​Beverage News from India & the World

​South Seas Distilleries and Breweries Private Limited, a legacy Alcobev company launched ‘Crazy Cock’ – their first retail whisky brand with 2 expressions the Double Oak and Dhua. An ode to the mythical rooster sporting a monocle, the name symbolizes a new era for home grown whiskies, celebrating the Indian subcontinent, and distilling its best flavors for whisky enthusiasts across the globe. 

South Seas Distilleries founded in 1984 by Mr Viraf Chinoy, is located in Dahanu on the northern coast of Maharashtra and has become synonymous with crafting exceptional luxury whiskies and spirits. The company's journey is a remarkable story of entrepreneurial vision across 4 generations of a Parsi family, enabled from pioneering distilleries set up since 1929, through the trials and tribulations of prohibition, to a rebirth in 1975, and the setting up of South Seas in 1984 - a fitting illustrious successor to extend one of the oldest distillery legacies in India. Known for setting up the countries biggest copper pot stills and maturation house, South Seas who has been producing the malt for others finally launches its own. 

Crazy Cock stands out as an exceptional single malt whisky crafted from 6-row Indian barley, carefully selected from the pristine plains of North India. The barley undergoes malting and distillation using the traditional method in copper pots. The whisky is matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, for a full-bodied, complex flavor. Specially smoked batches add a rich, peaty dimension reserved for Crazy Cock Dhua.

"In the dynamic landscape of global spirits, Indian whiskies are currently enjoying a spotlight. Our esteemed clientele includes some of the world's leading alcohol beverage giants, a testament to our longstanding partnerships. Shifting from corporate engagements to catering to individual connoisseurs of luxury, our distillery has been honing the art of distillation for over three generations. This initiative is a celebration of our enduring craftsmanship, as we joyfully continue our legacy by crafting a new array of exceptional whiskies under the banner of Crazy Cock.” Said Mr. H.V. Chinoy
​
​The MRP in Mumbai for the Double Oak expression is 8900/- and Dhua is 12500/- per 750 ml bottle.

WineGB is celebrating what they believe will be Great Britain’s largest-ever grape harvest. In the industry’s post-harvest report – ‘2023 Harvest Report – the big one’ - this 'miracle’ harvest is set to produce an estimated 20-22m bottle production.  Other key statistics:

• The harvest is 50% bigger than Britain’s previous record year in 2018.
• The top 25 per cent of vineyards recorded an average of 15.60 tonnes/-ha (6.31 tonnes/-acre).
• The top four grapes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier and Bacchus performed exceptionally well, with the average of all vineyards almost reaching 10 tonnes per hectare.
• Yields have risen as more vines have been planted. In the last five years alone, hectarage has grown by nearly 75% and hectarage in production today is over 1,000ha higher than in 2018.

Yield data was gathered from WineGB’s members (132 vineyard owners) and represents the most comprehensive early study available. Producers and growers of all sizes, and across the wine growing regions in England and Wales, took part. The report was authored by UK viticulture consultant Stephen Skelton MW.
​
 More Facts:

The highest yields were achieved in the drier and warmer regions, East Anglia, the South East, and Wessex (Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight). Investment in the last five years has led to a substantial increase in vine plantings.  Vineyard hectarage now in full production is some 3,230ha, compared to 2,138ha in 2018 – a growth of 151%.
 
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier and Bacchus, which account for more than 75% of the UK planted area (Wine Standards March 2023), performed exceptionally well, with the average of all vineyards almost reaching 10 tonnes per hectare, and the top quartile exceeding all estimates with an average across the four varieties reaching 15.9 tonnes/-ha (6.43 tonnes/-acre).
 
2023 will be remembered as a near perfect year, with very little spring frost (affecting only 6% of respondent vineyards compared to 29% in 2022), text-book flowering weather in June and despite the generally wet and often dull summer (July and August), some exceptionally warm spells in September and October. Picking started with the earlier ripening varieties on 2 September, with the major varieties in the larger regions (and where the crops were heaviest) getting underway at the beginning of October and continuing for the first three weeks of the month.
 
Vineyards reported heavy crop and bunch weights. Whilst ripeness levels were lower than average, as were acids, winemakers are optimistic about the quality of the fruit and resulting wine.
 
Stephen Skelton MW said:
“2023 will be a vintage to remember. The excellent yields are attributed to not only the near perfect weather for grapes at key times of the growing season, but also comes on the back of more hectares than ever before coming into production, having seen nearly 75% growth in plantings in the last five years alone.”
 
Nicola Bates, CEO WineGB said:
“There was a silver lining to our miserable summer, and that is a fantastic season for wine. UK consumers are drinking more and more home produce and at the same time exports are going up especially in the Nordics and Japan. We look forward to having more wine to present to our growing consumer base. So to be on trend ensure that you are serving English and Welsh wines for Christmas and New Year. There has never been a better time to buy British.”

(Excerpt from a release) 

Anggel's Share, a prominent importer specializing in exquisite wines and spirits launches Tequila Rose the revolutionary and globally top-selling strawberry cream liqueur in Mumbai. 
In 1996 Tequila Rose emerged as the first-of-its-kind drink to challenge convention by pairing cream with something other than Irish whiskey. Tequila Rose is an exciting alcohol liqueur that is a unique blend of strawberry-flavoured real dairy cream mixed with a splash of Mexican tequila. Strawberry cream provides sweetness, softness and roundness with a hint of Tequila that gives the spirit liqueur great body, depth and structure.
Price - Rs 4800 for 700ml (Mumbai)

  Indian alco-bev start-up, Incredible Spirits Private Limited (“ISPL”), has launched India’s first premium spirits-based Ready-to-Drink (RTD) shots, under the brand name SWIGGER. The premium crafted product, blended with natural and organic flavours, has been unveiled in two Gin and two Vodka variants, to begin with.

