Amrut Distillery

Whisky Production

Amrut Single Malt Whisky is a product of 20 years of research by AMRUT DISTELLERIES LTD. (ADL), in an effort to produce high quality malt whisky is tune with world standards.

The whisky is made from select Indian malted barley grown in Punjab and Rajasthan, the northwest frontier states of India. In Punjab, the waters from the great Himalayas flow through the river Sutlej and irrigated the land under the Bhakra Nangal Dam scheme. The cold winters and fiery summers create a unique quality of grain, rich in flavour. Malting takes place at maltsters in Jaipur and Delhi according to the standards laid down by ADL.

The malted barley is then transported to the south of India to our production unit in Bangalore where it is carefully mashed and distilled in small batches to preserve the natural aromas. The whisky then undergoes maturation in imported oak barrels for over three years in a unique tropical condition at a ware house on the distillery premises in Bangalore, the Garden City of India, which is at an altitude of 3000 ft. above the sea level enjoying a salubrious climate all year around. This unique natural geographical location allows intense maturation by losing considerable amount of whisky as the "Angle's share"

To maintain the natural character of the product, the whisky is not chill filtered. Therefore, there may be mild cloudiness on dilution, which is natural for all classic malts.

The whisky is best enjoyed both as an aperitif as digestive.

History

The history of Amrut Distilleries is as old as the history of independent India itself. Indeed, just as India itself, after six decades of notable progress, is now noted as among the global economic leaders, so too has Amrut Distilleries grown both in stature and in size. Among the earliest to enter the then arcane field of liquor making, Amrut Distilleries Limited began in 1948 under the name and style of Amrut Laboratories, with an initial investment of barely a few lakhs.

The founder was the late Shri J.N. Radhakrishna, J.N.R as he is fondly called to this day. Much of this fascinating story was made possible by the resolve of successive generations of the Jagdale family to embrace value and to discount form for substance. Under the leadership of the founder, Amrut Distilleries made rapid strides to entrench itself as a significant, for many the preferred, supplier of Indian Made Liquor (IML) in the Defence Market.

In its state of origin, Karnataka, too, Amrut Distilleries grew to be one of the dominant suppliers, especially in the old Mysore area. After the untimely demise of J.N. Radhakrishna Rao Jagdale in 1976, the mantle devolved on his son, Shri Neelakanta Rao, the present Chairman and Managing Director.

Building on the solid foundations laid by his later father, his stewardship has seen Amrut Distilleries blossom into a multi-national brand respected as much for the superlative quality of its products as his campaign for transparent practices by the IML industry. His penchant for innovation and technology-upgrade has been the ideal foil for the time-tested traditions enshrined by the founder. From its beginning as single bottling unit catering primarily to the Canteen Stores of the Ministry of Defence and to local customers in and around Bangalore, Amrut Distilleries has now grown into a trans-national player with

• A re-distillation plant to produce superior extra neutral alcohol for captive consumption.

• Two bottling units 1 each in Karnataka and the neighboring state of Kerala.

• Local bottling arrangements with know-how provided by Amrut Distilleries in five other states of India.

• A portfolio of dozens of products including several that are appreciated by the connoisseurs across the world.

• An established market spanning the length and width of the country,and

• A nascent but burgeoning market across the European Union.

Growth in the product portfolio and in its market size has brought concomitant growth in the financials too. With a paid-up share capital of Rs. 20 million, the company sports a financially healthy look with accumulated reserves exceeding Rs. 250 millions. Turnover has grown astronomically from a mere few lakhs to Rs. 1500 millions a year today. To manage and deliver on its present status as noteworthy national player, the company has also taken on board external talent in substantial numbers and boasts today of a more than thousand-strong workforce of professionals and skilled staff at its various units.

The Amrut Journey

The story of Amrut single malt is as enticing as the whisky itself. Usually success comes with a price tag; rough journey, hard work, enthusiasm and passion. Rick Jagdale, executive director of Amrut Distilleries Ltd, went to Britain for his MBA programme. It was in 2001 during his MBA dissertation at Newcastle University Business School, with inputs from his father Neel Jagdale; Managing Director of Amrut Distilleries Ltd, Rick Jagdale had decided to weave his marketing thesis with Amrut single malt whisky. Rick Jagdale has tested Amrut single malt whisky, the aboriginal 40% abv version, throughout the United Kingdom. The conclusion of the thesis was indeed encouraging for the Jagdale family.

Time passed by and in 2004 Jagdale family decided to launch the first ever single malt whisky from India into the Global market. The product was launched in
Glasgow, Scotland. It raised eyebrows of many in the industry and was termed as 'Coals to Newcastle' venture. The initial reaction was great. But the journey from then on for the next two years was not easy. The business had learned many lessons. On the ground the realities were different. However, Jagdale family never gave it up. The product packaging and the standard version of Amrut single malt was completely re-engineered. Simultaneously, new versions of Amrut single malt were released into the market.

Today Amrut single malt whiskies are available in all the major countries in Western Europe, Scandinavia, three provinces in Canada, United States and is further expanding. Until this point, Amrut single malt whisky was never sold in India. Jagdale family never intended to sell these products in India. However, Jim Murray; much heralded author of the whisky bible, gave a big thumps up for Amrut Fusion by rating it as the third finest whisky in the world. This coupled with Malt Maniacs award of 'Best Daily Dram Category Award' for the same brand, took the image of Amrut Distilleries to further heights. This along with Amrut's growing reputation in the global market, created lots of enthusiasm in the domestic market in India. Although, in the immediate future, it is not possible to quench the thirst of the single malt connoisseurs in India as a whole, Amrut single malt whisky was launched in Bangalore in Feb 2010, exactly after five years of its debut in the Global Markets. Without any reservation Amrut Distilleries put INDIA into the whisky map.

Amrut Distillery Tour from Inspired Spirits GRI on Vimeo.