director of spirits consultancy Fermentras, believes US distillers have historically underestimated the Indian market.
“Bourbon’s absence from India was never a lack of interest,” Luthra told DW. “It was about tariffs and the failure by American brands to make meaningful investments in the market.”
Now, he argues, the timing may finally be right.
“India’s young wine drinkers are curious, globally exposed and increasingly open to American styles,” Luthra said. “If Bourbon comes with authenticity, competitive pricing and a desire to build the category rather than sell it, Indian consumers will respond enthusiastically.”
The data shows that Bourbon is still just at the beginning of its quest to conquer the Indian market. Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey currently sell less than 300,000 cases annually in India, compared to about 8.5 to 9 million cases for Scotch.
Where bourbon can find its audience
Vijay Kauthekar, executive vice president of sales and marketing at John Distilleries in Bengaluru, said the biggest hurdle so far has been simply reaching out.
“Indians have not had the opportunity to experience the full range of bourbon due to sporadic availability and limited brands,” he told DW. “Reducing tariffs changes that.”
Kauthekar expects metro cities to be the first major battleground, especially in premium bars where cocktails like the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan are already gaining popularity.
On pricing, experts caution that bourbon can’t position itself too far above Scotch.
Luthra argues that if bourbon enters India at higher Scotch pricing, it will struggle, but if it competes at similar price points, it has real potential to grow.
He also believes American brands will need to educate consumers about bourbon’s distinct flavor profile.
“The average Indian whiskey drinker has grown up on light, grain-forward styles,” he said. “The sweetness, charm and intensity of vanilla oak of the bourbon need to be explained, not believed.”
earn your place at the table
For Kentucky distillers, experts are united on one point: The Indian market will not reward impatience.
“Any distiller serious about India needs to be fully committed,” Kauthekar said. “India has never rewarded half-hearted efforts.”
Luthra agrees. “This is not a launch-and-drop market,” he said. “The winning brands here consistently appear to be ones with local teams, local partnerships and local relevance. Kentucky distillers should be thinking in a five- to ten-year horizon rather than a 12-month cycle.”
Bourbon is unlikely to displace the whiskey that already dominates Indian drinking culture. But for US industry grappling with oversupply and slowing demand at home, India represents something that is becoming increasingly rare: a huge market with immense growth potential.
Edited by: Carl Sexton