US bourbon bets big on India's growing market

Bourbon, the uniquely US take on whiskey, is facing its most serious inventory crisis in decades. The industry is increasingly looking to India to boost sales. India is the biggest whiskey-drinking nation in the world. Roughly 230 million cases are consumed here annually, accounting for nearly half of global whiskey sales, according to the International Wine and Spirits Research, the global authority on beverage alcohol data. But US-made bourbon brands, such as Maker's Mark, have long remained a niche product in India, where whiskey drinkers have traditionally preferred Scotch and domestic brands. In 2024, India imported just $8.8 million (€8.1 million) worth of US-produced whiskey, a relative drop in the barrel for India. But that could finally be changing. For years, a 150% import tariff meant bourbon was prohibitively expensive in India, limiting both availability and consumer reach. Recent US-India trade talks reduced that duty to 100%, significantly improving the economics of selling US whiskey in the world's largest whiskey market. An industry under pressure For distillers from Kentucky, the US state that lays claim to being the home of bourbon, the timing couldn't be better. After years of aggressive expansion, the industry is under growing pressure. According to the Kentucky Distillers' Association, warehouses across the state now hold a record 16.1 million barrels of ageing bourbon, more than three times the inventory seen during a whiskey glut of 1985. The assessed value of those barrels reached $10 billion (€9.2 billion) in 2025, carrying a tax burden of roughly $75 million. Demand, meanwhile, has dropped sharply. Bourbon sales in the US fell nearly 8% last year, particularly among younger consumers who are increasingly shifting toward tequila, hard seltzers and non-alcoholic alternatives. Inflation, changing drinking habits, cannabis use and even the rise of weight loss drugs have all hit consumption. 'Sober bars' on the rise as US alcohol consumption falls To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Kentucky, which produces about 95% of the world's bourbon, is now sitting on roughly a decade's supply. "We spent years making whiskey for drinkers who never showed up" was one veteran distiller's summary of the crisis. Against that backdrop, India's whiskey drinkers are suddenly far more relevant than they once were. "From Kentucky, India looks like one of the few serious growth markets left," a bourbon industry representative told DW. "If the pricing works and the story resonates, this could become much bigger than a small export play." India's premium shift India presents almost the opposite picture of the US market: young, expanding and increasingly focused on premium spirits. Beverage alcohol sales in India rose by 7% in the first half of 2025, according to data from the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), with urban consumers steadily trading up to imported and premium brands. Industry executives say younger drinkers in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru are increasingly experimenting beyond traditional blends, gravitating toward Japanese whisky, craft gin, tequila and premium Indian single malts. Bourbon makers are now positioning to capitalize on that evolving landscape, where consumers are more willing to experiment with unfamiliar styles. For bourbon makers, the opportunity is not about capturing India's mass whiskey market overnight. It is about establishing credibility within the country's fast-growing premium sector. Why Japanese whisky is in high demand To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Cultural challenge That challenge, however, is cultural as much as it is commercial. India's whiskey market remains dominated by local blends and Scotch-style whiskey. Brands such as Officer's Choice and Imperial Blue remain mass market giants, while Scotch still occupies the aspirational end of the market. Bourbon, with its sweeter, corn-heavy profile and strong vanilla oak notes, remains unfamiliar to many Indian drinkers raised on lighter, grain-forward profiles. "The tariff cut helps, but price is not the main issue," Vinod Giri, director general of the Brewers Association of India, told DW. "Jim Beam is already bottled in India and often sells cheaper than imported bourbon, and even below some Indian bottled Scotch. The real drivers are marketing, visibility and execution." For bourbon to succeed, Giri argued, it cannot present itself as simply another version of Scotch. Giri emphasized that what works for bourbons, as well as for other US spirits such as Tennessee Whiskey, is urban Indians' growing exposure to US lifestyles through TV and films, as well as a closer connection with the Indian diaspora in the US. US brands such as Jack Daniel's are familiar to urban Indians Imag