​Beverage News from India & the World

William Grant & Sons, the 130 year-old family run Scottish distiller, today announced a deal with Modi Distilleries Limited to bottle and launch Grant’s Blended Scotch whisky in India.  
Under the terms of the deal, Grant’s Scotch Whisky will be shipped in bulk from Scotland to Modi’s distillery at Modinagar in Uttar Pradesh, where it will be bottled and packaged before being sold nationwide. The brand will initially be sold from September in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra, Telengana, Goa, Karnataka and Maharastra.  
According to IWSR global forecasts, India is expected to be one of the largest contributors to global whisky growth over the next 5 years. The Blended Scotch market in India is expected to grow to 5 million cases by 2021. Currently the scale of the market for Scotch brands bottled in India is ten times larger than those bottled in Scotland and imported.  
James Pennefather, Managing Director William Grant & Sons India Pvt Ltd, said “This marks an important next phase of William Grant & Sons’ India market entry strategy. Having already established a successful portfolio of imported premium spirits such as Glenfiddich, Monkey Shoulder and Hendricks Gin in India, we decided that this is the right time to enter local production in the market. It is the first time that William Grant & Sons has entered local production in India, so we are delighted to be partnering for this with an established local family business, Modi Distilleries.”  
Abhishek Modi, Executive Director Modi Distilleries Limited, said “This association with William Grant & Sons is a natural fit for our Company, since we have already established our quality credentials with brands such as Rockford Reserve and Artic Vodka. We look forward to working with William Grant & Sons to bring its leading international brand Grant’s Blended Scotch whisky to a new audience.”   

(excerpt from a press release)

Mumbai, India
Aspri Spirits, India’s leading distributor of premium wines and spirits, hosted a special evening to bring together Campari lovers to celebrate Negroni Week at the Italian restaurant CinCin, BKC. The week-long international charity event is being hosted in bars and restaurants across the world to raise money for charitable causes.

Guests started with a Classic Negroni which is the 2nd Best Selling Cocktail in the world moving on to the other offerings at the event. The guests included India’s favourite female bartender Shatbhi Basu, Bollywood Makeup Artist Clint Fernandes and Sandhya Shetty, Model, Actor & Commonwealth Karate Gold Medal Winner amongst many other known faces from the industry.

Joining the movement, Mr. Jackie Matai, Co-founder, Aspri Spirits said, “We started hosting Negroni Week in India since 2015 and have continued to progress. This year, we have 103 bars participating across the country and have also rank 2nd in Asia. With the modern cocktail movement continuing to expand, the annual event has grown larger every year, with Negroni Week 2018 set to be the biggest yet. Starting with 100 participating bars in 2013, last year’s Negroni Week welcomed the involvement of 7,770 venues in 60 countries to raise a phenomenal $1.5 million for charitable causes since the launch. This year India alone has over 103 bars hosting the charitable event.
 
RECIPE FOR CLASSIC NEGRONI
As a globally consumed classic cocktail, the prestigious IBA Official Drink List states Campari is the key defining ingredient.
 
Ingredients:

• 3 cl. Campari
• 3 cl. Gin
• 3 cl. Sweet Red Vermouth

 
Instructions:

• Pour the ingredients directly into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice
• Stir gently
• Garnish with half an orange slice

( Excerpt from a press release)