Type Privately held company Area served India, Africa, UAE, UK Founded 1992 | Industry Alcoholic beverages Founder Paul P. John | |
Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka, India Number of locations 16 manufacturing units in 12 states Key people Paul P. John (chairman and MD)
Sridhar Pongur (Joint MD and COO)
R. Srinivasan (CFO)
Eshwar K Dharamdas General Manager Finance | ||
John Distilleries Pvt Ltd, abbreviated to JDL or JDPL, is an Indian company that produces distilled beverages, and is a part of Paul John Enterprises. The company's flagship brand is Original Choice whisky. It also manufactures brandy, whisky, wines, and India's second brand of single malt whisky, after Amrut, called Paul John. John Distilleries is a closely held company. Banyan Wines are stored in Banyan trunks for ageing and managed by Mr. Amar Paul.
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History
John Distilleries was founded by Paul P. John, an NRI from Kerala and the son of a plantation and liquor baron in Karnataka. He currently also has interests in the hospitality and furnishing fabric business. The company's first distillery was set up in Bangalore, Karnataka. The company was renamed as John Distilleries Pvt Ltd in 1995, and subsequently launched Original Choice whisky the same year. The brand was an instant success, taking JDL into the prestige segment of the Indian whisky market. The company decided to take the brand national, and signed Malayalam film actor Mohanlal as surrogate brand ambassador.
The company's entry into West Bengal and the eastern states was delayed by a legal battle with the Officers' Choice whisky manufactured by Allied Distillers & Blenders (then known as BDA Ltd), over claims of trademark infringement. The argument concerned the use of the shortened name of Original Choice and Officers' Choice whiskies, both of which were abbreviated to "OC". Officer's Choice was registered in October 1990 and Original Choice was registered in March 2008.
JDL sold four million cases in 2005. Original Choice was the largest selling IMFL brand in Karnataka that year, selling nearly two lakh cases a month with JDL's overall IMFL sales by volume in the state amounting to around 1.2 million cases. Original Choice sold about 4.5 million cases in 2006, and 6.41-million cases in 2007.
John Distilleries launched the Big Banyan wine brand in 2007. Big Banyan Wines is named after the Big Banyan Tree near Bangalore, where the corporate headquarters of the Paul John Enterprises is located. The chief wine maker is oenologist Lucio Matricardi, who was a former consultant at wineries in Italy. Big Banyan initially launched five wines. John Distilleries officially launched two new variants under its Big Banyan brand on 7 July 2010 at The Paul, Bangalore, a business hotel owned by Paul John. The new variants were Rosa Rossa, a rose wine, and Bellissima Late Harvest Muscat, a dessert wine. Bellissima is an Italian word meaning very beautiful. Bellissima is the first dessert wine in India to be made from the Muscat grape.
John Distilleries acquired Chitali Distilleries Limited (CDL) in August 2008 for ₹288 million (US$4.3 million). It was John Distilleries first acquisition outside South India, and enabled it to produce rectified spirit and extra neutral alcohol. The company was merged with JDL on 1 October 2010. Chitali Distilleries had been fully owned by the Government of Maharashtra and is located in Shrirampur in Ahmadnagar district.
In September 2008, JDL appointed creative agency, Creative Land Asia, to design communications for Salute vodka and Mônt Castlé brandy, and also nurture the advertising for JDL's existing, Original Choice whisky. The company initially established itself in South India, retailing in Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh. In early 2009, it began retailing in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. JDL launched a brand of French brandy called Mônt Castlé in December 2009. Mônt Castlé was available across Karnataka in frosted glass bottles of 750 ml, 375 ml, 180 ml and 90 ml. The brand later expanded to other states. Its main competition is Mumbai-based Tilaknagar Industries' flagship Mansion House brandy.
JDL sold 12.5 million cases in 2009. On 1 October 2010, along with the Chittali Distilleries merger, two other wholly owned subsidiary companies of JDL, namely John Metal Closures & Allied Products Pvt Ltd, and Chateau De Banyan Ltd, were also merged with JDL. The company launched Roulette brandy in 2012.
The company had been making blended whisky since its foundation, but decided to manufacture single malt whisky in 2008 in an attempt to enter the premium end of the market. John Distilleries chose to use Indian ingredients in the first bottling, to give the whisky characteristics of its country of origin. The first bottling of Paul John whisky, branded "Paul John Single Cask 161 Whisky", was officially launched by Sanjay Paul - CEO, ALCOBEV Communications, UK, on 4 October 2012 at the Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, England. The brand's second release, also by Sanjay Paul - CEO, ALCOBEV Communications, in 2012, was "Paul John Single Cask 163 Whisky" having 57% abv and priced at £60. Following the single cask release, Paul John released two single malt whiskies in May 2013. They were branded Paul John Single Malt Whisky Brilliance and Paul John Single Malt Whisky Edited.
Brands
John Distilleries manufactures brandy, whisky, wines, and single malt whisky. Original Choice whisky contributed almost 95% of JDL's overall sales in 2010. The company currently manufactures the following brands:
Production and Distribution
John Distilleries has a network of 16 manufacturing units across 11 States and the union territory of Puducherry. The company's primary distillery, a malt plant, is located in Goa. It also has a winery in Maharashtra. The company also owns some blending and bottling units that manufacture IMFL. Many of these units are leased by John Distilleries. As on 30 June 2012, the total installed capacity for IMFL (including leased capacity) was 17.2 million cases annually (14.7 million cases per annum in respect of owned units) and for malt spirit was 0.9 million cases p.a. There is one unit in each of the locations listed below, unless otherwise specified:
John Distilleries currently sells its products in ten States and four union territories (UTs) of India, besides exports to Angola, Congo, Ghana, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The States/UTs it currently retails in are listed below: