GURGAON LIQUOR CHEAPER THAN DELHI

 DELHI  TO CATCH UP WITH GURGAON IN PRICE PER BOTTLE ?

India holds the dubious distinction of the largest consumer of whisky in the world. Yet it has States that have proclaimed Prohibition and enforce it. The complexities of marketing whisky, or any spirit for that matter, are daunting. They are not helped by the vagaries and vicissitudes of culture-bound States, or so they say. The plethora of executable wine laws in India is applicable not only for importers, producers, distributors, retailers and restaurateurs, all of whom come under the umbrella of licensing, but also the consumer.

Delhi is the 28th most visited city in the world and the first in India, by visitors both foreign and Indian. Tourism is a source of revenue and Excise Revenue is an important source of income for the State. The previous system of excise regime in Delhi was highly cumbersome and the liquor trade is conducted in an archaic manner, with strange laws for distributors and sellers. Just across the border into Haryana, Gurgaon had a thriving liquor industry, with significant income from Excise Duty. The excise revenue generated in Delhi was at sub-optimal level with significant potential for revenue augmentation and also providing a decent standard of customer experience commensurate with the stature of the National Capital.

The known illegal trade across borders was well known to the Excise Dept in Haryana. Excise officials were removed from the border and the massive efflux indirectly promoted. As a direct result, Gurgaon witnessed an explosion in the number of stores selling both Indian and imported liquor under the L-1 classification. L-1 Licences are reserved for bulk sellers. Moreover, buyers had to buy in excess of a certain quota so that the excise revenue could be maximised. Currently, over 60 stores are operating as L-1 merchants. You cannot drive more than one km in Gurgaon in any direction without coming across a bright and glaringly prominent L-1 store.

In October 2021, Delhi announced its new policy for liquor traders. Traders who met stipulated quota in the past in any one of the past two years were sold L-1 licences. A new order in the 2021 policy stipulated that the stores be of national class, if not international. Also, no Maximum Reserve Price was to be quoted on the label, leaving the trader to decide his margins. Once this order was realised, traders in Delhi, who had huge reserves piled up due the pandemic, decided to offer unheard of bonuses, attracting mile-long queues and snaky tailbacks for Kms. The Delhi Govt banned any such discount and imposed a minimum sale price per brand of alcoholic beverages. The watching traders in Gurgaon raised prices overnight, but kept them below Delhi rates.

L-1 PRICES GURGAON LOWER THAN DUTY FREE?

 L-1 PRICES BELOW DUTY-FREE STORE PRICES

L-1 Liquor vendors in Gurugram have decided to hike the prices of liquor by varying degrees to keep their costs marginally lower than those currently being charged by Delhi liquor vendors. This will allow them to remain in competition with the Delhi market. Delhi introduced their new excise policy allowing retailers to offer huge discounts, attracting people from Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad. The shopkeepers of Gurgaon began to feel the heat as the local market was disrupted. Teetotallers stood buy silently, wondering what the frenzy was about.

Liquor shop owners are eyeing profits with this move after they suffered huge losses over the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to shopkeepers, since liquor in Haryana does not have a maximum retail price (MRP), they can sell it at any price without offering discounts to customers and still offer the best deals vis-a-vis the national capital.

Currently, prices in the L-1 stores in Gurgaon are lower than the prices in the Duty-Free Stores at New Delhi airport, and in numerous instances, match, if not better DFS prices in Dubai and Singapore. The table below compares the prices of Scotch whisky across the nearest DFS at Singapore and Dubai, and, in certain cases, New York and Frankfurt. Macallan has too many expressions in the Gurgaon market for me to pin down four. I'll attend to that by and by.  

