WATER OF LIFE
AMRUT DISTILLERIES KAMBIPURA, NEAR BENGALURU
Amrut, a company that now produces one of the world’s best single malts, was launched in 1948. The brand now has fan clubs all over the world and has introduced Indian liquor to bars in faraway countries. Mistaken for fine Scottish whisky when they first launched their single malt in Glasgow in 2004, Vikram Nikam, 41, executive director says, “In 2002, when our executive director, Rakshit Jagdale, 40, was pursuing his MBA in Newcastle University, England, our MD, N.R. Jagdale sent him a few bottles of our malt for his dissertation. Rakshit persuaded a bar owner to test the whisky and pour samples to his guests. Asked to name the whisky, they kept naming leading Scottish brands. When they were told the whisky was Indian, they were shocked but also deeply appreciative.”
Right from the start, Amrut has been a family business, innovating courageously and keeping a keen eye on the well-travelled whisky connoisseur. According to Rakshit, “The barley is sourced from select farms on the foothills of the Himalayas. The barrels come from numerous places around the world; our teams visit cooperages and pick the best of the lot to come up with our unique expressions. The water comes from our farm behind the distillery, a source that is free of all contamination.”
The distillery on the outskirts of Bengaluru conforms to whisky-making norms worldwide. “That said, the temperature and humidity of Bengaluru makes for a very complex whisky unlike our global counterparts. While our losses to the atmosphere (the angel’s share) are very high (10 per cent per annum as versus 2 per cent in Scotland) and our humidity is lower, the character the whisky picks up is fascinating,” explains Jagdale. The brand sells approximately 60,000 cases of single malts and 30,000 cases of vatted malt whisky annually. It currently exports to 55 countries, spread across the globe.
The company also manufactures other spirits, so while whisky production needs grains, brandy calls for fruits (primarily grapes) and rum needs sugarcane (molasses). “To deliver a great product, you need great agri inputs and we rely largely on local produce. This way we do our bit for the region’s economy too,” says Jagdale.
The brand uses a local grape variant called the Bangalore Blue Grape from vineyards in and around the city for their brandy.
While these grapes were a common sight and covered nearly 10,000 hectares of land once upon a time, they are now slowly making way for the city’s growing real estate demands. Procuring them locally, hence, ensures both, local flavour and keeping the trade alive.
Sugarcane for its rum range is procured from growers in the neighbouring districts of Bengaluru on a farmer-friendly cash-and-carry basis that ensures the farmers are not in financial duress. Jaggery is also sourced directly from farmers, cottage industries and NGOs in the region. The distillery has for a while been trying to revive this traditional form of cane sugar. Often produced on small farms, their inability to supply to the large sugar mills leaves them stranded. Which is where Amrut comes in, procuring the crop at a fair price.
“To deliver a great product, you need great inputs and we rely largely on local produce. That way we do our bit for the region’s economy too” Rakshit Jagdale, Executive Director