PROFILE - KETEL ONE IN INDIA

The Dutch ultra-premium vodka brand, Ketel One's tagline reads, "Gentlemen, this is Vodka", and recently, Joe Milner, Asia Pacific Regional Brand Ambassador for Ketel One was in Mumbaito prove just that through a tasting of the acclaimed vodka brand from Diageo's portfolio.

Excerpts: The Dutch ultra-premium vodka brand, Ketel One's tagline reads, "Gentlemen, this is Vodka", and recently, Joe Milner, Asia Pacific Regional Brand Ambassador for Ketel One was in Mumbai to prove just that through a tasting of the acclaimed vodka brand from Diageo's portfolio.

- Karina Aggarwal

UBL IS TWICE THE SIZE OF ITS NEAREST COMPETITOR - KALYAN GANGULY

While USL sales have been well documented, UBL has reached the magical figure of 100 million cases. Having won the hearts of Indians with its Kingfisher brand, it is gearing up to launch Heineken, one of the world's leading beer brands and consolidate its position in the Indian market further. Kalyan Ganguly in an interview highlights the company's initiatives to maintain its growth path.

Excerpts: How has been the overall performance of the company last year? How has been the growth coming along in various states?
 For the year ended March 31, 2010, we sold over 100 million cases. This reflects an increase of 20 per cent over the previous financial year and against an industry growth of 10 per cent. With a market share of over 50 per cent, UBL is twice the size of its nearest competitor. We have done well across all the states, but the key contributors to our growth have been Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Orissa.

WEYERMANN: BREWING FOR THE SOUL

What is the soul of beer? Malt. And upholding a 130 year-old heritage, Weyermann Malting Company caters to the soul. Producing over 80 varieties of malts, the company is the leading supplier of specialty malts in the world to breweries in 115 countries. Managing Director, Sabine Weyermann speaks to Ambrosia about what makes Weyermann the best malt producer in the world and how it continues to be a family business.

Excerpts: It all began a long time ago. A 25-yearold man put up a tarpaulin in his in-law's courtyard in Bamberg, Germany, under which he had a small hand-cranked roasting drum in which he roasted barley to create several varieties of malted coffee substitutes. The year was 1879. The man was Johann Baptist Weyermann, the founder of Weyermann Malting Company. 130 years on, the Company is the world's leading supplier of specialty beer malts, shipping around 800,000 bags of malt a year to customers in approximately 115 countries.

-Trilok Desai and Karina Aggarwal

ALLIED BLENDERS AND DISTILLERS ON A GROWTH PATH

Deepak Roy, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of Allied Blenders and Distillers spoke to Ambrosia about what has led to the company's success, their plans for the future and his insights on the future of the alcohol industry in India

Excerpts: Three years ago, Allied Blenders and Distillers was the sixth largest alcohol company in India in terms of volume. Today they are the third. And this is just one of the many achievements that ABD can claim. With recognised brands like Officer's Choice, Wodka Gorbatschow and Class Vodka, as part of their portfolio, their current 30 per cent per annum growth is a definitive sign of the success that the company enjoys today.

- Karina Aggarwal

SPECIAL FEATURE - MILLIONAIRES LIST 2010 DOMESTIC BRANDS REAP REWARDS

The recent economic downturn has left a deep impact on the balance sheets of many major alcohol manufacturers. It was not a happy year for most multinational companies. The Drinks International Millionaires list prepared by Euromonitor states many brands who found place in the list, not necessarily are from the companies who have registered growth. A report:

Excerpts: Pernod Ricard, which still has most of its brands in the Millionaires list, not only saw the number of brands fall by two to 20, but also saw declines for the vast majority of its brands. Only four of its brands saw any growth and, in the case of Jameson, that growth was marginal. The two stand-out brands were its Indian whiskies, which continued to benefit from a rapidly growing category.

IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN ON THE GLOBAL ALCOBEV INDUSTRY

The most overriding factor affecting the alcohol industry across much of the world in 2009 and early 2010 has been the global economic downturn, although some countries as diverse as China, Australia and Poland have bucked the trend.

Excerpts: The recent International Wine & Spirit Research's Snapshot Trends Report 2010 reveals the far-reaching effects the downturn has had on many markets, brands and categories and what they mean for the future, as well as highlighting some newly developing trends.

THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE

While the IMFL market is the quintessential hare in the Indian alcobev industry, imported spirits its erstwhile competitor or the tortoise continues to soldier on. Though the tortoise wins the race in the epic fairytale, it remains to be seen who the winner will be in the much coveted Indian market.

Excerpts: The imported whisky market in India is about 1.5 million cases and extremely miniscule when compared to the galloping Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) market which stands at around 236 million cases. While the IMFL market is buoyed by the growth of the Indian middle class, the Indian imported spirits market could see tremendous growth if the duties were scaled down to WTO levels.

GIVE IT UP FOR WORLD'S 50 BEST BARS!

Every once in a while there takes place an event in the hospitality industry that gets the whole industry, its cognoscenti and most importantly the patrons, thrilled to bits. Let's say, recognizing your favourite bar among the best. Last year's survey for the Top 50 bars in the world, conducted by UK-based Drinks International magazine has adhered to this norm, diligently. The excitement and vibe, however, will be felt till the latter half of the current year, when we get the next draw of 50 best bars. Until then, here comes the finding of the research.

Excerpts: It came as no surprise when London and New York took the mantle of the bar capital of the world (securing the first two ranks), but what is more interesting to see is that the Asia Pacific region received the highest number of responses (37 per cent) from bar experts and mixologists in the survey.

