Indian single malt at UK airports: what Rampur Double Cask, Asava, Barrel Blush and Sangam taste like, and what the duty-free listing does not say.
Rampur Distillery dates to 1943. Eighty-three years later, bottles from it sit on duty-free shelves at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham, in what Radico Khaitan calls the home of Scotch.
The company says it is the first Indian spirits company across all four airports’ duty-free shops. For a traveler, the question is simpler: is Indian single malt at UK airports worth a place in your carry-on?
Four bottles, one catch
Rampur Indian Single Malt Double Cask, Rampur Asava, Rampur Barrel Blush and Sangam World Malt.
Three of the four are Indian single malts. The fourth is not. Sangam is a blend that combines malts from traditional European whisky countries with distilleries from the new world. The release bundles the lot as “Indian luxury spirits” and doesn’t mention this. It’s a label detail worth knowing before you pay duty-free prices for a bottle you assume is Indian single malt.
Double Cask: what the glass says
Double Cask spends two-thirds of its maturation in American oak bourbon barrels and one-third in European oak sherry casks, and is bottled at 45%. Master of Malt’s notes describe cooked banana, peppery oak, raisin and honey on the nose, then barley sugar, vanilla pod, dark berries and baking spice, closing on a long sherried finish of dry spice and chocolate.
Not everyone hears the finish the same way. A Whisky Magazine taster scored it 7.5, liked the fruit, and found the finish fairly short and woody, lacking some weight and length.
Asava and Barrel Blush: the red-wine pair
Both start in ex-bourbon wood and finish in red-wine casks. Asava is finished in ex-Cabernet Sauvignon casks. Barrel Blush is finished in Australian Shiraz casks.
The Whisky Exchange describes Asava as honeysuckle, lychee and tobacco leaf on the nose with orange zest and green banana, then cinnamon, clove and bitter marmalade, finishing on black pepper. Drinkhacker’s review of Barrel Blush finds cereal grain and honey with orange rind and vanilla icing, light red-wine notes and a tingle on the tongue.
Again, reviewers split. The Whiskey Wash’s reviewer liked Asava but felt a porridge-like malt character muted the Cabernet. My reading, Asava suits the drinker who wants tobacco and spice, Barrel Blush the one who leans toward dessert. Either way, the case for Indian single malt at UK airports rests on these two as much as on Double Cask.
Sangam is the more unique
A Forbes Whisky of the Week column at 43% ABV found honey, pear and apricot up front, light smoke and sea-air salinity at midpalate, and a very long finish of sweet oatmeal and light smoke. The column notes the blend includes peated whisky. That smoke is the tell. It drinks less like the Rampur single malts and more like a world-malt blend, which is exactly what it is. Nothing I found discloses the exact mix of malts.
The 170 million figure is traffic, not demand
The brand puts Heathrow at about 84.5 million passengers in 2025, Gatwick at 42.8 million, Manchester at 32.1 million and Birmingham at 13.7 million. Those are airport totals, not Radico’s customers.
The business behind the bottle
Radico reports FY26 net revenue of approximately ₹6,050 crore, with IMFL volumes up 22% to 38.3 million cases, and says its Prestige & Above portfolio made up 70.3% of IMFL value. IMFL means Indian-made foreign liquor, the broad category of Indian whisky. Wikipedia’s overview notes very little of it qualifies as whisky in the EU because of molasses or neutral alcohol. The release does not say how much of those 38.3 million cases is single malt, so don’t read the airport listing as a sales driver.
Sanjeev Banga, President of International Business, put the strategy plainly: “We are not asking the world to choose between Scotch and Indian whisky. We are simply making sure that Indian whisky gets a seat at the table, and perhaps a place on the airport shelf as well.”
A brand that says it isn’t competing with Scotch has still chosen to stand next to it. The company reports a presence in over 65 duty-free locations and is targeting more than 100.
What to do before you fly
Check before you pack. The release names no prices, terminals or launch date, so nobody outside Radico can say what sits on which shelf. Ask the duty-free retailer, compare the price with what you would pay at home, and taste first if the shop offers a dram.
If you try Indian single malt at UK airports this autumn, start with Double Cask and ask whether the red-wine pair is stocked in your terminal. A listing tells you a bottle exists. The shelf tells you whether it’s worth carrying.
Mini FAQ
Can you buy Indian whisky at Heathrow?
According to Radico Khaitan, Rampur Double Cask, Asava, Barrel Blush and Sangam World Malt are now in duty free at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. No terminals or prices listed, so confirm with the retailer before you travel.
Is Sangam World Malt an Indian single malt?
No. Sangam is a blended malt. Producer descriptions say it combines malts from European and new-world origins. The other three bottles in the listing are Rampur Indian single malts.
What does Rampur Double Cask taste like?
Retail notes describe cooked banana, raisin and honey on the nose, then barley sugar, vanilla and dark berries, finishing on sherried spice and chocolate. One magazine taster found the finish shorter and woodier than that.
