The story of India's Favourite Rum

Did you know that Old Monk is the third largest selling rum in the world? It is also referred to as the ‘national drink of India’.

Nothing unites India like a peg of Old Monk and bowl of chakna. 

It’s the rum that most Indians swear by, regardless of caste, class or creed.

It’s one alcohol that is always easy on the pocket.

It still smells of the first time it was sneaked into the hostel probably with a pack of cheap cigarettes for the first-ever drinking escapade with friends, of the first night of drinking alone on the terrace after that college breakup, of the first time it was ordered with thums up and a twist of lime at dinner, and of so many firsts for so many different generations.

Interesting, India has a very long standing relationship with alcohol, with one of the first mentions of alcohol in Vedic texts in 2000 BC with many mythological references too. 

Although, there are references to drinks such as ‘Soma’ in the images of kings and emperors courts offering evidence of a certain kind of intoxicating drink served for their entertainment, 

‘Sura’- a kind of strong beer, prepared from grain (barley or rice) was popular amongst the lower class. 

Yet, the official records on the history of alcohol consumption in India are obscure.

It ebbed and flowed with the powers that governed, sometimes rising to popularity and at other times slinking away into the shadows.

However, the definitive moment came during the British Raaj in India.

The British officers posted in India often longed for their favourite alcohol. 

Besides the regular ration of Scotch whisky and wine that they received from England, they didn’t have any other options.

They were keen to start brewing and distilling locally. 

That’s when they found a place, Kasauli, a small cantonment town in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh.

In 1855, Edward Abraham Dyer, who also happened to be the father of Colonel Reginald Dyer who oversaw the unfortunate massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in 1919, opened a brewery in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh to supply cheap beer to the British soldiers. 

Interestingly, he created what could be Asia’s first beer ‘Lion’ which was advertised as being ‘as good as back home’ to the Brits. 

Come the 1930s, the Indian assets of Dyer’s brewery which had been purchased by H.G. Meakin came to be known as ‘Dyer Meakin Breweries’. 

Two years after independence, in 1949, the company was acquired by Narendra Nath Mohan and was renamed ‘Mohan Meakin Breweries’ for good.

Jumping to 1954, the new Indian owners of 'Mohan Meakin breweries' are inspired by peaceful European monks to create a rum that leads the liquor market for decades. But can it survive the challenges it faces today?

Keep listening to find out the complete story.

Happy Listening,

Bound & Shruti