Two alcohol brands register $1 billion sales

Following the footsteps of McDowell’s No 1 whisky, two more Indian liquor brands including Royal Stag and Officer's Choice have registered $1 billion (Rs 6,000 crores) in retail sales during in the last fiscal. McDowell's No 1 whisky was the first Indian spirits brand to cross the billion-dollar mark two years ago.

Royal Stag is an India-specific brand of the French drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard, but has emerged as its largest selling brand by volume globally.

Sumeet Lamba, Executive Director, Pernod Ricard India, said, "We estimate the retail value of Royal Stag at Rs 8,000 crore, or $1.3 billion, on sales volume of 14 million cases last calendar year."

Officer's Choice owned by Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD) is priced in the ‘standard’ segment, and is also the second largest Indian whisky after McDowell's No 1.

"Our brand carried a retail value of $1.25 billion, calculated on the basis of maximum retail price across the country," said Deepak Roy, Chief Executive of ABD.