Bottoms up! India outdrinks key global markets in growth, whisky leads the way

India has posted the highest growth in total beverage alcohol (TBA) consumption among 20 key global markets for the third consecutive half-year period, The Times of India (TOI) reported, citing data from global alcohol research firm IWSR.

According to the IWSR’s latest half-year data shared exclusively with TOI, TBA volume in India rose 7% year-on-year during the January–June 2025 period, crossing 440 million 9-litre cases. A 9-litre case, IWSR’s standard measure, equals 12 standard 750 ml bottles.

Within spirits, Indian whisky continued to dominate the market, registering a 7% rise to over 130 million 9-litre cases. Vodka grew 10%, rum 2%, and gin and genever 3% over the same period.

“Indian whisky remains the dominant growth engine for the spirits category in India, driven by improving quality, an expanding consumer base, and favourable economic conditions. Spirits at the higher end of the standard price band and above are outperforming value spirits, reflecting the quality uplift across domestic distillers,” said Sarah Campbell, IWSR’s Head of Research – Asia-Pacific, as quoted by TOI.

India’s ranking is based on percentage growth in TBA volume among all 20 global markets tracked by IWSR, which include China, the US, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Germany, Japan, the UK, Spain, South Africa, Italy, France, Poland, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Colombia, and the Netherlands.

IWSR’s long-term forecast places India on course to become the fifth-largest alcohol market globally by volume, expected to overtake Japan by 2027 and Germany by 2033. The four markets projected to remain ahead are China, the US, Brazil, and Mexico.

Premium and above alcohol categories in India also outpaced the overall growth, rising 8% by both volume and value in the first half of 2025. Among key segments, ready-to-drink beverages grew 11%, followed by beer at 7%, spirits at 6%, while wine remained flat.

The IWSR data also highlighted sharper gains in niche categories — Irish whiskey rose 23%, agave-based spirits climbed 19%, while US whiskey declined 10%.

“India is increasingly one of the most important global markets for the beverage alcohol industry,” Campbell told TOI, attributing the rise to “consistent demand growth across categories and steady premiumisation trends.”

The report added that Scotch malts lost some ground to Indian single malts, blended Scotch remained steady, brandy saw more flavoured variants and consolidation in southern states, and flavoured vodka continued its upward trend.

(With inputs from TOI)