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India's Old Monk Ban: What Legally Makes a Rum a Rum

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India's Old Monk Ban: What Legally Makes a Rum a Rum

2026-08-04 13:01 UTCBy AlphaScala Research DeskSource reporting: livemint.comEditorial standards

India's Old Monk Ban: What Legally Makes a Rum a Rum

FSSAI banned three Old Monk variants for hiding artificial flavour. India's 2018 rules say what counts as rum or whisky and what must say 'flavoured spirit.'

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India's food regulator banned three Old Monk variants across the country, citing labelling that misleads consumers about what is actually in the bottle. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said laboratory tests on rum and whisky from several manufacturers found artificial or nature-identical flavours that mimic the products' inherent taste. The banned variants are Old Monk's The Legend, Gold Reserve and XXX Matured Rum.

The FSSAI said in a press release that there is no internationally recognised manufacturing practice whereby rum flavour is added to rum or whisky flavour is added to whisky. "A few manufacturers are found to add flavour externally, which mimics the product's inherent aroma and taste, and sell the same as a standard product, thereby misleading consumers," the regulator added.

The enforcement rests on the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018, which define what legally counts as rum and whisky. Rum is an alcoholic distillate obtained from the fermented juice of sugarcane, sugarcane molasses or any other sugarcane product. Whisky, by contrast, comes from distilling the fermented extract of malted cereal grains such as corn, rye or barley. Both may also be prepared from neutral or rectified spirit of agricultural origin.

The restriction on flavour is where the labelling rules bite. The characteristic taste and aroma of standard rum and whisky must develop naturally through fermentation and maturation of the genuine base ingredients. A manufacturer cannot take neutral alcohol, a highly distilled spirit with no inherent flavour, and mix in artificial or nature-identical "whisky flavour" or "rum flavour" to pass the result off as the standard product.

Products that rely on flavouring substances added to neutral alcohol must be labelled on the front of the packaging as "rum-flavoured spirit" or "whisky-flavoured spirit." The label must appear where a consumer can see it at the point of purchase. The FSSAI rules also cap colouring: rum cannot contain any colouring matter other than caramel, and rum made without colour must be legally designated "white rum." Natural flavouring substances are allowed in both spirits, provided they do not mimic the product's inherent taste. The FSSAI's tests, however, found artificial and nature-identical flavours in the substandard products, which the standard definition excludes.

The ban applies to sales across India, which removes the three variants from retail shelves in every state. The FSSAI's laboratory tests covered rum and whisky from several manufacturers, not just the Old Monk range. A whisky producer using neutral grain spirit with added whisky flavour faces the same enforcement risk as a rum producer doing the equivalent. The 2018 regulations apply to every rum and whisky sold in India, and the regulator's statement did not limit the findings to one brand.

Compliance removes the risk. A manufacturer that produces the spirit from the genuine base ingredient and lets fermentation and maturation develop the flavour can keep the label "rum" or "whisky." The opposite approach, mixing artificial flavour into neutral alcohol and selling it as a standard product, is what the FSSAI has now banned. Any company that has been using artificial flavour to replicate the taste of rum or whisky without the disclosure has two paths: reformulate the product to meet the standard definition, or relabel it as a flavoured spirit.

The FSSAI's press release framed the issue as a matter of consumer protection. The regulator's position is that a product labelled "rum" or "whisky" must be made the way the regulations define, and that adding flavour to neutral alcohol to replicate the taste misleads the buyer. Anything that gets its character from added flavour is a "rum-flavoured spirit" or "whisky-flavoured spirit" and must say so on the front of the label.