It was during the lockdown that Rakshay Dhariwal, who runs award-winning bars and restaurants like PCO and Jamun in Delhi, realised something curious—the most sought-after liquor category, after beer and wine, was agave spirits like tequila.
“I started thinking, agave has been growing in India for 300 years. Why is it that we don’t have a premium agave spirit offering in India?” said Rakshay. It was the pivot that led him, along with partner Radhika Dhariwal, to launch Maya Pistola Agavepura, an agave brand that has hit the right notes on the cocktail circuit.
Call it tequila, or agave, the spirit is having its moment under the Indian sun—the latest trend in India’s alcobev space after the rise and rise of gin in the last decade. For long celebrated/reviled for its ‘party drink’ and ‘lose all inhibitions’ image, Tequila/agave seems to have sobered up nicely in its new avatar, through a bunch of imports as well as local launches that celebrate its flavours both as shots as well as in cocktail formats.
“Shots are the loudest but smallest part of the story,” said Aman Swetta, who, along with Gary Taneja, co-founded Cristal Azul, a tequila produced in Mexico for the Indian market. “The real growth is happening in cocktails and sipping serves, especially in premium bars, hotels, and home consumption. That’s where tequila transitions from party fuel to a lifestyle spirit.”
The growth is happening on two fronts—tequila as well as similar agave spirits. Those purely made in India go under the ‘agave’ billing, since the two Mexican-origin liquors, tequila and mezcal, are both GI (Geographic Indicator) protected, meaning only concoctions containing at least 51 per cent blue weber agave, a plant native to Mexico, can be called Tequila. By contrast, similar Indian spirits use Agave Americana, a species of plant that grows in central India.
“Consumers are shifting away from heavy, predictable spirits toward premium, cocktail-friendly options — and tequila sits right at that intersection,” they added.
The numbers do back up the claim. The Indian market for tequila is estimated at close to 700 million dollars and expected to shoot up to 1.78 billion dollars, according to a projection by market research firm IMARC. The compounded growth rate is expected to be a healthy 11.45 per cent, driven, according to Monika Alcobev Ltd MD Kunal Patel, “by changing consumer behaviour and greater global exposure” as well as a “shift in social drinking habits.”
“Increased international travel has familiarised Indian consumers with international drinking cultures, while evolving preferences are encouraging people to explore new styles of spirits and experiences,” he explained, adding, “Social drinking habits are also shifting, with more consumers drinking to socialise rather than purely for intoxication. This has helped tequila find relevance beyond shots and into lifestyle-led occasions.”
Tequila’s recent rise is spurred, much like gin’s was in the late 2010s, by the evolving cocktail bar culture in cities, the focus on savouring drinks and innovating new cocktails rather than the previous ‘going out, getting drunk and dancing away’ concept of night-outs. This has given a fillip to neutral alcohols like gin and tequila (much like vodka earlier), which are more conducive to becoming the base for cocktails.
“Consumers can enjoy multiple tequila cocktails or straight serves without palate fatigue, which suits Indian social drinking habits very well,” added Patel, whose company imports Jose Cuervo tequila into India. “Over time, tequila has the potential to sit alongside vodka as a mainstream white spirit, while aged tequilas can also appeal to whisky drinkers, allowing the category to draw consumers from both segments.”
There is another reason why tequila has been garnering attention in the country—celebrities. Right from Shah Rukh to Rana Daggubati, stars are putting money where their mouth is: while SRK has tied up Radico Khaitan to launch a premium tequila brand called D’Yavol Anejo, Baahubali star Rana Daggubati has tied up with super South musician Anirudh Ravichander and entrepreneur Sree Harsha Vadiamudi to launch Loca Loka, billed as ‘a tequila brand born in Mexico, conceptualised in India, and designed for the world.’ Former cricketer Yuvraj Singh also recently threw his hat into the ring, co-founding FINO tequila, which was recently launched in Delhi