The Indian beverage alcohol industry is currently estimated to be worth more than US$ 50 billion a year, most of it dominated by what is officially called Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) and Indian-made Indian liquor (IIML).

However, this consumption is focused on a small slice of this giant liquor market – the drinking habits of Indians who frequent the 120-odd premium bars in the country’s biggest cities.

The list of bars for the ‘bbb Awards 2023’ was drawn from the long list of bars that the organiser of ‘30BestBars India’ compiles annually for its ranking: a mix of independent bars, restaurant bars and hotel bars. In Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Goa, a minimum of 10 top bars were surveyed.

The sample covered 12 cities in a dozen states across the country; states where laws for sale of alcohol beverages are relatively less restrictive. All the bars surveyed have been around long enough to comprehensively gauge consumer trends and preferences.

This report was based on a survey of bar owners (and head bartenders or bar managers, where the owner was not available) and beverage managers. They provided responses to a questionnaire asking them to list the names of their top-five selling brands of whiskey, vodka, gin, wine, bottled beer, rum, mixers, water and some others.

In some of the minor categories, the respondents were asked to name their top-three selling brands. To identify the most-sought-after cocktails, five popular spirit segments (gin, vodka, agave, rum and whiskey) were included in this exercise.

The brands are Indian and international, unless specified otherwise. A weighted average system was used to arrive at the final tally.