On warm evenings in Delhi, bartenders are swapping vodka and gin for jamun (java plum), kaccha aam (raw mango) and chilli mango, signalling India's palate is expanding beyond plain white spirits.
This shift is beginning to reshape how alcohol producers such as Diageo Plc, Allied Blenders and Distillers Ltd, Radico Khaitan Ltd and NV Group approach their white spirits portfolios, as the country now stands as the fourth-largest flavoured spirits market globally by value, according to industry estimates.
Driven by younger consumers, at-home drinking and cocktail culture, India is catching on to a global trend in which flavoured spirits account for a significant share of consumption, but with a twist: it is instead drawing from local kitchens, street snacks and seasonal fruits rather than traditional profiles such as citrus or berry.
Kunal Madan, chief marketing officer of Radico Khaitan, which makes Magic Moments vodka, told Mint that its flavoured spirits portfolio is driving 60% of vodka volume growth. Magic Moments also reported around 18% volume growth in the third quarter and sales of ₹1,050 crore for the nine months ended 31 December, driven by flavour-led innovations.
In September 2025, it launched Magic Moments vodka in the ‘Jamun SpicyMint’ flavour. The bottle is priced at about ₹700 for 750ml in select markets, not significantly higher than its existing variants. These spirits do not command a premium, but are a strong draw for younger consumers, Madan added.
For United Spirits Ltd (USL), the Indian arm of Diageo, momentum driven by its Minty Jamun innovation has propelled India into the top five markets for the Smirnoff vodka brand, its spokesperson told Mint. The variant has emerged as a key growth driver for the brand’s white spirits portfolio in the country.
In 2025, the company expanded flavour innovation through McDowell’s X Series, with variants such as Orange, Green Apple and Cranberry, crafted with natural flavours to appeal to younger consumers.
The steady addition of younger consumers into the legal drinking age bracket each year is also shaping business strategy. Data from London-based drinks consultancy IWSR shows India’s beverage alcohol market continues to expand, supported by 15-20 million new legal drinking-age consumers annually.
While spirits, beer, and wine are all expected to grow at a mid-single-digit pace over the next decade, much of the recent momentum is driven by shifts in drinking habits rather than by what people drink.
Saunf, saffron and more
Easier, more approachable formats and flavours are drawing younger Indians. At the same time, the rise of at-home consumption and cocktail-style drinking is pushing brands to innovate faster within spirits, particularly flavoured vodka and gin.
“When we started doing flavours, nobody was thinking about local flavours. Everybody was doing orange, lime, lemon, and raspberry. We saw the gap, Indian flavours, everything from saffron from Rajasthan to saunf (aniseed) were missing. So we built around that," said Varun Jain, who leads NV Group’s spirits business under the Smoke Lab umbrella, which sells vodka in aniseed, saffron and green chilli mango variants.
Jain said the company actively studies regional consumption patterns before launching new variants. “Even now, we circle back to demand. If the market wants it, we take it forward," he added.
That gap, he said, is now turning into traction. Flavoured vodka and, increasingly, flavoured gin and newer craft spirits are drawing younger legal-drinking-age consumers and women entering the market. The result is not just higher demand, but a fragmentation of the category itself.
Indian flavours are beginning to even outperform imported profiles. Industry estimates and IWSR data suggest that flavoured variants are growing at a significantly faster clip than plain spirits, with executives estimating premium growth of 30-50% in many geographies. Indian-origin flavoured spirits recorded a 24% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in volumes and a 30% CAGR in value between 2019 and 2024, compared with 5% and 7%, respectively, for non-Indian variants.
“The rise of flavoured spirits isn’t unique to India, but India stands out for both size and speed of growth. In 2024, India was the fourth-largest flavoured spirits market globally by value, showing that flavour-led innovation is landing with consumers,” said an IWSR spokesperson.
“Indian flavours, not just flavoured spirits, the category within the category itself is growing pretty fast. Flavoured vodka has taken away almost 40-43% of the entire vodka market. It is now a tipping point,” said Bikram Basu, managing director of ABD Maestro, the premium spirits division of Allied Blenders and Distillers.
He added that flavoured vodka is increasingly functioning less like a base spirit and more like a ready mixing platform. “It is almost like bringing cocktail culture home,” he said. “Instead of cola or heavy mixers, people are using soda, ice, or just having it as is.”
Changing tastes
This experimentation is accelerating across the industry, as localization emerges as the key differentiator, driven by an underlying demographic shift. “Younger adults prefer sweeter, more accessible taste profiles. Women coming into the category is also a major factor," Basu said.
Earlier, entry-level drinking was often defined by neutral spirits mixed with cola or soda. That behaviour is now being replaced by pre-flavoured options that require minimal mixing, effectively shifting cocktail culture into the home.
Flavoured spirits tend to perform differently across regions, with states such as Uttar Pradesh and parts of northern and southern India showing stronger adoption, resulting in a patchwork market.
Even within categories, the hierarchy is changing. Vodka remains the dominant base for flavour innovation, with gin emerging as a fast follower, especially in premium segments, while whisky remains largely resistant.
The rapid expansion of flavours has also led to a crowded launch pipeline. Not all survive beyond initial trials, and some brands are beginning to focus on fewer, stronger variants after early over-expansion.
Yet the direction of travel is clear: flavour is no longer an add-on category. It is becoming a core growth engine.
For companies such as NV Group, the bet is long-term. Smoke Lab, Jain said, is still in a building phase rather than a fully mature brand. “Out of 100 people, maybe 25 are actually drinking it today. But awareness is growing. We are still building the category," he added.