If you clicked on this story after watching umpteen reels about the ban on Old Monk’s spirits and are worried you might go through the weekend without your favourite rum, read on—we have news for you.
India’s alcohol industry is at the centre of a regulatory storm after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) acted against several well-known liquor brands, including Old Monk, McDowell’s No. 1, Royal Challenge, Antiquity Blue and Bagpiper. These actions, which include bans on various spirits across brands, follow FSSAI’s findings that artificial flavours are being used instead of proper ageing techniques to achieve the desired taste and aroma in spirits.
It is also significant to note that the bans have not been imposed on entire brands but only on specific products and manufacturing practices that the regulator believes violate provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018.
At the core of the controversy are allegations that certain manufacturers used added flavouring substances to replicate the taste, aroma and characteristics traditionally achieved through ageing and maturation. The regulator has also raised concerns about age-related claims and disclosure practices that it says could mislead consumers.
The development marks one of the most significant interventions by FSSAI in India’s alcoholic beverage sector and highlights the regulator’s growing focus on authenticity, transparency and compliance.
What Happened To Your Beloved Old Monk?
The regulatory body has banned three variants of Old Monk produced at Mohan Rocky Springwater’s Khopoli unit in Maharashtra. These include The Legend, Gold Reserve and XXX Matured Rum.
The brand has reportedly violated the FSSAI’s Alcoholic Beverages guidelines by misleadingly labelling its XXX Rum as “7 years’ blended” when over 95% of its content is Extra Neutral Alcohol, or ENA, rather than aged rum. ENA, which is cheap, tasteless and unaged, was topped with only 5% matured rum.
After laboratory tests conducted by FSSAI found the presence of artificial or nature-identical flavours in liquor products that mask their natural flavour, these spirits have now been categorised as “substandard” for consumption. The FSSAI stated that adding rum flavour to rum also deceives the customer, who pays for and expects these spirits to develop their natural taste and aroma after undergoing fermentation, distillation and ageing, rather than through the addition of external flavouring compounds.
However, the bottles of these banned spirits have not been discontinued immediately; they have been granted a conditional allowance. “For the existing stock in hand, they have been allowed to sell the product by revealing the true nature of the product on the front of the pack, whereas for future production, a clear direction has been passed as to not add identical flavour in the product, such as rum flavour or whisky flavour,” FSSAI’s statement read.
What Do The Regulations State?
Rum is traditionally produced by distilling fermented sugarcane juice, molasses or other sugarcane-derived ingredients. Under Indian regulations, certain additives such as caramel and vanilla are permitted in its production. However, the regulatory body’s concerns lie with the practice of adding the spirit’s own flavour. This means introducing rum flavouring into rum.
According to the FSSAI, the defining taste and aroma of rum should develop naturally during production, making the addition of such flavourings unnecessary from a technical standpoint.
To support its position, the authority has cited Regulation 2.5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018, which requires rum to possess its own characteristic taste and aroma, as well as Clauses 3.1.1(4) and 3.1.1(7) of the Food Additives Regulations, 2011.
Whisky, meanwhile, is traditionally crafted by fermenting grains such as barley, rye, or corn and ageing the resulting spirit in wooden casks. Over time, this process develops the flavours and characteristics associated with whisky.
Most whiskies available in the market are not bottled directly from the cask, largely because cask-strength spirits tend to have a significantly higher alcohol content than many consumers prefer. To achieve consistency and broader consumer appeal, manufacturers often use a range of processing techniques and approved additives.
Indian regulations allow whisky to be produced using neutral grain spirit, rectified grain spirit, neutral spirit of agricultural origin, or combinations of these. However, the FSSAI has clarified that producers cannot simply take ENA and add artificial or nature-identical whisky flavouring to market it as whisky.
The authority further stated that products created by flavouring neutral alcohol to imitate established spirits do not qualify as standard rum or whisky under existing regulations. Such beverages must instead be labelled transparently as “rum-flavoured spirit” or “whisky-flavoured spirit” on the front of the packaging, enabling consumers to clearly distinguish them from traditionally produced spirits.
What The Experts Are Saying
Beverage consultant and writer Magandeep Singh is of the view that it is more of a “labelling and standard integrity issue than it is a recipe buildup or makeup.” He mentioned that the issue is adding rum flavouring to ENA which implies charging a premium for something you aren’t actually providing.
He mentioned that this step by the FSSAI was long due and the reason they are going behind the big players is to ensure that the right example is set for the smaller stakeholders in the market.
According to Singh, using ENA is not an issue at all since it is used to prepare vodka and gin all across the world but it all comes down to what you are communicating to the consumer. “More than anything it is a value and category distortion issue since you are paying for a maturation period that the spirit never went through,” he added. For the category distortion part of the argument he mentioned how rum as a category stands questioned, as one doesn’t know how they should place and consume it.
When asked what his suggestion to an average consumer would be he said, “While I understand that Old Monk is nostalgic for a lot of people, much like Maggi, and that even after Maggi’s controversy many of us couldn’t stop eating it, it’s important not to be naive about what we’re consuming. Some indulgences are fine, but they should come with awareness.”
Ankur Chawla, co-founder of ScopeBev, said the FSSAI’s move is valid, but better communication and clearer, stricter directives would help protect both the brand’s and the category’s reputation. He also pointed to a growing preference for better spirits among consumers, adding that continued awareness is key to ensuring people make informed choices about what they drink. “Ten years ago, the average consumer’s goal was to get high with alcohol, today they are reading ingredients and techniques, and they should continue to do so,” Chawla added.
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