The Indian liquor baron, who owns multiple award-winning John Distilleries, believes that as a country with a diverse wine profile, we need to develop a palate for finer notes when it comes to wine.
In an interview with IANS, John said that till now, the Indian liquor industry has largely been selling just rum to consumers, and calling brandy or whiskey different things.
“This has been happening for 200 years,” John said, calling for a change in consumption habits, while also pointing out how single-malt should not be diluted with water, as is common Indian practice.
He said, "I don't know whether you can blame the British or not because they started the system of Indian-made foreign liquor when they were making all this stuff like foreign liquor, but it was completely Indian-made. "
“My challenge is to transform the palette of Indian consumers from rum to single-malt.So then I don't need to promote the Paul John whiskey brand, I just need to develop a developed sense of taste in consumers towards the flavor notes and profile. If the consumer gets this right, then my work is done,” he told IANS.
“The Indian consumer should be served high quality liquor with a sense of taste, character of the liquid. Ideally, it should be drunk either without water or with very little water.
India is a big country producing jaggery in sufficient quantity.Different names are given to the liquor made from jaggery by adding colors to it.
“I think it's only in the last seven or eight years that the government has promoted a lot of grain-based distilleries, where we've started to brew from different types of grains,” John said.
Recently, Malhar Citrus Indian Craft Gin from John Distilleries Limited (JDL) was awarded the gold medal, while Malhar Classic Dry Indian Craft Gin won the bronze medal at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition in the US.
When asked what the biggest challenge is to his world-class wine, John pointed to the arduous logistics process in which a bottle can easily take 5-6 months to reach stores abroad before leaving the stock in India. Get involved.
John, who expects some logistical help from the authorities, said, “I would be happy if they could make it a lot easier.The shipping time for a product to reach a retail store in a particular country takes approximately three to six months."
He then gave the example of the Christmas edition, which has a limited number of bottles for the entire world.
“We start planning for the year as early as February or March. And then by April or May we have to send it out so that it reaches at least by October. I think this is an area where I would like to see some positive change," the whiskey pioneer told IANS.
In an interview with IANS, John said that till now, the Indian liquor industry has largely been selling just rum to consumers, and calling brandy or whiskey different things.
“This has been happening for 200 years,” John said, calling for a change in consumption habits, while also pointing out how single-malt should not be diluted with water, as is common Indian practice.
He said, "I don't know whether you can blame the British or not because they started the system of Indian-made foreign liquor when they were making all this stuff like foreign liquor, but it was completely Indian-made. "
“My challenge is to transform the palette of Indian consumers from rum to single-malt.So then I don't need to promote the Paul John whiskey brand, I just need to develop a developed sense of taste in consumers towards the flavor notes and profile. If the consumer gets this right, then my work is done,” he told IANS.
“The Indian consumer should be served high quality liquor with a sense of taste, character of the liquid. Ideally, it should be drunk either without water or with very little water.
India is a big country producing jaggery in sufficient quantity.Different names are given to the liquor made from jaggery by adding colors to it.
“I think it's only in the last seven or eight years that the government has promoted a lot of grain-based distilleries, where we've started to brew from different types of grains,” John said.
Recently, Malhar Citrus Indian Craft Gin from John Distilleries Limited (JDL) was awarded the gold medal, while Malhar Classic Dry Indian Craft Gin won the bronze medal at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition in the US.
When asked what the biggest challenge is to his world-class wine, John pointed to the arduous logistics process in which a bottle can easily take 5-6 months to reach stores abroad before leaving the stock in India. Get involved.
John, who expects some logistical help from the authorities, said, “I would be happy if they could make it a lot easier.The shipping time for a product to reach a retail store in a particular country takes approximately three to six months."
He then gave the example of the Christmas edition, which has a limited number of bottles for the entire world.
“We start planning for the year as early as February or March. And then by April or May we have to send it out so that it reaches at least by October. I think this is an area where I would like to see some positive change," the whiskey pioneer told IANS.
