Paul John Whiskey bets on Indians upgrading to single malts as it doubles production
Boasting a portfolio of 20 products under its brand, Paul John Whiskey has ramped up the production capacity of its Goa distillery to 10,000 litres, with a focus on deeply penetrating its core markets.
Bengaluru-based alcobev brand Paul John Whiskey, which offers a range of single malt whiskeys, is now in expansion mode.
The second phase of the malt plant in Goa was launched on November 6, 2024, and inaugurated by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. With the expansion, the brand, which primarily sells Indian single malt whiskey, has doubled its production from 5,000 litres a day to 10,000 litres.
The expansion came at an investment of Rs 500 crore. However, it has been a long and winding road for the 12-year-old brand under John Distilleries.
“It took us a long time to figure out where we were, especially since we were not clear whether single malt would work in India. In fact, in the initial stages, we had to stop for a few months because we were not sure and didn’t just want to build up inventory,” John Distilleries Chairman Paul John tells YS Life.
Paul has been involved in the whiskey business since the early 1990s. Starting with the launch of Original Choice, a more affordable liquor, in 1996, John Distilleries has since expanded its portfolio considerably.
Today, it boasts of 20 different brands under its banner. John Nirvana, an entry-level unpeated single malt, is the highest-selling single malt in India in terms of volume. It also produces award-winning single malt whiskeys, including Mithuna by Paul and Paul John Single Cask 161 Whiskey.
In addition to its whiskey offerings, John Distilleries has diversified into the wine business with Big Banyan Wines and expanded into the gin market with Malhar Gin in 2022. It also introduced Paul John XO, a premium grape brandy, broadening its footprint in the spirits category.
Paul John Single Malt Whiskies
For the whiskey brand, its core markets remain Karnataka, Goa, Haryana, and 44 international markets like the US, the UK, and Australia. Bolstered with increased manufacturing capacity, the brand now has an opportunity to expand its footprint across India.
“Expansion is now going to be very rapid as we’ve covered key markets, both internationally and domestically. Now, we need to penetrate properly and establish ourselves even harder in the existing markets. We may be reasonably slow in getting into newer markets,” John explains.
But in India, where it is not illegal for established brands to muscle out new and premium alcobev brands, it becomes a challenge for a brand like Paul John Whiskey to get into bar menus and liquor stores.
“For a brand that has been just launched, it’s very difficult to make the entry into a retail outlet,” he says, adding that the market has always been competitive. But Paul remains steadfast as ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. It competes with other Indian single malt brands like Amrut, Indri, Godawan, Rampur, and Crazy Cock.
The key lies in educating the Indian consumer on how to consume single malt whiskey, which needs to be savoured in little sips while neat or with very little water and not with ice or soda. “This (educating the Indian consumer) will take a long time, and if we can achieve that, I think we will be able to crack the Indian model,” he had earlier told YS Life.
Paul John Whiskey has a malt plant in Goa, with an increased production capacity of 3 million litres a year
Expanding in the Indian market wouldn’t have been possible without investor confidence, says John. In 2019, US-based Sazerac, which produces the Buffalo Trace Bourbon, acquired a 23% stake in John Distilleries. This made John Distilleries more ambitious.
“We had a lot of change in the way we operate. It helped to position ourselves to either be able to go for a public issue or get another strategic investor,” he says.
“The expansion of Paul John’s Goa facility marks a significant milestone not only for the brand but for the global whisky industry as a whole. As partners, we are excited to witness the continued success of Paul John Single Malt as it scales its operations and reaches new markets,” Jake Wenz, CEO, Sazerac said in a statement.
One of Paul John Whiskey’s strategies to get ahead of the crowd is to build customer loyalty. Every year, it launches a special Christmas-edition single malt whiskey, producing only 7,000-8,000 bottles. Each year, they are aged in a different cask, and this year, it was aged in Caribbean Rum and American Virgin Oak Cask.
While Paul John Whiskey’s consumers have an acquired taste of single malts, John wants more consumers to know how to consume the liquor correctly. The brand already offers experiential tastings and education on the whiskey through the ‘Liquid on Your Lip’ programme, but the entrepreneur notes that many consumers in India now want to upgrade to premium whiskeys.
“There is a big opportunity for us to get people drinking premium whiskeys, blended scotch whiskeys and single malt whiskeys,” he notes.
Paul John Whiskey has set its sights on significant growth in the coming years. According to John, within the next four years, the capacity of the Goa distillery would need to be more than doubled to produce 22,000 litres a day.
Edited by Megha Reddy