PARADOX OF BORDEAUX WINES Beyond the world of Latour & Lafite

The quintessential Bordeauxwines have managed to stay on top of the wine menu of major restaurants, portfolios of various importers and retail chains around the world for a long time. One of its oldest wine producing regions, Saint-Emilion, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and also home to some of the best wines. However, with the passage of time, the dynamics of wine production and marketing has changed in the region. In her recent trip to Bordeaux, Rojita Tiwari discovered some unseen facets of Bordeaux wines. A report:

Excerpts: In this year's Bordeaux Primeur, the wine that emerged with the highest price tag was Chateau Latour 2009 vintage with a whopping 600 euros per bottle (before tax) sold by the negociant and that was an increase of 360 per cent compared to last year. A study predicted that release prices for the 2009 Bordeaux will be up 120 per cent from 2008. However, this particular wine has surpassed all expectations. Did it deserve such a price? If you go by the reaction of most Bordeaux wine producers, NO, but it still did. So, who actually decides the price of a particular bottle of Bordeaux wine even before its bottled? It's the Primeurs event and the negociants – a group of people or companies who act as facilitators to the wine producers – to help them market their products in the domestic as well as international markets.

- Rojita Tiwari and Special thanks to Brinda Bourhis, our Bordeaux Correspondent and Miloud Mezouaghi

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR - AMIT KEVAL MAKES A MARK IN COGNAC MARKET

While wine makers in Nashik are seeking to make brandy in Nashik, Amit Keval, an entrepreneur of Indian origin has decided to set up a winery in Cognac country and now makes cognac there.

Excerpts: While wine makers in Nashik are seeking to make brandy in Nashik, Amit Keval, an entrepreneur of Indian origin has decided to set up a winery in Cognac country and now makes cognac there.

- Vincent Fernandes

COCKTAILS - SHAKING UP A MONSOON MAGIC!

In the dank rainy season, the rise in humidity level leaves one looking more frequently for a glassful of something cool instead of a quick bite. So, perhaps various cocktails could come to rescue if you wish to raise your spirits, quite literally!

Excerpts: A cocktail is, ideally, a beverage that combines an alcohol (such as bourbon, gin, rum, scotch or vodka) with a mixer (such as fruit juice, soda or liqueur)

- Rajiv Dogra

WINING AND DINING - HIGH FIVE FOR FIVE 5-STAR CUISINES AT FIFTY FIVE EAST

If you thought eating out in Mumbai could cost you a bomb, then its time to visit the Fifty Five East at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, which offers you five cuisines at a never before price.

Excerpts: Grand Hyatt Mumbai now has its very own restaurant, Fifty Five East that is open for all three meals a day. The restaurant, which opened on 10 June 2010, features show kitchens that embrace the idea of "eating out of the pan, off the grill and out of the wok", offering a myriad of choices that includes a true taste of Thai, Sushi, and Lebanese, Indian and Western delicacies, all prepared a la minute. Says Chef de Cuisine, Fifty Five East, Sahdev Mehta, all the main ingredients are imported and we are able to offer the buffet at an unbelievable price of ` 1, 450 + taxes. Even the breads are baked in the restaurant.

- Vincent Fernandes

BLING AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE

Hotel properties in Bengaluru boast of food and bar Hotel properties in Bengaluru boast of food and bar

Excerpts: Bengaluru is a beautiful city, despite its traffic snarls and other irritants. The weather is perfect and the expatriate community as also the young and hip local crowd, fond of spending their money on good wining and dining.

- Ameeta Sharma

TURKEY THE GOURMET'S PARADISE

One of the most exciting aspects of a holiday is trying out new food and drinks. Ranked amongst the top destinations for its cuisine, a trip to Turkey is a must for any foodie.

Excerpts: Turkish wine compliments the local cuisine so perfectly – there's nothing like having lamb cutlets with some beautiful local red wine to wash them down. Turkey is renowned for its Raki (Turkish brandy made from grapes) and meatballs. The Raki is famous because although it is made from raisins everywhere else, in Turkey it's made from fresh grapes. As for meatballs, the recipe is a mystery. The recipe is not widely known and one has to go out to one of the billion meatball restaurants in town for meatballs

- Rupali & Chef Bakshish Dean

AZ.U.R INAUGURA TED AT GOA MARIOTT RESORT

Excerpts: Goa Marriott Resort recently inaugurated AZ U R (pronounced ‘As You Are'), a brand new ‘transition lounge'. As part of its unique concept, AZ.U.R starts off as a sunlit café in the morning where guests can enjoy freshly squeezed health drinks and breakfast while taking in the serene sea view. As the day progresses, it adopts an atmosphere of easy comfort where you can drop in for a snack, a chat with friends, have a business meeting or get a bit of work done.

WINSOME THREESOME INDIAN WINES FRENCH CHEF & ITALIAN WINEMAKER

A well thought out six course dinner with well matched wines is always a dream come true. Add the ingredients of a French Chef, Italian winemaker and Indian wines with Italian cuisine and the combination is deadly. Cherry on the cake – to be at the Chef &Winemaker's Table!

Excerpts: A perfect monsoon evening in salubrious Bangalore and the stage is set at Toscano. The welcome drink with a few canapés is a sangria style concoction. The formal setting begins with the first course of a salad of stewed apricots, confit tomatoes, goat cheese, asparagus, fresh rucola and croutons paired with Big Banyan Rosa Rossa (a Zinfandel Rose with a fresh appeal on the nose and balanced on palate). Second course was pumpkin, with ricotta and pine nut ravioli with Big Banyan Sauvignon Blanc and is probably the only forgettable course. After a sorbet it gets serious. The fourth course brings Duck Leg confit (soft and succulent) with polenta mushroom ragout (absolutely delightful), beans and dark cherry sauce with Big Banyan Shiraz (a delightfully fruity and soft spice wine)

- Ameeta Sharma