Imported whisky growth cools second year running as India's premium-spirits boom normalises
IWSR data shows Scotch sales rose just 5% in 2025 versus a 17.4% CAGR over 2020-25, while Irish (+21% vs +58%), Japanese (+7% vs +17%) and American (+1% vs -8%) whiskies all decelerated. Diageo India insists the premiumisation thesis is intact despite discretionary-spend pressure.
Imported whisky sales in India slowed for a second year in 2025 across Scotch, Irish, Japanese and American categories as the post-pandemic premium-spirits boom normalises, per IWSR; Diageo India says premiumisation trend remains intact despite discretionary-spending pressure.
Why this matters
Slowing whisky growth tests Diageo India's premiumisation bet, already strained by packaging costs flagged as a ₹40 crore margin risk in prior signals.
Retail-brand signals steady at 1,654 over 90 days, indicating consistent activity across the category.