The International Wine & Spirits Competition has been a benchmark for quality since 1969, when Austrian-born viticulturist Anton Massel founded the awards on a then-radical principle: every entry should be scientifically tested as well as tasted. More than half a century later, the competition still carries great weight for producers and consumers. At IWSC 2026, samples were served blind in numbered glasses, with judging panels drawn from experts across more than 30 countries, one of those being India.
Medals range from Bronze (85-89 points) through Silver (90-94) and Gold (95-97) to the rare Gold Outstanding (98-100). Every Gold-awarded spirit is re-tasted by an independent committee member for final approval.
Indian single malt continues to earn its place at competitions like this one, helped along by a hot, humid climate that pushes spirit in and out of the oak far faster than it would move in Scotland.
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READ THE STORY34 Indian whiskies picked up medals at IWSC 2026. Today I will be focusing on the single malts. Only one Indian single malt won a Gold medal, so this round-up celebrates that winner alongside the nine Silver medalists that joined it. One producer in particular, South Seas Distilleries and its Crazy Cock brand, accounted for five of those ten medals, including the only Gold awarded in the category.
Crazy Cock The Heritage Edition Madhuca III Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Gold
Score: 95
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Tasting Notes: “Delightful aromas of creamy citrus, lemon cheesecake, marshmallow, and malty brown sugar. The succulent palate reveals gentle spice, peach, and sweet gingerbread, balanced by a charming stream of lingering oak. It closes juicy and bright, with subtle florals and nutty whispers.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: ₹6,000 to ₹7,500
Crazy Cock is the single malt brand of South Seas Distilleries, a family-owned company in the coastal village of Aswa in Dahanu, Maharashtra, and the first malt distillery on India’s west coast. The Chinoy family traces its distilling roots to 1922, when six brothers set up one of India’s earliest distilleries, and the modern business launched Crazy Cock as its first retail brand in December 2023 after decades supplying bulk malt to other whisky makers.
The Madhuca editions are billed as the world’s first single malts finished in Mahura casks, barrels that previously held the indigenous Indian spirit distilled from Mahua flowers.
Madhuca III is built on ex-bourbon casks before that Mahura finish, made from six-row Indian barley in large copper pot stills, and bottled without chill filtration. Dahanu’s warm coastal air drives a quick, intense maturation.
It is a limited Heritage Edition, available through UK specialists, with no confirmed US listing so far.
Crazy Cock The Heritage Edition Madhuca II Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Silver
Score: 93
Tasting Notes: “Aromatic and floral with suggestions of incense and rich sherry, the palate unfurls with layers of black cherries, milk chocolate, lingering dried fruits and warm espresso.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: ₹6,000 to ₹8,000
The second whisky in the Heritage trio takes a slightly different route to the same Mahura finish. Where Madhuca III is built on ex-bourbon alone, Madhuca II combines ex-bourbon and ex-wine casks for its base maturation, which gives the apricot, vanilla, and marzipan side of the range room to come through.
Like its siblings, it draws on South Seas’ position as one of the oldest commercial distillers of Mahua in India, and it shares the same limited Heritage Edition status. The result is a softer, fruit-forward expression of the same coastal house style.
Crazy Cock The Heritage Edition Madhuca I Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Silver
Score: 93
Tasting Notes: “Gentle aromas of coffee liqueur and dried apricots lead to a harmonious palate of sweet honey, dried fruit, and dark chocolate, balanced by warm spice, wildflowers, and soft oak.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: ₹5,500 to ₹8,000 at travel retail
Madhuca I is the entry point to the Heritage trio with a base of ex-bourbon and ex-brandy casks before the Mahura finish that defines the series. That combination shapes a floral, earthy, honeyed character the distillery describes as a “whisper of the forest”.
As with the rest of the trio, this is a limited release made from six-row Indian barley in copper pot stills.
Madhuca I is a travel retail exclusive and proves a little harder to find than its siblings.
Gamber Valley The Vault Series Indian Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Silver
Score: 92 points
Tasting Notes: “Aromas of pine needles and baking spice lead to a smooth, malty palate layered with juicy orchard fruits, spicy dark plums, and smooth vanilla.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: ₹7,000 to ₹10,000
This one comes from Solan in Himachal Pradesh, up in the Himalayan foothills, where Alcobrew Distilleries makes, matures, and bottles it in full. Alcobrew was founded in 2002 by Romesh Pandita and spent years bottling for other spirits companies before stepping into the luxury single malt category with Gamber Valley, which arrived just this month.
The Vault Series is matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 46% ABV, following the association’s standards of 100% malted barley, copper pot still distillation, and a minimum of three years in oak.
For now, it is a domestic release, priced between ₹7,000 and ₹10,000 and rolling out first across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Chandigarh.
Indri Agneya Indian Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Silver
Score: 92 points
Tasting Notes: “A subtle blend of cream sherry and coconut leads into a softly smoky palate where earthy peat and gentle vanilla intertwine. The finish is long and smoky, with a crisp, menthol edge that lingers gracefully.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: $70 / £60 / ₹3,500 to ₹8,060
Indri has become the largest-selling single malt in India, made by Piccadily Agro Industries at its distillery in the village of Indri in Karnal, Haryana, where Master Blender Surrinder Kumar works with copper pot stills and six-row barley grown by farmers in Rajasthan.
