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India's liquor industry has had a rather uncomfortable few weeks. What started as a regulatory action over flavoring in alcoholic beverages quickly turned into a much bigger issue, with some of the country's most recognizable whisky and rum brands facing restrictions on fresh production and sales. Now, Diageo has agreed to reformulate some of its products in India, bringing the latest twist to a dispute that has already reached the Bombay High Court.
The development follows action by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) against several manufacturers over what it says are unauthorized or misleading uses of added flavoring. The regulator's action has affected brands including Old Monk, McDowell's No. 1, Antiquity Blue and Royal Challenge.
The issue is not that FSSAI suddenly decided whisky or rum cannot contain any flavoring whatsoever. The regulator's concern is much more specific.
According to FSSAI, some manufacturers were adding flavors that essentially imitate the character of the spirit already named on the bottle. In simple terms, this included whisky flavor being added to whisky and rum flavor being added to rum.
FSSAI's position is that the characteristic taste and aroma of a spirit should come from the raw materials and recognized production processes, including fermentation, distillation and, where applicable, maturation. The regulator said externally added flavors that mimic those characteristics could mislead consumers when the product is marketed simply as whisky or rum. That distinction is at the center of the entire controversy.
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The crackdown covered several large names across the Indian market. FSSAI's official clarification listed Old Monk The Legend, Old Monk Gold Reserve and Old Monk XXX Matured Rum, manufactured by Mohan Rocky Springwater at Khopoli.
It also listed McDowell's No. 1 Rum, Bagpiper Deluxe Whisky, Old Cask Deluxe XXX Rum, Central Province Whisky, McDowell's No. 1 Celebration Matured XXX Rum, Antiquity Blue Whisky and Royal Challenge Whisky among products facing prohibition-of-sale orders based on non-conforming laboratory reports.
The regulator also said it inspected and sampled products at Mandexi Distilleries & Breweries in Goa and issued notices to six other manufacturers in Maharashtra.
So this was not simply an Old Monk versus FSSAI story. It became a wider industry issue.
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The latest development came from Reuters on August 17. According to two government sources cited by Reuters, Diageo has agreed to reformulate some of its popular whisky and rum products sold in India. The company will stop using whisky flavor in whisky and rum flavor in rum as part of the reformulation.
The change is significant because it will not be limited only to the states where products were originally restricted. Reuters reported that the reformulation will apply to the affected brands made anywhere in India.
The affected Diageo products include Antiquity Blue, Royal Challenge and McDowell's No. 1 Celebration Matured XXX Rum.
Also Read: FSSAI Bars Old Monk Variant, Bagpiper, Royal Challenge Sale Over Artificial Flavoring
For the time being, while the company moves towards the new formulations, Diageo has also agreed to make the added flavoring clearer on the front of the packaging.
That could mean consumers will have a much easier time understanding what is actually in the bottle.
This isn't some tiny craft brand that barely anyone has heard of. Reuters reported that Diageo sells more than 4.5 million nine-liter cases of Royal Challenge every year in India. The brand sits in Diageo's mid-prestige segment and is one of its major domestic products.
That number gives some context to the scale of the issue. When regulators change the rules around a product selling millions of cases a year, the impact goes far beyond a few bottles disappearing from a liquor store shelf. It affects manufacturers, distributors, retailers and, eventually, consumers.
FSSAI has framed the issue primarily as one of consumer information and product standards.
The regulator argues that consumers buying a bottle labelled as whisky or rum should not be misled about how its flavour and character have been created. Its August 2 clarification pointed to the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, particularly clauses dealing with food additives and the presentation of products.
The regulator has also made clear that it does not consider the action an industry-wide ban on alcohol.
Its clarification specifically says several manufacturers continue to produce alcoholic beverages that comply with the prescribed standards.
That part is important because the headlines around the crackdown have made it sound like the entire Indian whisky and rum industry is suddenly in trouble. It isn't.
The action concerns particular products and manufacturing practices.
Several manufacturers challenged the regulatory action in court.
United Spirits, which makes McDowell's No. 1, and Mohan Meakin, the company associated with Old Monk, approached the Bombay High Court after FSSAI prohibited the manufacture and sale of fresh stocks of the affected products.
The companies argued against the basis of the orders, with court filings questioning whether the regulatory position had been sufficiently formalised. One argument was that FSSAI had held an industry-wide stakeholder consultation on July 14, 2026, while the issue was still being discussed.
The Bombay High Court did not immediately grant the manufacturers relief. Instead, the court sought FSSAI's response before deciding on the matter.
So the legal battle and the regulatory reformulation are now running alongside each other.
This is probably what regular drinkers actually want to know.
Potentially, yes.
If a manufacturer changes the formulation and removes an added flavoring that was contributing to the final sensory profile, the resulting drink could taste different. Whether that difference is noticeable will depend on the individual product and the role that flavoring played in its existing recipe.
But it would be premature to say that the reformulated bottles will definitely taste worse or better.
That is something consumers will have to judge once the new versions actually reach the market.
For Diageo, the immediate plan is reformulation and clearer labelling. Reuters reported that the company and FSSAI have an understanding under which the regulator is expected to drop the current bans once the agreed changes are implemented.
Also Read: Which Old Monk Variants Are Still Available In India After FSSAI Ban? Check The Full List
This could turn out to be one of the more important regulatory moments for India's mass-market spirits industry in recent years. FSSAI has made its position clear, manufacturers have challenged aspects of the action, and now at least one of the country's biggest spirits companies has agreed to change its products.
For drinkers, the biggest change may eventually be sitting right there on the label. What is in the bottle, how it got its flavor and what exactly is being sold as whisky or rum could become much clearer.
And after weeks of confusion around some of India's best-known liquor brands, that clarity is probably what consumers need most.
