Whiskeys are considered to be hard alcohol drinks which not everyone prefers, still, the drink is widely liked by men especially in India. Whiskys are brandished in many popular web series and Hollywood movies that have hyped the sale of this particular type of alcohol.
In a famous web series on Netflix (Peaky Blinders), the quotes on whiskeys seemed to be classy especially for men. For example, Thomas Shelby played by Cillian Murphy says, "Whiskey is good proofing water. It tells you who's real and who's isn't."
Again Alfie Solomons (Tom Hardy) gives the reference of whiskey and calls it drinks for business. In the web-series, he says, "Rum's for fun and fuc*****, Init? So whiskey, now that, that is for business"
The point being, whiskey is often regarded as the men's drink and in India, there are few Indian brands that have won the taste of men. Recently, The Spirits Business’ report highlighted the top 5 best-selling Indian whiskey brands.
Here is The List:
5) Original Choice
Original Choice is a budget blended whisky from the house of John Distilleries. It saw double-digit growth from 2018 to 2019 at 10.3% and sold 12.7 million cases. Notably, The Original Choice brand portfolio also includes a rum, gin, and a VSOP brandy.
4) Royal Stag
Pernod Ricard’s Indian whisky label, Royal Stag, sold 22.0m cases in 2019, up 2.1 per cent from 2018 (at 21.6m). It is a blend of grain spirits and imported Scotch malts.
3) Imperial Blue
Also owned by Pernod Ricard, Imperial Blue, saw a 16 percent increase in sales in 2019 as compared to 2018 (from 22.7m to 26.3m). It is among the most popular budget whiskies in the country under Rs 1000. Check out more such brands here.
2) Officer’s Choice
Produced by Allied Blenders & Distillers, Officer’s Choice actually saw a dip in the number of cases sold in 2019, as compared to 2018, yet retained the second best-selling spot in the country. The brand’s Officer’s Choice Blue variant is a crowd-pleaser.
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1) McDowell’s No.1 Whisky
McDowell’s No.1 Whisky, produced by United Spirits, the Indian arm of Diageo, saw a 6% increase in sales from 2018 to 2019 – 29.0m to 30.7m – and became the highest-selling whisky brand in India, last year. It has also been named as the best-selling Indian whisky brand in the world.