Brown-Forman, the Louisville, Kentucky, maker of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Woodford Reserve, wants India to rank among the top ten markets for its Scotch whisky within five years, according to a Business Standard report. Its Scotch is produce by its Scotland subsidiary.
Adip Agarwal, the company’s global vice president for malts and Irish whiskey, noted that Brown-Forman sees scale in India, the world’s largest Scotch market by volume. He pointed to buyers who pay more for quality and who know more about scotch than in the past
Brown-Forman entered India’s Scotch segment in May with The GlenDronach, a high-end single malt. It plans to add Benriach next, then Glenglassaugh. The company bought all three brands in 2016 when it acquired The BenRiach Distillery Company, which marked its start in Scotch. Agarwal said the company will not hurry and does not plan to compete in mass-market Scotch.
A trade deal explains the timing. The agreement between India and Britain took effect in July 2026. It is expected to cut the import duty on Scotch from 150% to 75%, and then to 40% over a decade; rival Scotch sellers have already cut prices on some brands in four states by between 10% and 15%.
The Scotch Whisky Association says India was the largest export market for Scotch by volume in 2025, at more than 220 million bottles. Shipments to India have grown by more than 200% in ten years.
Brown-Forman starts from a small base. India is not yet one of its ten largest markets. The company sells ten brands there and said it would add three more in the next few years, including El Jimador and Herradura tequilas. Brown-Forman India’s sales rose 21% to $22.9 million in the year ended March 2025Global net sales fell 5% to $4 billion in the fiscal year ending April 2025.
The company also plans to widen its India range over time to include Irish whiskey, gin and tequila. In May it launched the twelve-, fifteen- and eighteen-year-old GlenDronach bottlings in six states and territories across northern and western India, with wider expansion planned through 2026.
For American companies in consumer goods, the case shows how a trade agreement between India and a third country can change the cost of a category. Brown-Forman is positioning Scotch brands it already owns to benefit.
