30BestBarsIndia, the country’s most authoritative bar ranking platform, recently released ‘What India Is Drinking 2023’, the first edition of its annual survey report that ranks alcohol beverage brand preferences of consumers across 125 top bars spread over a dozen major metros in the country.
India has seen the emergence of a new bar culture across the country over the last decade. The idea behind ‘What India is Drinking 2023’ has been to understand the changing nature of consumer behaviour.
“The survey throws up a lot of surprises, including marked preferences for many new-age Indian alcohol brands. It should be of interest to both alcobev companies as well as regular bar-goers,” says Vikram Achanta, Co-Founder of 30BestBarsIndia.
Radhakrishnan Nair, Co-Founder of 30BestBarsIndia, adds, “The bar industry has been on an aggressive growth path across major cities in the country in recent years. This has been more than matched in the expansion of consumer choices in terms of both alcobev categories, and the number of brands in each category.”
According to the founders of 30BestBarsIndia, it will be an annual survey report that will track the changing consumption patterns across the major bars in the country.
The first-of-its-kind report lists 10 most popular consumer brand choices across nearly two dozen different alcohol and non-alcohol beverage categories, including vodka, single malt, gin, wine, beer, rum, wine, aperitif, mixers, water and others.
The survey aims to provide an insight into alcohol consumption patterns across premium bars in the country, as well as variations in preferences across specific geographies.
The report is based on a survey of bar owners, head bartenders, and bar and beverage managers at 125 top bars in the country. The participating bars were gleaned from the long list of bars that are part of the 30BestBarsIndia annual ranking poll.
The respondents were asked to list their top-selling brands. All bars that participated in the survey have been in business for six months or more.
The toppers
Due to significant variations in brand availability and distribution policies across different states, there is a notable divergence in preferences across various regions in the country. Keeping this in mind, the report also delves into specific city-level insights, providing information about alcohol consumption patterns in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, and the state of Goa.
The brands that top the survey rankings include Bombay Sapphire (gin), Woodburns (premium Indian whiskey), Johnnie Walker (blended Scotch/ malt), Jameson (international whiskey); Paul John (Indian single malt), Glenfiddich (international single malt), Grey Goose (vodka), Bacardi (rum) and Jose Cuervo (agave).
Greater Than (Indian craft/ native spirits), Hennessy (Cognac & brandy), Campari (aperitif), Jägermeister (liqueurs), Kingfisher (Indian beer), Corona (international beer), Sula (Indian still wine), Jacob’s Creek (international still wine), Moet & Chandon (sparkling wine); Schweppes (mixers) and Himalayan (water) took the top spots.
These brands were awarded Gold and Silver rankings by Brews&Spirits magazine during the B&S Expo in Bengaluru recently.
In addition to the top listed brands, the report also looks at top cocktails for popular spirits – reflecting the contemporary importance of mixology in shaping beverage trends, and how Indian bartenders have elevated their craft by consistently seeking novel ways to create memorable drinking experiences.
30BestBarsIndia ranking of the country’s best bars in the previous three editions in 2019, 2021 and 2022 have included well-known bars that have gone on to be part of international bar ranking lists. To see the full list of bars and their rankings from previous years, visit: https://www.30bestbarsindia.in/