From amongst the Blended Scotch whiskies, I would stay away from run-of-the-mill brands and certainly from Bottled in India Blended Scotch whiskies. The only brands worth buying are Johnnie Walker Black Label at its throwaway price of Rs 1,800; the Black Label 12 Islay Origin, the White Walker, the Double Black, the Gold, the Green blended malt, the Swing if ever available and the 18 YO. The price of these bottles in India is at a lifetime low. Next would be the Chivas Regal 12, 15, and 18-year-olds, at equally low prices. Just compare them to the prices in DFS overseas! The only Ballantine worth buying is the 17 YO. The Dewar’s 18 YO follows in alphabetical order, with the Dimple Pinch 15 YO right behind. The Islay Mist and the Six Isles blended malt are good blends to have on the list, followed by my personal favourite, the Highland Queen Majesty. 

An entry in maroon indicates that the price of that expression is lower than at DFS at home and abroad. Please understand that these are my selections and recommendations. There is no compulsion that you accept my recommendations and/or advice, except to drink moderately and refrain from driving thereafter. 

Note: All prices are compared at equalised volumes since most bottles at Duty-Free Shops at Ports are sold in bottles of 1.0 Litre capacity.

COMPARISON OF LIQUOR PRICES GURGAON L1 VS DFS AT DUBAI, DELHI & SINGAPORE
BRAND NAME	Rec	Discovery	GTown	Lake Forest	REMARKS	Dubai	Delhi	S’pore
ABERFELDY 12 YO	√	3000	3000	3000	MUST BUY	4060	4960	4620
ABERFELDY 14 YO	X				12 YO GOOD ENOUGH	NA	NA	NA
ABERLOUR 12 YO	√	3200	3500	3500	GOOD BUY	NA	5270	6340
ABERLOUR 15 YO	?	5200	5500	5400	OPTIONAL
ABERLOUR 18 YO	X	10,000	NA	NA	NOT WORTH IT
ABERLOUR  ABUNADH	X	TOO STRONG 61% ABV, FLAVOURSOME BUT BURNS NOSE & THROAT				NA	7360	NA
ARDBEG 10 YO	√	5200	5000	5600	GOOD BUY	NA	4260	5835
ARDBEG WEE BEASTIE 5YO	X	3900	3900	4500	SO SO	NA	NA	NA
ARDMORE 12 YO	X	2300	2500	2500	DISAPPOINTING	2210	2500	5655
AUCHENTOSHAN 12 YO	√	3100	3200	3200	MILD DRAM; @ 2900 JFK	NA	3200	3950
AUCHENTOSHAN 3 WOOD	X	NA	NA	4000	NO NEED	NA	4970	4940
AUCHROISK 12 YO	√	NA	NA	5150	GOOD BUY	NA	NA	NA
AULTMORE 12 YO	√	4600	4900	NA	MUST BUY	4825	NA	NA
AULTMORE 14 YO	√	5100	NA	NA	GOOD BUY	NA	NA	NA
AULTMORE 18 YO	√	7100	7100	8,000	EXCELLENT BUY	NA	NA	NA
BALBLAIR 12 YO	X	4600	4900	NA	VALUE FOR MONEY VFM	NA	NA	9525
