History
Founder JN Radhakrishna Rao Jagdale established a company called Amrut Laboratories in Bangalore, Karnataka in 1947, with an initial investment of a few hundred thousand rupees.[10] Amrut is a Sanskrit word which can be translated as "nectar of the gods",[4][11] "nectar of life",[12] or "drink of the gods".[13] The company translates it as "Elixir of Life".[14] Following the liberalization of alcohol licensing laws, distillery licenses were easier to obtain. Jagdale took the opportunity to enter the liquor market by founding Amrut Distilleries Ltd in 1948.[15] Today, Amrut Distilleries Ltd operates as a subsidiary of the N.R. Jagdale Group,[16] an Indian industrial group, based in the city of Bangalore.[1] The first plant was a liquor blending and bottling unit, specializing in Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).[1][17] The current main distillery was built in 1987.[18] It is located on a 4 acre site[6] in Kambipura on Mysore Road,[19] roughly 20 kilometres from Bangalore.[6][20][21]
Amrut Distilleries launched its first brand called Silver Cup brandy in Karnataka in 1949. The company began supplying liquor to the Canteen Stores Department in 1962 and continues to supply some of its domestic brands to the military.[4] Radhakrishna Jagdale's son, Neelakanta Rao Jagdale, joined the family business in 1972. The higher standard of living that was becoming more prevalent in the country led to a higher demand for good quality liquor.[15] Radhakrishna died in 1976, and his son assumed the role of chairman and managing director of the company.[10] The company faced difficulties until the 1990s, as good equipment was not available locally. According to Neelakanta Jagdale, "The alcoholic beverages industry was not a priority in the country. Although we received help to a certain extent from the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), we had to find our own ways to learn about improved distilling methods".[15]
In 1982, Jagdale had decided to create a premium whisky from barley[6] blended with malt, while most distillers in India were manufacturing whisky using molasses. Amrut Distilleries began using locally grown barley, in addition to molasses,[20] and launched Prestige Blended Malt Whisky in the Canteen Stores Department in 1986.[4] The first batch of single malt whisky was ready within 18 months. Because India had no culture of consuming single malt at the time, the company did not consider bottling it as a single malt. Instead, the whisky was blended with alcohol distilled from sugarcane to produce MaQintosh Premium Whisky.[18] Initially, Amrut aged malt whisky for around a year before blending it. However, due to changing customer preferences, less malt whisky was being added into blended variants.[4] The company discovered that hot weather makes whisky mature faster in India than it does in Europe or the United States. The fraction lost to evaporation during ageing, known as the angels' share
In 2001, Neelakanta Rao Jagdale asked his son Rakshit Jagdale, who was pursuing an MBA course in Newcastle, England at the time, to investigate the potential of exporting their products to that country.[6] Consultants Tatlock and Thomson Ltd of Scotland[20] were hired to help hone the company's processes at their Bangalore distillery.[6] Amrut Distilleries conducted blind tests of their single malt whisky in Scotland, where most consumers said they liked the drink and compared it to Speyside single malts.[4][22][5]
The whisky, under the brand name Amrut Single Malt Whisky, debuted in Europe on 24 August 2004.[23][22][4][24] The company faced difficulties convincing European distributors and consumers to try the product, as most believed that a good single malt could not be produced in India. According to head of international operations Ashok Chokalingam, the initial strategy of offering the product in restaurants was dropped, as "the resources needed are too high, both financial and human". They switched their focus to retailers and bars.[6] Following the UK launch, the brand spread across Western Europe and the Scandinavian countries within two years.[2]
On 4 February 2010, Amrut Distilleries held a tasting session in Bangalore to launch their single malt whisky. The brand began retailing in Bangalore the same month.[20] Domestically, it continued to be available only in Karnataka[2] until November 2013 when it was launched in Mumbai.[25] The company went with a Scottish launch for marketing reasons. According to Neelakanta Jagdale, "From a marketing perspective, we thought if our product had to pass the test, why not do so in the toughest location. Scotland is the home of Scotch. If they acknowledge our single malt, then that's good enough for me".[15] The company also feels that "the high entry costs and complex excise laws in different states are a deterrent to further expansion in India".[4][18] The brand was launched in North America in April 2010. Purple Valley Imports is its distributor in the United States.[2]
