Single Malt Market In India Is Hotting Up

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Single Malt Market is Hotting Up In India

Brand Rampur 

My native place Moradabad is hardly 25 km from Rampur, which was once a princely state of British India headed by a Nawab having his lineage in the area now a part of today’s Afghanistan. 

Present day Nawab’s ancestors were recruited by Raja Ram Singh of Rampur State as mercenaries to fight with his neighboring principalities, later the mercenaries dethroned Ram Singh and took  over reign of his state. During British Rule Nawab Rampur was entitled for a 15 Gun Salute, they were having beautiful rail saloon which is now lying in dilapidated condition . 

Rampur is very close to Sub-Himalayan terrains, on any day after rain you can have a beautiful view of vast range of hills from this city. When Mughal empire became weak in Delhi , it’s court singers, performers, percussionists, poets and classical dancers took refuge in Rampur State. That is why Rampur is known for its rich heritage and  traditions. Rampur is also one of the homes of Urdu poetry and Hindustani music and is also the home to a very distinct style of architecture, cuisines and interestingly knife making.

But many Uttar Pradesh Wallah do not know that this place is also home for some of the finest spirits thanks to Rampur Distillery. Owned by Khaitans , the distillery has 75 years of distillation expertise, the pioneers of legendary spirits in India and abroad. Rampur Distillery is also known for  it’s one of the finest Rum brand Contessa, the first Rum in India made directly from sugar-cane juice, it was formulated by Late Shri Ram Kishan ji , one of the close relative of mine . 

The distillery has forayed in the production of single malt in the recent years. Anup Barik is the master blender, it  is one of the reason for success of its carefully handcrafted Single Malts brand - Rampur. He brought  decades of family expertise, his skill and love of blending fine whisky to fruition in each cask of Rampur Single Malt.

Khaitans launched its single malt whiskies in Las Ve­gas USA with fan and fare few months back. With that,  it has become another serious contender after Amrut and Mithuna among a fine crop of distillers to put Indian single malts in the global spotlight.

Not surprising , their latest Single Malt Rampur Asava, won gold medals at the International Spi­rits Challenge 2021 and New York Inter­national Spirits Competition 2021 after a virtual launch at the Whiskey Show, Lon­don in October 2020.

The reason behind this success story : Rampur Asava is probably the first single malt matured in bourbon barrels and finished in Indian Cabernet Sauvignon casks. 

The experts believe that one of the secret behind its success is also the  use of six­row North Indian barley.

The Distillery is situated at the foothills of the Sub- Himalayan range , the groundwater, soil and air shape the soul of all six Rampur expressions. Their single malt is definitely different yet pleasing, spicy but ba­lanced. and having tasted world’s some of the topmost bourbon and scotch brands I can say that it is unabashedly Indian. Rampur is not alone as the single malt segment is hitting up in India , after Amrut and Rampur , Goa­ based John Distilleries’ Mithuna also become a celebrity. It had scored 97 points on Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible, giving it the distinction of the world’s third finest whiskey this year.

To most of the connoisseurs like me , so far single malts are synonymous with the Scottish High­lands or bourbon of USA. But now a maverick mix of Indian 

Distilleries is quietly changing the 

percep­tion, due to a range of sophisticated, locally brewed single malts.

So you may ask, what is the sudden emergence of Indian single malts on global scene. The fact is that the malts  which are aged in harsh North Indian weather conditions where temperatures fluctuate between 40+ degrees Celsius in summer and around 2 degrees Celsius in winter. This makes the malt interact with the casks very aggressively. Even experts in Scotland agree that due to these varia­ tions, aging in India is at least four times faster. A malt aged for 10 years in North India would be equivalent to a 30­-40

year old Scotch.

Tasting Notes of Rampur : 

Taste/ Palate: All round balanced taste with malty and creamy vanilla. Hint of fruits like apricot and apple with sweet winey taste probably due to wine casks where it is finally finished . 

Appearance and Finish: Gold amber with rich long finish.






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