See also
- Alcoholic Indian beverages
- Beer in India
- Desi daru
- Indian whisky
- Lion beer, Asia'a first beer brand
- Solan No. 1, India's first malt whisky
- Old Monk, iconic Indian rum
- Sura
Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) is the official term used by governments, businesses and media in India to refer to all types of liquor manufactured in the country other than indigenous alcoholic beverages such as feni, toddy, arrack and others.
IMFL is also referred to spirits that are produced in foreign countries and imported to India in bulk quantities and bottled in an Excise Bonded Warehouse by the Importers.
When locally manufactured, the various types of IMFLs are supposed to be produced using their traditional methods, such as fermenting grain mash to produce whiskey. However, a common characteristic of many IMFLs, distinct from spirits elsewhere in the world, is that irrespective of the final product the starting ingredient is a neutral spirit distilled from molasses, a byproduct of the sugar industry. This neutral spirit at 96% alcohol by volume is first reduced to 42.8% using demineralised water, whereupon flavours and other spirits are added. Caramel colouring is added at this stage to impart colour to the spirit. Most commonly, grain or malt-based whisky, which may include imported Irish or Scotch whisky is blended with the spirit. [1] [2]
An alcopop is any of certain flavored alcoholic beverages with relatively low alcohol content, including:
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are often old sherry casks or may also be made of charred white oak.
Mohan Meakin is a large group of companies which started with Asia's first brewery incorporated in 1855 by Edward Dyer at Kasauli in the Himalayan Mountains in India under the name Dyer Breweries.
Liquor is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard liquor. The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its alcohol by volume. As liquors contain significantly more alcohol (ethanol) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder" – in North America, the term hard liquor is sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the term spirits is used in the UK. Examples of liquors include brandy, vodka, absinthe, gin, rum, tequila, and whisky.
In India, traditional beer has been prepared from rice or millet for thousands of years. In the 18th century, the British introduced European beer to India. Beer is not as popular as stronger alcoholic beverages like desi daru and Indian-made foreign liquor, such as Indian whiskey. The most popular beers in India are strong beers.
This article covers various topics involving alcoholic drinks in Canada. The Government of Canada defines an alcoholic drink as "a beverage containing 1.1% or more alcohol by volume."
A liquor license is a governmentally issued permit to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages.
American whiskey is whiskey produced in the United States. The primary types of American whiskey are bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, rye malt whiskey, malt whiskey, wheat whiskey, Tennessee whiskey, and corn whiskey. All of these are made from mashes with at least 51% of their named grains.
Kasauli Brewery and Distillery, at Kasauli in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh state of India, was established in late 1920s during the British Raj by Edward Abraham Dyer - father of "The Butcher of Jallianwala Bagh", Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer. It started producing Asia's first beer brand, the "Lion Beer", and India's first single malt whisky, the ""Solan No. 1". Both of these brands are still in production. After the swap of brewery at Kasauli to Solan distillery and vice versa in 1835, presently Lion beer is produced at Solan and Solan No.1 whisky is produced at the Kasauli distillery using some of the original equipment including the copper pot still. The production of Lion beer was moved 25 km east to Solan Brewery at Solan, due to water scarcity, after civilian Kasauli hill station resort town came up around the brewery. Lion beer was originally an India Pale Ale (IPA), but the beer style was changed to lager in 1960s.
As of 2006 most distilled spirits labelled as "whisky" in India were a form of Indian-made foreign liquor, commonly blends based on neutral spirits that are distilled from fermented molasses with only a small portion consisting of traditional malt whisky, usually about 10 to 12 percent. Outside India, such a drink would more likely be labelled a rum. According to the Scotch Whisky Association's 2013 annual report, unlike in the European Union (EU), "there is no compulsory definition of whisky in India, and the Indian voluntary standard does not require whisky to be distilled from cereals or to be matured. Very little Indian 'whisky' qualifies as whisky in the EU owing to the use of molasses or neutral alcohol, limited maturation and the use of flavourings. Such spirits are, of course, considerably cheaper to produce than genuine whisky." Such molasses-based blends made up 90 percent of the spirits consumed as "whisky" in India in 2004, although whisky wholly distilled from malt and other grains, was also manufactured and sold. By 2004 shortages of wheat had been overcome and India was one of the largest producers. Amrut, the first single malt whisky produced in India, was launched in Glasgow, Scotland in 2004. After expanding in Europe it was launched in India in 2010.