   The Gin-based RTD shots have been distilled with Elderflower & Berries and Pink Grapefruit & Lime while the Vodka-based offerings have been distilled with Mandarin and Lime, Lychee and Cinnamon. The flavourful SWIGGER shots have been introduced in 60 ml double shot glasses with a pull rip cap closure, ensuring a safe and unadulterated, convenient experience for consumers.

   Speaking on the launch, Mr Arun Raina, Co-founder, Incredible Spirits Private Limited, said, “We are excited to launch the country’s first spirits-based Ready-to-Drink premium shots brand.  The RTD shots category is a completely new segment in India and, therefore, presents an enormous opportunity.” Recently, leading Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) manufacturer Tilaknagar Industries, the country’s largest manufacturer of premium brandy, invested Rs 1 crore for a 19.50 per cent equity stake in Incredible Spirits Private Limited.

With the tagline ‘Inspire fun’, the premium RTD shots brand SWIGGER has been introduced in the beach capital of India, Goa, in the first phase of its launch. This will be followed by more markets across the country. This launch will be followed by the introduction of more premium shot variants with Cognac, Bourbon Whiskey, Dark Rum & Tequila. According to the IWSR May 2022 report, the RTD market in India is a 3 million cases category in 2021, and is expected to grow at more than 9 per cent annually over the next 5 years, reaching 4.5 million cases in 2026.
​(Excerpt from a release) 

India’s largest and most influential wine competition India Wine Awards 2023 presented by Sonal Holland Wine Academy in association with ProWine Mumbai announced 219 winning wines across  Best in Show, Gold and Silver categories at a glittering India Wine Awards Winners Night held on Friday, 24th November 2023 at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai
For its fifth edition, India Wine Awards hosted the country’s largest-ever blind-tasting competition of domestic and international wines available in India, receiving a record-breaking 460  nominations. Sake was inducted as a new category as well to expand the scope of the awards and acknowledge the increasing popularity of the beverage among Indian consumers. The nominated labels were judged by a panel of 20 jury members featuring experts from the country led by Sonal C Holland MW -Founder and Chairperson of India Wine Awards.
The India Wine Awards 2023 Winners’ Night brought together 600 eminent members including luminaries of the wine and spirits industry, hospitality leaders, global trade councils and winemakers from across the world. The guests came together to  celebrate the best in-market wines in India and to applaud the spirit of resilience and innovation that has helped the Indian wine industry grow at a steady and assured pace year after year. 
As part of the fifth edition of India Wine Awards - Personality awards, the night celebrated Rajeev Samant -Founder and CEO of Sula Vineyards for his contribution as a visionary excellence entrepreneur whose pioneering work has helped lay the very foundation of the wine industry in India awarding him with the Indian Wine Industry Leader and Champion Award which was felicitated by Sonal C Holland MW and Wolfram N. Diener, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. 
Speaking on the fifth successful edition of the awards, Sonal C Holland MW, Founder and Chairperson of India Wine Awards, said, “With every passing year, we are growing bigger, better and even bolder and that only reflects where the Indian wine industry firmly stands today. This year, we are raising a Toast To Excellence in recognition of the top quality of wines nominated in the competition and those available in the country, at large. This is testament to the phenomenal evolution of India as the most coveted, fast-emerging wine markets in the world. With the ongoing success of our wine market, the narrative of ‘Incredible India’ is surely changing on the world stage to ‘Credible India’ that poses itself as a robust and reliable markets, with India Wine Awards offering an unparalleled opportunity for winning brands to reinforce their image and positioning in the minds of the curious and enthusiastic Indian consumer.”
Each wine was judged on a 100-point score sheet in a blind tasting format by the esteemed panel of 20 jury members who were encouraged to put on their consumer hats to ensure that the winners reflected the taste and preferences of Indian customers.
79 wines won in the Gold category, securing more than 90 points, while 110 wines won in the Silver category, securing 85-89 points. The 30 Best in Show winners were the highest-scoring wines in the competition. This year, the Best in Show award had multiple categories, with five high-scoring wines nominated in each category. The wine with the highest score among these nominees was then named as Best In Show for the said category. The jury had a hard time selecting a single winner for some categories, leading to a two-way or a three-way tie.
Building on previous editions, , this year the India Wine Awards launched a new segment IndiaWineAwards’ 50 Best Places To Drink 2023 -   a digital list of the best restaurants and bars in the country that create excellent drinking experiences for consumers. The list was curated on the basis of public and jury members' votes. This annual list not only pays homage to India’s finest drinking spots but also recognises the hard work, professionalism and congeniality of all the employees who make these establishments memorable. 
Mumbai-based Americano emerged as a favourite ranking no.1, followed by The Bombay Canteen (Mumbai), Hideaway (Goa), Masque (Mumbai), Comorin (Gurugram), Slink & Bardot (Mumbai), Sidecar (New Delhi), Sula Tasting Room (Nashik), Copitas (Bengaluru) and Slow Tide (Goa) making the Top 10 Best Places to Drink across the country. 
​(Excerpt from a release)