Irish liquor has finally set foot in India but is not yet creating waves. While Irish whiskey is still not a favourite with Scotch drinkers, beer lovers are going gaga over Irish cider and stout, says Iknoor Kaur
In the early 20th century, Irish whiskey was the highest selling whiskey in the world. However, prohibition between 1920 and 1933 greatly upset the export market and forced many distilleries out of business. But Irish whiskey came back in the 1990s and became the fastest growing liquor business in the world. However, one country that was still waiting for this smooth malt from Ireland was India. Finally, after over a period of a century, Irish whiskey has entered the Indian market and is gradually replacing the good old Scotch. Similarly, the Irish stout and cider, too, have entered the beer market here causing the Indian lager manufacturers a heavy dent in the pocket. Though only a trend in Delhi so far, it seems to have spread like wild fire in less than a year. Most pubs and bars that claimed to be Irish, are finally serving appropriate liquor. According to Swadeep Popli, owner The Chatter House, the reason for Irish liquor not coming into India earlier was the lack of awareness and availability. “Indians were very fascinated with Scotch and single malt when Irish whiskey was doing its rounds across the world. We didn’t adapt to bourbons either when they came in. It is only now that we consume Jack Daniel’s and Jim Bean with Coke. It is now that people are realising that there is more to whiskey than Scotch and single malt and that’s why they like Irish whiskey. It is served on the rocks, tastes good and is different from Scotch whiskey because it is triple-distilled. It is smooth as opposed to the smoky texture in Scotch. The same applies to beer. While stout is bitter and high on caffeine, cider is sweet and fruity. So people like that variation instead of the same old lager and wheat,” he said.
Though Irish whiskey made its way into the market a while ago, its sales are nothing compared to the new-found stout and cider. Most restaurateurs feel that there is still time for people to adjust to Irish whiskey as opposed to beer. “People love the Irish stout because it has more caffeine, is dark in colour and gives you a lot of energy,” said Suman Pandey, general manager le Shamrock. Following the same thread, Rahul Singh, owner The Beer Café, who recently brought in Magners’ cider added, “Cider is the most popular beer in Ireland because it is basically a thirst-quencher. It has hardly been a few weeks since we got Magners to India and it is already selling more than the Irish whiskey. I think whiskey being a hard drink needs time to settle in.” Priyank Sukhija from The Flying Saucer said that 15 per cent of his beer sales are from the sale of Murphy (stout) and Magners (cider). “Indian clientele is not very experimental with their drinking buds and like to enjoy popular existing brands and concepts especially when it comes to whiskey and beer. But there is something about Irish beers that’s gaining acceptance,” he elaborated.
According to Singh, only if other Irish whiskey brands come into India, the sales will improve. “People need to know that there are more brands available. But it is so difficult to bring imported liquor to India. First, the duty is too much and then we deal with 28 states where each state is like dealing with another country. The amount of money that goes into it is so much that many would rather not do it,” he said.
With all of this, restaurateurs are presently playing safe by not stocking too much of Irish liquor. “To every 10 crates of Budweiser, we order one crate of Murphy because we know that it is going to take time for people to get used to that flavour and taste and we don’t want to face unnecessary losses,” informed Popli.