BALVENIE D'BLEWOOD 12	X	6200	6200	6200	NVFM	6115	NA	NA
BALVENIE  D'BLEWOOD 14	X	8000	8000	8000	40% ABV TOO LOW	8020	NA	NA
BALVENIE  D'BLEWOOD 17	X	18,000	18,000	18,500	40% ABV AND 18,000?	NA	NA	NA
BALVENIE TRIPLE 12 1L	X	NA	NA	8750	TRAVEL  EDITION 40%	NA	7290	NA
BALVENIE 16 TRIPLE  1L	X	NA	NA	12,500	TRAVEL  EDITION 40%	NA	11590	NA
BENRIACH 12 YO	X	NA	NA	7,500	PRICEY	7240	NA	NA
BOWMORE 12 YO  40%	X	2700	2700	2800	SUB-PAR ISLAY	NA	NA	4200
BOWMORE 15 YO  43%	?	5500	5800	5500	FAIR BUY	3875	4020	5835
BOWMORE 18 YO  43%	√	10,000	NA	9500	GOOD BUY	13530	8440	7405
BUNNAHABHAIN 12 46.3%	√	NA	NA	5200	MUST BUY	4800	NA	NA
BRUICHLADDICH PORT CHARLOTTE 10 50%	√	NA	NA	9000	MUST BUY @6350 FKFT	7175	NA	7750
BRUICHLADDICH      CLASSIC 50%	√	8500	8500	8500	MUST BUY@ 4270 FKFT	7175	NA	6450
CAOL ILA 12 YO 70CL 40%	√	3500	3400	4200	MUST BUY	6420	6290	NA
CARDHU 12 YO 70CL 40%	√	4800	4500	4600	GOOD BUY	NA	4720	4500
CLYNELISH 14 YO 75CL 46%	√	4600	4600	4600	MUST BUY	6060	NA	NA
COPPER DOG 12 YO 70CL	√	2100	2700	2700	MUST BUY	NA	2275	3650
CRAGGANMORE 12  43%	√	2900	3100	3300	GOOD BUY	NA	NA	NA
CRAIGELLACHIE 13 YO	√	4000	4000	4000	MUST BUY	5350	4715	6340
CRAIGELLACHIE 17 YO	√	7100	NA	7500	EXCELLENT VFM	NA	NA	NA
DALMORE 12 YO	?	7100	7100	7100	NVFM	NA	7070	5900
DALMORE 15 YO	?	9000	9000	9000	GOOD BUY	NA	10,070	8415
DALWHINNIE 15 YO	√	4000	3600	4000	MUST BUY	5830	NA	NA
GLENALLACHIE 12 YO 46%	√	NA	NA	7000	MUST BUY	7800	NA	NA
GLENBURGIE        BALLANTINE 15	X	3500	NA	3800	BALLANTINE SINGLE MALT WORTH A TRY	NA	NA	NA
GLENDRONACH 10 YO	X	NA	NA	7500	PRICEY @ 3900 FKFT	NA	4200	6120
GLENDRONACH 12	√	NA	NA	10,300	GOOD BUT PRICEY	NA	8900	NA
GLENFIDDICH 12 YO	√	2900	2900	2900	MUST BUY	4770	NA	NA
GLENFIDDICH 15 YO	√	4500	4500	4500	SOLERA MUST BUY	NA	4900	5600
GLENFIDDICH 18 YO	X	8500	8700	8700	NVFM	6500	8490	NA
GLENFIDDICH XX	√	5500	NA	NA	MUST BUY	NA	5420	NA
GLENFIDDICH IPA 43%	X	5000	NA	5000	SKIP
GLENGOYNE  12  70CL  43%	√	4100	3900	4300	MUST BUY	6600	5260	8000
GLENKINCHIE 12  43%	√	3600	3500	4000	GOOD BUY
GLENLIVET 12 70 CL 40%	√	2900	2800	2900	MUST BUY	3600	3380	6400
GLENLIVET 15 70 CL 40%	X	4500	4500	4500	GOOD BUY	NA	5295	7575
GLENLIVET FOUNDER’S	√	4000	NA	4200	GOOD BUY	7350	3040	NA
GLENLIVET NADURRA	X	6300	NA	6200	CASK STRENGTH~60%	NA	5160	NA
GLENLIVET 18 YO	X	NA	8200	8500	NVFM	7380	NA	NA
