Top 10 Distilleries in India
India is one of the largest spirits markets in the world by volume, but for decades that volume was dominated by Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) — a category that includes blended whisky typically composed mostly of neutral grain spirit and only a small fraction of malt. The last fifteen years have seen a parallel premium and craft movement emerge, producing single malt whiskies, gins, and indigenous spirits of genuine international calibre. All the producers below are on the map.
1. Amrut, Karnataka
Amrut Distilleries in Bangalore is the distillery that proved Indian single malt whisky could compete globally. Founded 1948 but producing single malt from 2004, Amrut Fusion — a blend of unpeated Indian barley with lightly peated Scottish barley — won the award of third-best whisky in the world from Jim Murray's Whisky Bible in 2010, the first time a non-Scottish or Japanese whisky had ranked that highly. The Bangalore climate, at 900 metres elevation with temperatures ranging 15 to 35 degrees Celsius and significant humidity, drives maturation fast: angel's share at Amrut runs 12-14% annually, meaning an eight-year-old Amrut has lost a volume of spirit equivalent to far older Scottish expressions. Master distiller Surinder Kumar developed a range including the Peated, Kadhambam (triple cask), and the Greedy Angels series of long-aged expressions.
2. Paul John, Goa
John Distilleries' Paul John single malt range, launched 2012, is produced at the Cuncolim distillery in South Goa using Indian six-row barley grown in the Himalayan foothills. The coastal Goan climate — tropical, humid, with monsoon seasons — drives maturation at 8-10% annual angel's share. Master distiller Michael D'Souza produces both unpeated and lightly peated expressions. Paul John Brilliance (unpeated), Bold (peated), and the Edited and Christmas Edition expressions have all received substantial critical attention. The Goa Zodiac and Select Cask series represent the premium tier. Paul John's tropical character — warm spice, ripe fruit, vanilla — is more immediately accessible than some Indian single malts.
3. Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
Rampur Distillery, operated by the Radico Khaitan group in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh at the foothills of the Himalayas, produces the Rampur Indian Single Malt range from a facility with significant whisky-making history dating to 1943. Head distiller Anup Barik oversees maturation in both ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. The Rampur Select, Double Cask, and Asava (finished in Indian Cabernet Sauvignon casks) demonstrate the range achievable in the North Indian climate — warmer than Goa, drier, with the Himalayan water source central to the distillery's character claims.
4. Indri, Haryana
Piccadily Distilleries' Indri single malt, produced in Haryana near the town of Indri, won Whisky of the Year at the Whisky Magazine World Whiskies Awards in 2023 — a landmark recognition for Indian craft distilling. Master distiller Rakshit Makhija uses Indian six-row barley and matures in a combination of ex-bourbon, ex-wine (including Bordeaux), and PX sherry casks. The Trini expression — triple cask maturation in ex-bourbon, ex-wine, and ex-Indian single malt casks — and the Diwali Collector's Edition releases have positioned Indri as the most internationally decorated Indian single malt producer of the current era.
5. Big Boss Cashew Feni, Goa
Feni is a spirit indigenous to Goa, produced from either cashew apple juice (cashew feni) or coconut toddy (coconut feni), and it holds Geographical Indication status protecting its production within Goa. The cashew feni production season runs with the cashew harvest from March to June. Juice from crushed cashew apples ferments naturally in clay pots buried in the ground, then is double-distilled in copper or terracotta pot stills called bhattis over wood fires. The Big Boss brand, owned by the Goa Cashew Feni Distillers & Bottlers association, is among the most visible commercial cashew feni brands, working to standardise quality and build an export identity for what has been an entirely local spirit tradition.
6. Stranger & Sons, Goa
Third Eye Distillery's Stranger & Sons gin, produced in Goa, was launched in 2019 and quickly became the reference point for craft gin from India. The botanical bill uses Malabar pepper, raw mango, and gondhoraj lime — a fragrant Bengali citrus variety — alongside conventional gin botanicals. The result is a gin that is recognisably within the London Dry style structurally but with botanical distinctiveness that locates it specifically in India's spice-trading geography. Stranger & Sons has expanded into export markets across Europe and Asia, positioning Indian craft gin on the international market.
7. Greater Than, Delhi
Greater Than gin, produced by Nao Spirits & Beverages in Delhi, is a London Dry style gin using a neutral grain base rectified from sugarcane. The botanicals include juniper, cassia bark, and sweet orange peel. Greater Than was among the first Indian gins to pursue international style alignment deliberately, designing a product for bartenders working within classic gin cocktail frameworks rather than a novelty botanical showcase. Their London Dry and Barrel Rested expressions have both been critically well received.
8. Tickle, Maharashtra
Third Eye Distillery (also the Stranger & Sons producer) operates the Tickle London Dry Gin brand from Maharashtra. Tickle's botanical profile uses a different regional spice register from Stranger & Sons, exploring local Maharashtra ingredients within the London Dry framework. The brand family demonstrates how a single well-resourced craft distillery can develop multiple gin expressions targeting different taste profiles and market segments within India's rapidly developing craft gin consumer base.
9. DesmondJi, Goa
DesmondJi Agave Spirit is produced by Desmond Nazareth, an Indian-American entrepreneur who returned to Goa specifically to develop an agave distilling tradition using locally grown Agave sisalana — a species unrelated to the Mexican Blue Weber but capable of producing fermentable sugar in the Goan climate. The resulting spirit is not tequila or mezcal by denomination but occupies a category of Indian agave spirit with its own distinctive profile. DesmondJi demonstrates the experimental boundaries of Indian distilling, applying production methods from one tradition to local ingredients in a new geography.
10. Hapusa, Himachal Pradesh
Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin, produced by Nao Spirits in collaboration with Segram's, is named for the Himalayan juniper (Juniperus recurva) that is one of its signature botanicals. Additional Himalayan botanicals include turmeric, gondhoraj lime, ginger, and raw mango. The gin is made from Indian grain spirit redistilled in copper pot stills with the botanical charge. Hapusa's explicit connection to a specific high-altitude botanical source — the Himalayan juniper growing in the region where it is used — gives the product a provenance claim that connects gin production to Indian terroir in a way analogous to the single malt whisky producers' use of Himalayan water.
India's distilling geography in context
The geography of Indian distilling is as varied as the subcontinent: Bangalore at elevation, coastal Goa in the tropics, the North Indian plains at Rampur and Haryana, the Himalayan foothills, and Delhi's urban craft operations. The map places them all, and the climate differences between these locations are a major determinant of the spirits each one produces.