Imported whisky sales slow second year as India's post-pandemic premium boom cools
Scotch grew just 5% in 2025 vs 6% in 2024, while Irish decelerated to 21% from 58% and Japanese to 7% from 17%, per IWSR and Diageo. Discretionary-spend pressure, a weaker rupee and rising homegrown premium alternatives are normalising the import surge that drove Scotch's 17.4% CAGR over 2020-25.
What happened
Diageo India · Imported whisky sales in India slowed for the second straight year in 2025 across Scotch, Irish, Japanese and American categories, as
Key facts
- Scotch +5% in 2025 vs +6% in 2024
- Scotch 17.4% CAGR 2020-25
- Irish whiskey +21% in 2025 vs +58% in 2024
- Japanese whisky +7% in 2025 vs +17% in 2024
- American whiskey +1% in 2025 vs -8% in 2024
- Irish CAGR 65%
- Japanese CAGR 47%
Why this matters
Cooling import momentum and a weaker rupee tilt M&A logic toward acquiring or partnering with Indian premium domestic distillers capturing the substitution, rather than doubling down on imported Scotch/Irish/Japanese portfolios.