Indian spirits have world domination in their sights, but it’s the country’s whiskies that are making significant waves in the industry, as our look at the best-sellers confirms.

There is much optimism for the Indian whisky segment, with nearly all million-case players reporting increases in 2022.

A report from Global Data at the end of last year estimated the spirits market in India would grow by double digits in 2022, driven by the premium and super-premium segments and led by the return of the on-trade and steady at-home consumption.

Innovation has been the key for many Indian whisky producers. Bacardi made its first foray into the category with its Legacy blend, and Diageo revealed its Godawan single malt last summer. IWSR 2021 figures cited by Bacardi estimate that the Indian whisky category could exceed 250 million nine-litre cases by 2026, and when you consider four of the 10 biggest-selling spirits brands across all categories last year were Indian whiskies, it’s not difficult to see this becoming a reality.

Scroll through to discover the top 10 best-selling Indian whiskies of 2022, listed in order of their nine-litre-case sales.

Data listed is to one decimal place for ease of reading, but the percentage changes are based on the full data supplied to The Brand Champions 2023 report.

10. Signature

2022: 2.5m

2021: 2.0m

% change: 27.4%

Place last year: N/A

Despite having consistently sold more than one million cases since 2009, making its debut in the top 10 list this year is Signature, a product of United Spirits.

The brand initially launched into the super-premium segment of the Indian whisky market in 1994, but was lowered to the premium category in 2001. This didn’t stunt the brand’s popularity though, and in the last year has seen impressive double-digit gains that has taken it to the 2.5m case mark.

9. Director’s Special

2022: 3.0m

2021: 2.9m

% change: 3.4 %

Place last year: N/A

Another newcomer to the top 10, and another brand owned by United Spirits, Director’s Special takes the ninth spot on the list with its sales of 3 million cases.

The whisky is molasses based, and was previously the subject of a lawsuit that saw Indian liquor manufacturer Shaw Wallace & Company successfully go up against the Scotch Whisky Association to be able to legally sell the product as a whisky in the US.

8. Sterling Reserve

2022: 5.0m

2021: 3.6m

% change: 39.4%

Place last year: N/A

Last year, not even being awarded the title of Indian Whisky Brand Champion was enough to land Sterling Reserve a place in the top 10 biggest-sellers list. However, this year the brand’s sales have soared by 39.4% to reach 5 million cases, giving it a solid eighth position on the leaderboard.

7. Royal Challenge

2022: 7.2m

2021: 4.7m

% change: 52.5%

Place last year: 9

Considering the pandemic saw Royal Challenge’s sales drop by almost a quarter, it’s great to see this whisky brand return to glory with an impressive sales increase of 52.5% in 2022.

Now boasting 7.2 million annual case sales, this more than makes up for the brand’s Covid-19-induced setbacks, far surpassing its 2019 figures of 5.5m cases.

6. Blenders Pride

2022: 9.5m

2021: 8.0m

% change: 18.7%

Place last year: 7

Pernod Ricard-owned Blenders Pride has seen very impressive growth over the last year, adding 1.5 million case sales to its already impressive annual sales tally.

The whisky, made from a blend of Indian grain spirit and Scottish malt, has climbed 18.7% in the last year, making it the sixth best-selling whisky on our list.

5. 8PM

2022: 11.9m

2021: 11.4m

% change: 4.6%

Place last year: 6

Radico Khaitan’s flagship whisky has seen a respectable 4.6% increase in the last year, with a sales increase of half a million cases that has allowed it to creep its way up the table to take fifth position.

8PM has witnessed steady growth since taking the Brand Champion title in 2017.

4. Imperial Blue

2022: 24.0m

2021: 24.1m

% change: -0.6%

Place last year: 2

A small decrease of 0.6% has seen Imperial Blue drop two places in our top 10 list this year to find itself officially off the podium.

Despite returning to strength after a difficult pandemic year, momentum appears to have slowed for the Allied Blenders & Distillers-owned whisky, recording case sales of 24 million in 2022.

3. Officer’s Choice

2022: 24.9m

2021: 23.2m

% change: 7.3%

Place last year: 3

With its stablemate’s dip of 0.6%, Allied Blenders & Distillers-owned Officer’s Choice has retained its third-place spot on the table, despite being overtaken by Royal Stag.

Although the brand saw impressive 7.3% growth over the 12 months of 2022, its pre-Covid figures, which saw case sales exceed the 30-million-mark for three years, are yet to return.

2. Royal Stag

2022: 27.1m

2021: 22.4m

% change: 21.2%

Place last year: 4

With a sales increase of more than a fifth to 27.1 million cases, Pernod Ricard’s Royal Stag has not only taken the number two spot on the list from Imperial Blue, it has also been named this year’s Indian Whisky Brand Champion.

The brand is gaining ground on category giant McDowell’s and has also overtaken Officer’s Choice to become the second-biggest-selling Indian whisky. It is Pernod Ricard’s largest-selling brand globally, according to Kartik Mohindra, chief marketing officer for Pernod Ricard India.

1. McDowell’s No.1 Whisky

2022: 30.8m

2021: 30.1m

% change: 2.3%

Place last year: 1

United Spirits-owned McDowell’s has taken the top spot for the forth year in a row after seeing its sales increase by 2.3% to take it to the 30.8-million-mark in the last 12 months.

Last year, United Spirits announced it would be offloading much of its portfolio via a mass sale of 32 of its brands to Inbrew Beverages, a move which aligns well with the Diageo subsidiary’s plans to focus on its more premium line. However, McDowell’s was a brand the firm chose to keep, and the way this brand has dug its heels into the top seller spot, it’s no surprise to see why.