Which whisky is the most popular in India’s bars?
PR agency The Outlier and 30 Best Bars India have released the 2025 edition of the What India Is Drinking report, revealing which brands sell best in the on-trade.
The report, now in its third year, captures the top 10 brands in 21 alcoholic and non-alcoholic categories, including vodka, gin, rum, agave and more.
The 2025 edition is based on insights from 125 bars across 17 cities, with more than 550 brands mentioned in total. The selected bars were taken from the 30 Best Bars India long list.
Many of the top positions in the category were maintained from last year, such as Johnnie Walker for blended Scotch, Glenfiddich for single malt Scotch, and Jameson for international whisky.
Johnnie Walker was followed by Chivas Regal and Monkey Shoulder, while the second and third places for single malt Scotch went to The Glenlivet and Glenmorangie.
The international whisky top 10 was dominated by American brands, including Jack Daniel’s (2nd), Jim Beam (3rd), Maker’s Mark (6th), Woodford Reserve (8th), Wild Turkey (9th) and Buffalo Trace (10th).
The report also included a section for international single malt, in which Japanese brand Yamazaki took the lead. This was followed by Irish whiskey Bushmills and another Japanese brand, Hakushu, in third.
The most significant change was in the agave category, with Don Julio replacing Patrón in the top spot. The two brands were followed by 1800, Jose Cuervo and Camino. Maya Pistola, an India-made agave spirit, came in sixth place.
Grey Goose and Absolut retained the top of the leaderboard for vodka, while Belvedere jumped up one spot to third, beating Ketel One.
It was a similar story for gin, with Bombay Sapphire and Tanqueray holding strong, while Hendrick’s overtook Roku for third place.
Bacardí and Old Monk topped the rum list, while Hennessy, Martell and Rémy Martin led the brandy section.
The top three of the liqueurs and other spirits section remained the same as in 2024, with Jägermeister, Baileys and Kahlúa at the top. It was the same story of amaro and aperitifs, led by Campari, Aperol and Amaro Montenegro.
Indian spirits
New for this year was the Indian premium whisky category, which was led by Oaksmith. Blenders Pride came in second place, followed by Otherside.
The top two Indian single malts were the same as 2024 – Indri and Paul John – however, Godawan pipped Amrut to third place.
The report showed a strong performance elsewhere from Indian spirits, with the nation’s Camikara rum debuting on the list in joint third position. Camikara was named Rum Brand of the Year at The Spirits Business Awards last month.
Other Indian spirits in the report include four gins: Hapusa, Greater Than, Stranger & Sons, and debut entry Jaisalmer.
A total of 69 homegrown brands featured across the top 10s, an increase from last year.
Radhakrishnan Nair, co-founder of 30BestBarsIndia, said: “2025 shows a settling of long-term consumer behaviour alongside pockets of sharp change. Categories like gin, Scotch, aperitifs and agave continue to be led by global giants, but the pace at which Indian brands are consolidating their presence is significant.
“The city-level variations are sharper this year; what sells in a Bengaluru cocktail bar looks different from what leads in Jaipur or Kolkata. What India Is Drinking 2025 captures these shifts clearly and offers a realistic view of what customers are choosing at the bar.”
Cocktails
The report also looked at cocktail preferences, with the Picante being named the most popular serve nationwide.
It beat the Margarita in the agave cocktail list. The cocktail usually tops most-popular lists across the world, particularly in the US.
The Negroni was the most popular gin cocktail, followed by the gin and tonic.
Meanwhile, the Espresso Martini overtook the Cosmopolitan to become the most popular vodka cocktail. The Cosmopolitan slipped to fifth place, with the Martini, Bloody Mary and Moscow Mule all rising above.
The Daiquiri took the top spot from the Mojito in the rum category, while the Old Fashioned overtook the Whisky Sour.
Vikram Achanta, co-founder of 30BestBarsIndia, added: “We’re seeing that brands that are most consistent in terms of their advocacy initiatives with the on-trade, as well as community-building initiatives such as bartending competitions, are seeing that pay off in the trade via bartender loyalty when it comes to cocktail creation as well as recommendations to a guest.
“With an expected influx of both international brands due to free trade agreements that have been drawn up or are under negotiation, as well as more and more Indian brands joining the mix, such advocacy-based initiatives will go a long way to building entry barriers for savvy brands.”
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