Raising a toast to Scotch whisky with Bill Lumsden

Bill Lumsden, master distiller at Glenmorangie, Scotland, throws up his hands and exclaims he hasn’t seen the Taj Mahal despite visiting India several times. In the country after six years, he was here to introduce the luxury whisky’s brand new version, the Glenmorangie 12-Year-Old that replaces the Glenmorangie 10-Year-Old. Many popular Scottish whisky brands such as Glenfiddich and Chivas Regal start their range with 12-year-old whiskies.

Trade tariffs may well be one of the biggest dampeners of 2025, but the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) signed in May this year, has brought cheer to a section of the industry—Scotch whisky. Under the new agreement, imported Scotch whisky will attract excise duty of 75% instead of the earlier 150%, eventually going down to 40% over the coming decade.

According to the Scotch Whisky Association, India remains the top Scotch whisky importer in the world with 192 million bottles imported in 2024 compared to 167 million in 2023. This trend has largely been driven by premiumization post-Covid where consumers are drinking better rather than drinking more.

“It’s also great for premiumisation because the right Indian brands such as Amrut and Paul John, which we also see on UK stores now, will help to expand the single malt market in the country. Plus, people will actually drink whisky because at the lower end of the price spectrum, from a technical perspective, people might still be having rum and not whisky because the spirit is made from molasses,” he says.

Some of the other important factors that are drawing global brands are the rising consumption of whisky amongst women and the trend of whisky cocktails. According to a Diageo India report released last year, women represent 40% of luxury alcohol consumption in India, up from 25% just a few years ago. Indian single malts are also making waves in the country and abroad with brands like Diageo’s Godawan series winning awards globally over the last couple of years.

In the world of whisky, he is known as the maverick scientist for bringing in new flavours through inventive cask finishes and relentless experimentation. With a PhD in biochemistry, he is known for spearheading many of the brand’s innovative whiskies as well as multiple collaboration releases through the years. He also became master distiller for Ardbeg after Glenmorangie bought the brand in 1997. French luxury brand Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy acquired Glenmorangie in 2004. This is one of the first new Scotch whiskies to hit the Indian market after the FTA was announced.

In India, Lumsden says not having age statements on whisky bottles sounds like a cop out to him but also acknowledges that the country’s humid climate means that the angel’s share is much higher here. “It might be difficult to do a 12-Year-old in India. There just might not be any liquid left.” As someone known for unusual experimentations, he is also wary of innovating just for the sake of it. “We live in interesting times. On one hand, the geopolitical situation across the world is quite unstable and that’s hitting consumer spending, and on the other hand, there is also an increased demand from customers for innovation and experimentation, which as a scientist I am quite happy about,” he says.

Lumsden cites the example of a recent whisky brands in Scotland that said their whisky was matured in champagne casks. “There’s no such thing! Champagne is created by secondary fermentation in its sealed bottle. When I saw that my first thought was ‘my god, that’s desperation!’”

Considering how hot tequila is across the world, he reveals how he found whisky makers use oak barrels that had previously been used to age tequila. “The taste of sherry wine beautifully complements whisky but tequila, in my opinion, does not. That’s just a way of grabbing some headlines.”

When he started out at Glenmorangie 30 years ago, whisky had an elitist tag and no one was mixing single malt whisky in a cocktail. “I am glad that it is more democratic today and everyone is more relaxed about drinking whisky, whether it’s a gentleman or a lady.”

Across the country, some of the top cocktails at the best bars are now made with whisky, be it Mango No.5 at Boilermaker in Goa or the Coorg Highball at Lair, Delhi. Lumsden, too, is big on whisky cocktails, sharing that his favourite way to drink Ardbeg is in a whisky sour.

The future looks bright as he foresees more countries, including Japan, Taiwan and even Australia, coming up with quality luxury whiskies. “Indian whiskies from Amrut and Paul John, that are now on UK shelves, are also impressive and will help to expand the single malt market in the country,” he says.

Making good whisky also a shortcut to nirvana, according to Lumsden, who is confident that whisky will stay on for another 500 years just as it has for the last half a millennium. “I won’t be there to see it but my spirit will definitely be there,” he says.

Priyanko Sarkar is a Mumbai-based writer covering the F&B industry.