Spirits forecast 2025: What you could be drinking this year

More luxury rums, more tequila, and rarer expressions of Scotch whisky are on the menu for 2025.

‘Premiumisation’ might be the most used word in the Indian alcobev industry, but there is no escaping it. Both brown and white spirits are expected to move further up the ladder in 2025, like they have been doing for the last couple of years. If 2024 saw capacity expansions at single malt distilleries, the creation of new categories such as craft rum, and the moneyed set sipping a lot of tequila, this year is expected to bring us more rare expressions of whisky, luxury rums, and even elusive Japanese whisky brands. Hindustan Times speaks to the people in the thick of things to get a sense of what 2025 has in store for the spirits enthusiast in the world’s third largest alcobev market by volume.

This year is expected to bring us more rare expressions of whisky, luxury rums, and even elusive Japanese whisky brands. (Pexels)

Amar Sinha, COO, Radico Khaitan

Real growth in the Indian alcohol sector is mostly happening in the ‘Prestige and above’ segment; that’s where the double-digit growth is. Besides Indian single malts, now, the premium end of the malt spirits space is also taking off. We are in the process of launching more malt whiskies, after Sangam and Spirit of Victory 1999. The idea is also to create space for Indian malts globally, and Amrut and Radico, particularly, are leading from the front. The Indian consumer and the Indian diaspora have started to gain confidence in quality Indian products. But they also want to see products that level up with international brands, so we could also expect more variants and expressions. Our Jugalbandi series will also be available in India in the next fiscal. Because of this trend of premiumisation, we feel there is also space for dark rums. Last year, in April, we launched the Kohinoor Reserve luxury rum in the US, and now we are getting it to India. Another focus area is creating ethnic brands and celebrating indigenous liqour. Our premium mahua project is one of those initiatives and we are looking at launching it in the next fiscal.

Kohinoor Reserve luxury rum.

Hemanth Rao, founder, Single Malt Amateur Club

Donald Trump’s return has raised significant concerns within the Scotch whisky industry. During his previous tenure, the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on Scottish single malts, leading to a challenging period for producers. Now, as the Scots lobby to prevent the reintroduction of these tariffs, the potential outcome could influence Scotch whisky makers to focus more intently on markets like India. But the prospect of US tariffs is not the sole factor driving interest in the country. The Indian market has already established itself as a dynamic opportunity, offering a growing consumer base eager to explore a wider variety of labels and expressions. Also, 2024 proved that Indian single malts are no longer just a domain of Indian companies. Multinationals such as Diageo and Pernod Ricard now offer their own 'Indian' single malts, solidifying the category's global relevance. In the years ahead, it’s likely that other international alcohol brands will seek to tap into this expanding market.

Sandeep Arora, whisky ambassador

One can expect a lot more brands and variants from the big boys of Scotch, which is faced with slowing demand globally. Scotch whisky exports are down 36%. The same holds true for bourbon, which is facing stagnant demand in its home market. And, then, there is the looming shadow of Donald Trump’s tariffs. All of this means that more liquid will be available in India. Premium global companies with limited exposure to the country could now look at offering more brands from their portfolio, and rare expressions and variants here. And the domination of Scotch and, to a certain extent, Irish whiskey, will be challenged by world whiskey brands which are keen on entering India. You’ll find more Japanese whisky brands on the shelves; for example, Nikka will soon be launching in India. You’ll have great whiskies from Australia, Taiwan, and Israel. And I don’t see tequila’s popularity affecting whisky. The popularity of tequila has impacted gin and wine.

Nikka whisky.

Kunal Patel, CEO & MD, Monika Alcobev

Everyone has been talking about the rise of tequila, and they are right. If you are an importer, like we are, you go out looking for great tequila brands and get them to India. Unlike, say, gin, which can literally be made anywhere, good tequila is in short supply, since it can only be made in Mexico. It takes eight years to grow your agave, and another couple of years to make tequila out of it. Tequila has an appeal that most other spirits cannot match. There is also some interest among this cohort of consumers for aged rums. Premium rum, in fact, could go the tequila way if not this year, at least in the coming years. Another category that has seen interest is less explored whiskies, such as rye and Irish. These are the categories that high end customers could venture into now.

Vikram Achanta, co-founder, 30 Best Bars India and India Bartender Week

The Native Cocktail Room.

I expect to see many more bartenders turning bar owners this year. We saw this trend emerge in 2024, and it has resulted in considerable success for these bars. This is not restricted to, say, Goa, where you have Arijit Bose’s Bar Outrigger and Pankaj Balachandran’s Boilermaker. It’s already happened in Pune with Mayur Marne (Cobbler & Crew) and Avinash Kapoli’s Soka, which has been setting Bangalore on fire. The bar scene, too, is changing rapidly, especially in cities such as Pune, Kolkata, and Jaipur. Jaipur is on its way to becoming a kind of cocktail centre. The city has at least two to three bars that have been fairly consistent over the last couple of years, and we had some more openings in 2024. The Native Cocktail Room and The Johri, especially, are doing some wonderful stuff on the cocktails front.