Agneya, which means ‘belonging to fire’ in Sanskrit, is the brand’s lightly peated expression, made with barley peated to 25 ppm using Scottish peat since none is mined in India. It is fully matured in a mix of first-fill ex-bourbon and PX sherry casks, then bottled at 46% without chill filtration or added color.
Of everything on this list, it is the easiest to find abroad, reaching more than 40 countries including the US and the UK, and it sits in the core range rather than as a limited release.
Doaab Expression 02 The Old Man & The Blossom Indian Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Silver
Score: 91 points
Tasting Notes: “Fragrant aromas of crisp apple, jasmine, and a hint of peat. The palate is beautifully balanced with sweet citrus, tangerine spice, creamy white chocolate, and sandalwood on the long, smoky finish.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: ₹3,150 to ₹3,800
Doaab Expression 02 is billed as the first Indian single malt matured in authentic Japanese Mizunara oak, sourced from Hokkaido and notoriously difficult to work with, in a release limited to 500 casks.
It comes from DŌAAB, the single malt brand of Globus Spirits’ luxury arm, The India Craft Spirits Co., based at a boutique craft distillery in Behror, Rajasthan, which also produces the award-winning Terai gin.
Made from sustainably sourced Indian six-row barley and matured in Rajasthan’s hot, dry air, it carries a delicate, floral character alongside the vanilla warmth the Mizunara brings.
Released in November 2025, it is currently a domestic offering priced around ₹3,500 to ₹3,800.
Gianchand Manshaa Indian Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Silver
Score: 91
Tasting Notes: “Roasted apple and sea breezes, sweet apple and leafy green notes intertwine with a prickle of smoke and subtle spice. The finish lingers with floral heather and balanced peat smoke.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: ₹8,500 to ₹9,500
Gianchand comes from DeVANS Modern Breweries in Jammu, founded in 1961 by Dewan Gian Chand and one of India’s oldest malt producers.
The flagship series is named after the founder, and Manshaa is the company’s first peated single malt. It is distilled in customized long swan-neck copper pot stills and matured in oak high in the Himalayas.
Whisky writer Jim Murray has praised its smokiness, and the whisky went on to be named International Whisky of the Year 2025 at Meininger’s ISW in Germany.
It launched in July 2025 as part of the standard range, priced around ₹8,500 to ₹9,500 in India and also sold in duty-free.
Crazy Cock Dhua The Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Silver
Score: 91
Tasting Notes: “Gentle raspberry and a touch of smoky earthiness, opening into a dry, slightly chewy palate where peat smoke and ashy notes mingle with tropical fruit and honey. Balanced, savoury finish with impressive length.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: ₹9,350 to ₹12,500
Back to South Seas in Dahanu for one of Crazy Cock’s two original expressions. Dhua is the mildly peated one, aged in a mix of bourbon and sherry casks using peated malts the distillery describes as having great age and mellowness.
It was part of the lineup that introduced the brand at the end of 2023, and it carries the same coastal maturation that defines everything South Seas makes.
You’ll find it in Indian travel retail at 46% ABV, with duty-free pricing in the region of ₹8,000 to ₹8,700.
Crazy Cock Rare Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Silver
Score: 91
Tasting Notes: “Rich aromas of baked orchard fruits and grilled banana lead to a rich palate of luscious, dried fruits, toffee, dark chocolate, gentle spice, and coffee beans.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: ₹7,100 to ₹8,900
Rare is the unpeated counterpart to Dhua, the other half of Crazy Cock’s original pairing. It is matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks the brand refers to as a “double oak” approach, made from six-row Indian barley and bottled at 46% for duty-free.
Alongside Dhua, it set the tone for the brand before the Heritage Editions arrived, and it gives a cleaner read on South Seas’ coastal spirit without the peat or the Mahua finish.
Duty-free pricing runs around ₹8,000 to ₹8,700, and the brand has reach into the UK.
Gianchand Indian Single Malt Whisky
Award: Spirit Silver
Score: 90
Tasting Notes: “Delicate touches of prune and gentle smoke lead into a palate where orchard fruits mingle with soft ginger spice. The balance of sweet peat and subtle menthol leaves a fresh, lingering finish.” – IWSC Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: ₹2,800 to ₹4,850
This is the standard flagship from DeVANS in Jammu, the unpeated whisky named directly for founder Dewan Gian Chand. It is matured in American ex-bourbon barrels and carries the delicate, balanced house style that the cooler Himalayan climate encourages.
It picked up a rare Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2026, the only Indian single malt to do so this year, which says something about how consistently this core expression performs.
Beyond India, it has shown up at US retail and UK auction, making it one of the more reachable whiskies here for anyone outside the country.
Final Thoughts
IWSC 2026 makes a strong case for Indian single malt as a category worth paying attention to, with medalists spread across coastal Maharashtra, the Haryana and Rajasthan plains, and the Himalayas.
The range on display is genuinely wide, from Mahua-cask and Mizunara experiments to confident, well-made core expressions, and with exports growing and the India-UK trade deal opening doors, more of these bottles should become easier to find outside India.
Which of these have you tried, and which are you hoping to track down? Let us know in the comments whether you think Indian whisky has earned its spot on the world stage.