GLENMORANGIE 10	√	3200	3300	3800	MUST BUY; 3025 @ JFK	3000	3640	4650
GLEN’GIE LASANTA 12	X	5700	5600	5700	SKIP	NA	NA	5560
GLEN’GIE NECTAR D’OR	√	6000	5500	6300	46% MUST BUY	NA	NA	6620
--DO-- QUINTA RUBAN 14	?	6000	5700	NA	GOOD BUY	NA	NA	NA
GLENMORANGIE SIGNET	X	18000	17500	17000	TOO PRICEY	13,175	18,730	16,000
GLENMORANGIE X	X	4500	NA	4000	FOR MIXING; AVOID	NA	NA	NA
GLEN GRANT 10	X	3000	3000	3000	UNDERDONE	2300	2825	2960
GLEN GRANT 12	X	3200	3200	3200	UNDERDONE	2860	3400	3800
HIGHLAND PARK 12 40%	√	3900	4000	3900	MUST BUY 3650             @JFK	5500	NA	NA
HIGHLAND QUEEN S MALT	√	NA	NA	2800	MUST BUY IF AV’BLE	NA	NA	NA
JURA 10	X	4500	4200	4800	GOOD BUY	NA	NA	NA
JURA 12	√	5300	5300	5400	GOOD BUY	NA	4450	4200
KAVALAN CONCERTM'R	X	7000	7000	NA	YOUR CALL	NA	NA	4825
KAVALAN CLASSIC	X	7000	NA	7000	YOUR CALL	NA	7080	NA
KAVALAN SOLIST SHERRY	√	11,000	NA	NA	SUPER BUT NVFM	NA	NA	9550
KAVALAN DIST’RY SELECT	X	8000	8000	NA	NVFM	NA	NA	5600
KILCHOMAN SANAIG	√	3500	9000	NA	MUST BUY	NA	NA	NA
LAPHROAIG 1815	X	NA	NA	11,000	NVFM;  8850 AT FRKFT	10,250	10,070	7830
LAPHROAIG SELECT 40%	X	3500	3500	3500	~3350 IN THE WEST	NA	NA	4480
LAPH'G  QTR CASK 48%	√	4400	4600	4400	MUST BUY 6100 @ JFK	NA	NA	5600
LAGAVULIN 16	√	8500	8700	9500	MUST BUY	8740	NA	7525
LAGAVULIN 8	?	NA	NA	7200	OPTIONAL	7000	NA	6850
LONGMORN DIST EDN	√	6300	6900	7900	GOOD BUY	7200	NA	NA
LOSSIT	√	NA	4800	NA	MUST BUY	NA	NA	NA
MACALLAN SHERRY OAK 12	X	NA	9800	NA	OVERPRICED	NA	6200	6300 JFK
MACALLAN TRIPLE 12	√	6500	6500	NA	OPTIONAL	NA		9900
MACALLAN DOUBLE 12 YO	√	5500	5500	NA	GOOD BUY	NA		7200
RAMPUR DOUBLE CASK	√	5200	5600	NA	MUST BUY	NA	7390	7200
MONKEY SHOULDER	√	2800	2800	3000	MUST BUY  2050@ JFK	2400	2525	3100
OBAN LITTLE BAY	√	5800	6000	6000	FAIR BUY  5450@JFK	NA	5760	6900
OLD PULTENEY 12 YO	√	4200	4250	4300	FAIR BUY	NA	NA	NA
OLD PULTENEY 10 1.0L	√	5500	5800	5800	FAIR BUY	3950	NA	NA
SCAPA SKIREN	X	4500	4500	4500	HAVEN’T TRIED YET	NA	NA	NA
SINGLETON GLEN'LAN 12	?	3300	3200	3300	GOOD ENTRY LEVEL	NA	3015	3500*
SINGLETON G'ULLAN 15	√	4500	4500	4500	GOOD BUY	NA	3915	5575*
S'TON GLENDULLAN 18	√	6000	6200	6200	MUST BUY	NA	5825	9060*
SMOKEHEAD HEAVY PEAT	√	3600	4200	4000	MUST BUY - PEAT FANS	2725	3500	3690
SPEYBURN 75 CL 43%	√	3500	3800	4400	MUST BUY ; 2950 @FKFT	NA	3560	7200
SPEYBURN 1L  43%	X	NA	5250	5200	SKIP	NA	NA	NA
SPRINGBANK 70CL	√	NA	8000	NA	MUST BUY RARE BRAND	NA	NA	NA
