Indri Trini Indian Single Malt Review
India consumes over 1 billion whisky annually, pretty much double the volume of the next largest markets combined and it makes 8 of the top 20 selling whiskies globally.
Holding the top 4 positions are brands that most of us have likely never heard of never mind actually tried. First place on the top 20 is held by McDowell’s No.1 which is produced by United Spirits drink who are a subsidiary of Diageo.
Pernod Ricard come in at second place with Royal Stag. Indian owned Allied Blenders and Distillers hold third place with Officer’s Choice and in fourth is Imperial Blue which was bought from Pernod Ricard in December 2025 and is also now in Indian ownership.
What all of these have in common is they are blends of Scotch malts and Indian grain spirits which are not grain spirits in the definition of Scotch or Irish whiskies as they are generally a neutral spirit derived from molasses rather than 100% grains.
But pseudo blends aren’t the only offering from Indian producers. The likes of Paul John, Amrut, Rampur and Godawan make really good single malts. Add to that list Indri who are operated by Picadilly Distillers.
Situated in the near the city of Indri in Haryana state, the Indri distillery was established in 2010 and is family led and independently owned. This has allowed them to focus on producing a quality driven, authentic spirit.
I’m not one for industry awards in general but this expression won the best Indian Single Malt in the 2022 World Whisky Awards.
It’s made entirely from locally harvested six-row Indian barley and distilled in traditional copper pot stills and is their flagship expression.
Indri Trini Triple Wood 46% abv NCF/NC $53/£39/€46
Matured in ex-bourbon, ex-french wine and ex-px sherry
Nose: A lot of tropical fruit going on here – tinned pineapple, dragon fruit, mango and papaya. There is a sweet, fermented fruit funk to the nose too. Lime juice, cola bottle sweets, sultanas, pine resin and wood polish. Tamarind, ginger and nutmeg as well as caramel sauce.
Water brings out melon notes, orange slices and more must.
Palate: Starts off with the PX notes of well sherried raisins, caramel, dark honey and almonds. Then the tropical fruit again with mango, pineapple, nectarine. A milky coffee, cola and baking spices. Some orange flavoured chocolate ganache.
Water brings out vanilla, almost a rum like note pls orange and lime marmalade.
Finish: Medium in length with stem ginger, treacle and ripe tropical fruit.
Score: 7 out of 10
Overall: A really interesting dram – a single malt that I don’t think you could ever confuse with a scotch due to that tropical fruit funk. Well worth investigating and excellent value for money.
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