In a global first, Ab inBev forays into whiskey segment in India

The company launched Magnum Double Barrel in Goa six weeks ago, and more recently in Mumbai and Pune. An expansion in Maharashtra will be followed by Karnataka, Haryana, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, which makes Budweiser and Corona beer, has forayed into the whiskey segment in India, a first for the brewer globally, with the launch of Magnum Double Barrel. This is part of the brewer’s ‘Beyond Beer’ and premiumisation strategy.

CNBC-TV18 reported in September that the company will be entering the Whiskey, Gin and ready-to-drink beverage segments. The company launched Magnum Double Barrel in Goa six weeks ago, and more recently in Mumbai and Pune. An expansion in Maharashtra will be followed by Karnataka, Haryana, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

“So Budweiser Magnum, which has been an extremely successful local line extension of our global brand, Budweiser is the brand that we’re using as an offshoot into the adjacent category of whiskey. So the brand is going to be Magnum Double Barrel. It’s an American blended whiskey where we take American corn whiskey from Kentucky and blend it with Indian single malt through our partnership with Sazerac Group here in India,” Kartikeya Sharma, president, AB InBev – India & South East Asia told CNBC-TV18.