TALISKER 10 45.8%	√	3600	3800	3600	MUST BUY	NA	5290	5000
TALISKER STORM  45.8%	X	4800	4900	4800	+VFM: YOUR CHOICE	NA	7300	6625
TAMDHU 12	√	5300	5300	NA	OPTIONAL; 4600 JFK			7300
TOWIEMORE	X	NA	5200	NA	SKIP	NA	NA	NA
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
JOHNNIE WALKER RED	X	800	800	900	AVOID	1205	1395	2525
JW BLACK	√	1800	1800	2000	MUST BUY	2150	2450	NA
JWBL 12 SPEYSIDE	√	2000	2000	2100	GOOD BUY	NA	2650	NA
JWBL 12 HIGHLANDS	√	NA	NA	NA	DUE ANY MOMENT	NA	2650	NA
JWBL 12 LOWLANDS	√	2000	2000	2100	GOOD BUY	NA	2650	NA
JWBL 12 ISLAY	√	NA	NA	NA	DUE ANY MOMENT	NA	2650	NA
JW WHITE WALKER	√	2400	2400	2400	INTERESTING
JW DBL BLACK	√	2650	2600	2700	MUST BUY	2525	3225	4200
JW GOLD	√	3800	3600	3800	MUST BUY	3650	3250	5600
JW GREEN	?	NA	NA	NA	DUE ANY MOMENT	NA	NA	5350
JW ISLAND GREEN	?	NA	NA	NA	GOOD BUY	NA	5090	NA
JW SWING	√	NA	NA	5750	JUST GRAB	NA	NA	NA
JW 18 YO	√	6800	7000	6400	MUST BUY	6000	6290	6900
CHIVAS REGAL 12	√	1800	1800	2000	MUST BUY	2200	2340	NA
CHIVAS REGAL 15	√	3500	3600	3600	GOOD BUY	3850	4065	NA
CHIVAS REGAL 18	√	4800	4900	5200	MUST BUY	NA	6090	NA
BALLANTINE'S FINEST	X	1000	NA	1100	YOUR CHOICE	NA	1400	NA
BALLANTINE'S 7 YO	X	1800	NA	NA	NVFM	NA	NA	NA
BALLANTINE'S 12 YO	X	1900	NA	NA	YOUR CHOICE	NA	2220	NA
BALLANTINES 15 YO	X	3600	3350	NA	YOUR CHOICE	NA	NA	NA
BALLANTINES 17 YO	√	4800	5000	4800	MUST BUY	NA	NA	NA
DEWAR'S 15 YO	X	3500	3500	3500	FAIR BUY VFM	2700	3030	NA
DEWAR'S 18 YO	√	4800	5200	5000	MUST BUY	5550	5800	5890
DIMPLE’S 15 YO	√	4250	4500	4250	MUST BUY	5535	4250	NA
GRANTS TRIPLEWOOD 12	?	NA	NA	5200	GOOD BUY @1660 FKFT	NA	3230	4225
HIGHLAND Q'N MAJESTY	√	NA	NA	2375	MUST BUY 12 YO	1925	NA	NA
ISLAY MIST	√	2800	2800	2800	INTERESTING	NA	NA	3750
SIX ISLES BLENDED MALT	√	3500	3600	NA	VERY INTERESTING	NA	3560	NA
SOMETHING SPECIAL NAS	√	1350	1450	1450	MUST BUY	NA	NA	NA
100 PIPERS BLENDED MALT	√	NA	1300	1300	MUST BUY 8 YO	NA	NA	NA
TEACHER’S H’LAND CREAM	?	1300	NA	1400	NO IDEA	1050	1550	1450
TEACHER’S 50	?	1400	1400	1400	FAIR BUY	NA	NA	NA
WILLIAM LAWSON’S 12	?	1000	NA	NA	NO IDEA	1015	1245	NA
WILLIAM LAWSON’S 13	?	NA	NA	NA	I LIKED IT, VFM	NA	1630	NA

* The prices of Kilchoman Machir Bay and Sanaig have dropped to Rs 3,000 and 4,500 as of January 2023. Loch Gorm is not available yet.

* The price of Ardbeg 10 has dropped to Rs 4,800 as of January 2023.

* Singapore sells The Singleton of Dufftown