ASHOK CHOKALINGAM - Head of Distilling and International Sales at Amrut Distilleries

One of the leading distilleries in India that has gained an international reputation for producing some of the most exceptional single malt whiskies and fine spirits is Amrut Distilleries. While Amrut has been around since 1948, many believe that much of their international success is due to the passion and perseverance of Ashok Chokalingam, their Head of Distilling and International Sales. Ashok first joined Amrut in 2004 and has since traveled all over the world for the brand. We recently had the opportunity to interview Ashok about his journey to Amrut and highlights of his career and his story is a fascinating one! Keep reading to learn more.

Ashok’s early years with Amrut

In 2004, Amrut Distilleries saw something special in Ashok and recruited him to work for the company, making Amrut his very first job in the alcohol / beverage industry. In his early days, Ashok served as the Sales and Marketing Manager for the United Kingdom with the sole focus of getting buyers and whisky enthusiasts in the UK excited about the brand. In the early 2000’s, the world whisky category was still in its infancy, and no one had respected the single malts coming from the rest of the world. Ashok noted that in his first five years, it was difficult to sell their single malt whisky because people weren’t convinced with the notion of single malt coming from India.

Even though the market was discouraging, Ashok got creative. He set up blind tastings with 3 Scotch single malts and 3 Amrut single malts for potential clients and whisky drinkers and asked them a few key questions. These questions included asking drinkers to determine which whisky came from Scotland and which came from India and what is the age of each whisky and time after time people continued to get the answers wrong.

The breakthrough of Amrut’s success

These blind tastings did their job and with drinkers repeatedly confusing the age and the location Amrut gained encouragement that they did indeed have an amazing product that rivaled great single malts from Scotland. Amrut’s whiskies began to be noticed by some of the top critics in the industry and a breakthrough happened in 2009 when Amrut Fusion was recognized as the 3rd finest whisky in the world and was awarded world whisky of the year.  These accolades made things turn around and Ashok is proud to share that Amrut’s spirits have been on an upward trajectory ever since.

Due to his determination and incredible success, Ashok was promoted from Sales and Marketing Manager in the UK to overseeing sales and marketing in the EU and then eventually took over as the Head of International Sales and Marketing, leading the charge across the globe. From 2004 to 2015 Ashok lived in the UK and in 2015 he moved back to India to assume the role of Assistant Distiller to the previous master distiller. Four years later he was promoted to his current role of Head of Distilling and International Sales and Marketing. His longevity and tenacity with the brand paired with his great spirit and love for crafting and sharing the story behind Amrut’s incredible spirits make him one of the most well-respected leaders in the industry today.

How Ashok enjoys spirits

A few questions that are continually asked of Head Distillers is “what is your drink of choice” and “do you add water or ice” and we couldn’t finish our interview without checking with Ashok. With decades of experience in the alcohol and beverage industry, Ashok had a hard time selecting just one drink of choice because he truly appreciates any good product and is open to trying fine spirits. When asked to pinpoint his favorite, he was quick to say that even though he is open to many different spirits, single malts have a special place in his heart and the classic single malt of Amrut, Amrut Fusion, is his go to. 

While adding water or ice to spirits is a personal choice for drinkers, Ashok has a method he sticks to when drinking high-quality and premium products. For whiskies, he starts off with it neat to appreciate the flavor. Sometimes he adds a few drops of water to open the whisky but only adds ice when he’s enjoying a cocktail out of a highball in the summertime when it’s warm.