What the India-UK FTA means for whisky lovers — beyond Glenlivet and Glenfiddich

Barely hours after India and the UK finalised their multi-billion-pound Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Tuesday, Hemant Rao’s cellphone started buzzing with calls and emails. “These were mostly from whisky exporters from the UK who wanted to get a better idea of the Indian market,” says Rao, founder of the Single Malt Amateurs Club (SMAC), which has about 7,500 members globally. “This will come as a huge boost to Scotch,” he says of the FTA.

The India–UK agreement aims to deepen trade ties by cutting tariffs across sectors. For whisky, it’s a landmark move. India is the world’s largest whisky market by volume, and Scotch its most coveted import. Under the FTA, the import duty on UK-origin whisky will drop from 150 per cent to 75 per cent immediately, and further to 40 per cent over 10 years — making premium and rare expressions as well as low-key brands such as Mortlach, Old Pulteney, and Tomatin far more accessible to Indian drinkers.

While the development has unsettled Indian distillers — particularly those in the growing premium space — it also opens up new possibilities. Lower duties reduce the cost of imported Scotch used in blends, improving margins for many Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brands. But for Indian single malt makers, who’ve spent the last decade building a reputation, this will mean tougher competition. “This development is particularly promising for Indian whisky brands that depend heavily on bulk malt imports from the UK, positioning them for greater growth. While we've already seen strong momentum in premium malts over the past five years, I anticipate this progress will significantly accelerate, leading to an even richer and more competitive premium whisky landscape in India,” says Rao. And that means the whisky lover in India can now look beyond the Glenlivets and Laphroaigs and get introduced to both lesser-known but highly rated Scotch whisky brands as well as offerings from boutique and small bottlers.

Access to independent bottlers

Independent bottlers are family-run outfits that buy barrels from distilleries and release them under their own label. Names like Gordon & MacPhail, Douglas Laing, and Signatory Vintage rarely make it to our shores, mainly due to regulatory complexity and high duties. With the FTA lowering that barrier, one can expect these bottles to finally reach Indian shelves through specialty importers. “Gordon & MacPhail have been recce-ing the Indian market for a while, and that is likely to happen now,” says Rao, who also expects the likes of Port Askaig to consider India more seriously. Port Askaig was set up by Sukhinder Singh, the London-based co-founder of The Whisky Exchange, the world’s biggest online whisky retailer, and owner of Elixir Distilleries. Named after the port village on Islay's north coast, Port Askaig offers a range of expressions, including an 8-year-old, 100 Proof, and limited editions.

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Rare and special stock

Older Scotch has always been prohibitively expensive in India. Even 18-year-old expressions come with bloated price tags due to the duty structure. For the moneyed but cautious whisky lover, the Glenfiddich Gran Chateau 31 YO ( ₹2.5 lakh) will appear to be a lot less of an extravagance once the new prices kick in. The tariff reduction also makes it more viable for importers to bring in aged and rare stock, especially from distilleries like Glendronach, Ben Nevis, or Balblair, which aren’t mainstream but have cult appeal.

Lesser-known brands and English drams

Scotch whisky isn’t always about heritage, bagpipes, and pristine glens. There are some great new brands as well. Ardnamurchan Distillery, which commenced production in 2014, is one of them. Located in the Western Highlands, on the Ardnamurchan peninsula, the peaty, brine-y whisky is highly rated by aficionados such as Rao, who also expects English single malts such as those from The Lakes Distillery to find their way to India. “The revised import landscape could finally make India commercially viable for smaller, boutique distilleries,” notes Rao.

Craft-blended Scotch

Blended Scotch is often perceived as inferior to single malts, especially in India, but there’s a rising craft movement in the UK where new-age blenders are creating excellent small-batch blends. Brands like Compass Box and Woven are leading this shift. These could find a space as the market matures.

Private cask programmes

Earlier this year, Diageo hosted several dinners across India for wealthy whisky lovers in order to gauge their appetite for the company’s global Casks of Distinction programme. The programme allows clients to own a fully mature cask of whisky, sourced from a range of some of Scotland’s most storied distilleries. While laws in India regarding cask ownership remain complex, the FTA could lead to greater participation from Indian buyers in such models, especially if partnered with luxury importers or clubs.

More brands, more noise

Vinayak Singh, co-founder of The Dram Club, a social platform for spirits lovers, points out that lower duties alone won’t guarantee success. “For any real change, brands need to rethink how they approach India — not just as a dumping ground, but as a long-term market,” says Singh. “Some of the best brands have come here in the past but vanished because no one knew they were even on the shelf. Distribution, education, partnerships — that’s what will matter.”