India: India's new definition of single-malt, single-grain whisky to come into effect on March 1, 2024

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has said that its definition of single-malt and single-grain whisky would come into effect from March 1, 2024. FSSAI has defined single-malt whisky as "a distillate obtained from fermented mash that uses malted barley without adding any other grain, which is distilled in pot still and produced in a single distillery", CNBCTV18.com reported on August 24.

Single-grain whisky will not include single-malt whisky and blended malt whisky or blended grain whisky.

Under this new directive, the classification of single-grain whisky will not encompass single-malt whisky, blended malt whisky, or blended grain whisky. The specification for single-malt whisky is derived as "a distillate derived from a fermented mash that exclusively employs malted barley, with no addition of other grains. This distillate is subject to pot still distillation only and originates from a solitary distillery," FSSAI said.

Meanwhile, single-grain whisky is designated as a "distillate obtained from a fermented mash that employs malted or unmalted grain and is created within a singular distillery."

Recently, the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) had urged the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority to devise a more precise, India-centric delineation of the definition of single malt whisky. FSSAI's definition was intended to serve as a benchmark for production of single malts in India, considering the climate, which sets the country apart from other whisky-producing nations.

Currently, there are eight to nine distilleries that have established labels for single-malt whisky. There are recognised brands like Paul John, Amrut, Solan Gold, and Rampur. The market will see fierce competition with the likes of brands like Diageo and several other distilleries, gearing up to introduce their own single malts.

However, since there was no clear definition of single-malt whisky, the FSSAI has now defined it categorically, which will come into effect on March 1, 2024.

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