John Distilleries Pvt Ltd is an Indian company that produces

distilled beverage Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the ...

s, and the company's flagship brand is Original Choice whisky. It also manufactures

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

, wines, and the award winning

single malt whisky Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single Distillation, distillery. Single malts are typically associated with single malt Scotch, though they are also produced in various other countries. Under the United Kingdom's Scotch Whisky Regulat ...

called Paul John. The founders have sold 51% of the company to

Sazerac Company Sazerac Company, Inc. is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana, but with its principal office in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is owned by William ...

History

John Distilleries was founded by Paul P. John, originally from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and the son of a

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

and liquor baron in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. He also has interests in

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...

. The company's first

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

was set up in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, Karnataka. The company launched Original Choice whisky in 1996. The brand was an instant success, taking John Distilleries to the top of the segment of the

Indian whisky Indian whisky is a Liquor, distilled beverage that is mostly Indian-made foreign liquor and is labelled as "whisky”.Malayalam film Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both the mainstream film industry ...

actor

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

as surrogate

brand ambassador A brand ambassador (sometimes also called a corporate ambassador) is a person paid by an organization or company to represent its brand in a positive light, helping to increase brand awareness and sales. The brand ambassador is meant to embody the ...

. John Distilleries sold four million cases in 2005. Original Choice was the largest selling IMFL brand in Karnataka that year, selling nearly two

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...

cases a month with John Distilleries' overall IMFL sales by volume in the state amounting to around 1.2 million cases. Original Choice sold about 4.5 million cases in 2006, and 6.41-million cases in 2007. John Distilleries launched the Big Banyan wines in 2007. Big Banyan Wines is named after the Big Banyan Tree near Bangalore, where the corporate headquarters of John Distilleries is located. The chief wine maker is

oenologist Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

Lucio Matricardi, who is a consultant at wineries in Italy. Big Banyan initially launched five varietals. John Distilleries officially launched two new variants under its Big Banyan brand on 7 July 2010 at The Paul, Bangalore, a business hotel owned by Paul John. The new variants were Rosa Rossa, a

rose wine A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

, and Bellissima Late Harvest Muscat, a

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...

. ''Bellissima'' is the Italian word for beautiful. Bellissima is the first dessert wine in India to be made from the

Muscat grape The Muscat family of grapes includes over 200 grape varieties belonging to the ''Vitis vinifera'' species that have been used in wine production and as raisin and table grapes around the globe for many centuries. Their colors range from white ...

. John Distilleries acquired Chitali Distilleries Limited (CDL) in August 2008 for . It was John Distilleries first acquisition outside South India, and enabled it to produce

rectified spirit Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countr ...

and extra neutral alcohol. The company was merged with JDL on 1 October 2010. Chitali Distilleries had previously been fully owned by the

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian states of india, state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the List of chief ministers of Maharashtra, chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) ...

and is located in

Shrirampur Shrirampur () is a city and a municipal council located in the Ahmednagar district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Climate Shrirampur has a tropical wet and dry climate with average temperatures ranging between . Shrirampur experiences ...

Ahmadnagar district Ahmednagar district (Marathi pronunciation: �ɦ(ə)məd̪nəɡəɾ, officially Ahilyanagar district, is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical city of Ahmednagar is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar ...

. John Distilleries established itself in South India, retailing in Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh. In early 2009, it began retailing in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. John Distilleries launched a brand of French brandy called Mônt Castlé in December 2009. Mônt Castlé was available across Karnataka in frosted glass bottles of 750 ml, 375 ml, 180 ml and 90 ml. The brand later expanded to other states. Its main competition is Mumbai-based Tilaknagar Industries' flagship Mansion House brandy. John Distilleries sold 12.5 million cases in 2009. On 1 October 2010, The company launched Roulette brandy in 2012. The company has always been making blended whisky, but decided to manufacture

in 2008 in an attempt to enter the premium segment of the market. John Distilleries chose to use Indian ingredients to give the whisky characteristics of its country of origin. The first bottling of Paul John whisky, branded "Paul John Single Cask 161 Whisky", was officially launched in London, UK, on 4 October 2012 by Sanjay Paul, CEO of Alcobev Limited, at the Capital Hotel in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. The brand's second release, "Paul John Single Cask 163 Whisky" was also released by Sanjay Paul, CEO of Alcobev Limited, having 57%

abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

and priced at £60. Following the

single cask Single barrel whiskey (or single cask whiskey) is a premium class of whiskey in which each bottle comes from an individual aging barrel, instead of coming from blending together the contents of various barrels to provide uniformity of color and t ...

release, Sanjay Paul, CEO of Alcobev Limited released Paul John's flagship single malt whiskies in May 2013. They were branded Paul John Brilliance, Paul John Edited and Paul John Bold. These expressions range from unpeated to peated and are available across 38 countries in the world today. With over 200 known international awards, the range of expressions also include Select Cask Classic and Select Cask Peated.

Brands

John Distilleries manufactures

, wines, and single malt whisky. Original Choice whisky contributed almost 90% of JDL's overall sales in 2010. The company currently manufactures the following brands: ;Whisky *Original Choice *Grand Duke * Paul John ;Brandy *Mônt Castlé *Roulette ;Wines *Ampersand (stylized amp&rsand) *Big Banyan *Goana's Wine

Production and Distribution

John Distilleries has a network of 12 manufacturing units across 8

States State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and the

union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: Places in India * Puducherry (union territory), formerly known as Pondicherry ** Puducherry (city), capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district The Puducherry District, also know ...

. The company's primary distillery, a malt plant, is located in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. It also has a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. The company also owns some blending and

bottling Bottling lines are production lines that fill a liquid product, often a beverage, into bottles on a large scale. Many prepared foods are also bottled, such as sauces, syrups, marinades, oils and vinegars. Bottling lines usually include label ap ...

units that manufacture IMFL. Many of these units are leased by John Distilleries. As on 30 June 2012, the total installed capacity for IMFL (including leased capacity) was 17.2 million cases annually (14.7 million cases per annum in respect of owned units) and for malt spirit was 0.9 million cases p.a. There is one unit in each of the locations listed below, unless otherwise specified: *

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

Cuncolim Cuncolim is a town in South Goa district in the state of Goa, India. Geography Cuncolim is located at . It has an average elevation of . History It is a former village, now with a municipal council of its own, in the south Goa sub-district ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

Bidar Bidar ( ) is a city and headquarters of the Bidar district in Karnataka state of India. Bidar is a prominent place on the archaeological map of India, it is well known for architectural, historical religious and rich heritage sites. Pictures ...

Davangere Dāvanagere is a city in the centre of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the seventh largest city in the state, and the administrative headquarters of eponymous Davangere district. Hitherto being a cotton hub and hence popularly kno ...

, Karnataka *

Kunigal Kunigal is a town in Tumakuru district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kunigal taluk. As of 2011 census, the town has a population of 34155. Kunigal is famous for stud farm established ...

, Karnataka * Chitali,

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

(two units) *

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

John Distilleries currently sells its products in ten States and four

union territories Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own state government systems. Unlike states, Union Ter ...

(UTs) of India, besides exports to Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The States/UTs it currently retails in are listed below: *

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...

*Andhra Pradesh *Bihar *

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

*Chhattisgarh *

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

*Goa *Haryana *Himachal Pradesh *Karnataka *Kerala *Pondicherry *Punjab *Tamil Nadu

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

John Distilleries official sitePaul John whisky official site
Distilleries in India Food and drink companies established in 1992 Drink companies of India Manufacturing companies based in Bengaluru Indian companies established in 1992 1992 establishments in Karnataka