Sura or Sooraa is a strong distilled alcoholic drink originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is referred to as an anaesthetic by Suśruta. Other ancient medical authorities also mention it; Charaka referred to making a woman with a miscarriage senseless to pain by administering alcoholic drinks like sooraa, sīdhu, ariṣṭa, madhu, madirā or āsava.
Royal Stag, also known as Seagram's Royal Stag, is an Indian brand of whisky launched in 1995. It is available in many countries across the world in various pack sizes. It is Pernod Ricard's best selling brand by volume. It is a blend of grain spirits and imported Scotch malts. It is commonly available in 1 L, 750 mL, 375 mL and 180 mL bottles and also available in 90 mL and 60 mL bottles. The brand is named after a species of deer famous for its antlers, that is also featured in its logo. It is produced in several company-owned as well as bottler-owned distilleries. It was the first whisky brand launched in India that did not use any artificial flavours.
Royal Challenge, commonly referred to by the abbreviation RC, is a brand of Indian whisky, manufactured by United Spirits Ltd (USL), a Diageo Group company. It was launched in the early 1980s. According to Binod K. Maitin, a United Breweries technician who oversees all the liquor blends for the company, Royal Challenge is a grain flavored whisky, blended with Scotch malts and Indian malts. In an article for The Wall Street Journal, reporter Eric Felton states that, "About 12% of the blend comes from real malt whiskies: some of it made in India, some actual Scotch. The rest of the mix is a neutral spirit distilled from molasses. That means that, strictly speaking, Royal Challenge, like most Indian "whisky", is actually a rum flavored to pass as whisky." The manufacturer has refused to state the percentage of Scotch whisky used in the blend. In the United States, Royal Challenge is referred to as "spirit whisky". Besides India, Royal Challenge is sold in several other countries including the Middle East and the United States.
Amrut Distilleries Ltd is an Indian company that produces distilled beverages. It is best known for its eponymous Amrut brand of single malt whisky, which is the first single malt whisky to be made in India. The brand became famous after world famous whisky connoisseur Jim Murray gave it a rating of 82 out of 100 in 2005 and 2010. In 2010, Murray named Amrut Fusion single malt whisky as the third best in the world. John Hansell, editor of American magazine Whisky Advocate, wrote that "India's Amrut distillery changed the way many think of Indian whisky - that it was, in the past, just cheap Scotch whisky blended with who knows what and sold as Indian whisky. Amrut is making whisky, and it's very good".
United Spirits Limited, abbreviated to USL, is an Indian alcoholic beverages company, and the world's second-largest spirits company by volume. It is a subsidiary of Diageo, and headquartered at UB Tower in Bangalore, Karnataka. USL exports its products to over 37 countries.
Radico Khaitan Ltd. (RKL), formerly Rampur Distillery & Chemical Company Ltd., is an Indian company that manufactures industrial alcohol, Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), country liquor and fertilizers. It is the fourth largest Indian liquor company,. Radico brands are sold in more than 85 countries, including USA, Canada, South America, Africa, Europe, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.
Desi Daaru, also known as Country Liquor or Indian-made Indian liquor (IMIL) is a category of liquor made in the countryside of the Indian subcontinent. They are traditionally prepared by a procedure that has been passed down for centuries. Due to cheap prices, country liquor is the most popular alcoholic beverage among the impoverished people. It is fermented and distilled from molasses, a by product of sugarcane. Desi liquor is a broad term and it can include both legally and illegally made local alcohol. The term desi daru usually refers to legal alcohol while other types of country liquor may be categorised as moonshine alcohol.
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used in different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, generally made of charred white oak.
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