The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
Beam Suntory, the world’s third largest spirits company, has begun bottling Jim Beam Original (Jim Beam White) in a move meant to cut the bourbon’s price and expand its presence in the Indian market. The locally bottled bourbon will be 20 to 25% cheaper, costing about Rs 1,250, and is currently available in Kolkata, Guragon and Bangalore.
Expanding its share of the Indian whiskey market has been a goal with the Beam company for several years. Prior to its acquisition by the Japanese Suntory Holdings, Beam bought the Spanish whisky distillery DYC with an eye on exporting its products to India, a plan that stalled in the face of India’s often byzantine regulations and bureaucracy.
There is plenty of room for Jim Beam Original to expand, even with Beam’s own portfolio. Teacher’s Highland Cream is currently the company’s top seller in India, with Jim Beam trailing far behind it, 11,000 cases to 220,000 for Teacher’s.
This move is an uncommon example of a major whiskey brand being shipped in tankers to a foreign country for bottling, a point that only highlights the the importance Beam Suntory places on planting its stake in the Indian whiskey market.
