IMFL Highball

India's most popular way to enjoy whiskey - a simple highball with soda water that lets the character of Indian-made spirits shine through alongside good conversation.

The IMFL Highball is a drink category designation based on India's regulatory classification of Indian Made Foreign Liquor — a category covering domestically produced spirits that replicate foreign spirit styles, including whisky, rum, brandy, and vodka produced within India. IMFL emerged as a regulatory framework when India's government sought to tax and control domestically produced spirits that resembled imported products, creating a category that now encompasses hundreds of brands. Among IMFL whiskies, brands including Officer's Choice (produced by Allied Blenders and Distillers), McDowell's No. 1 (produced by United Spirits, a Diageo subsidiary), and Royal Stag (produced by Pernod Ricard India) are among the highest-selling whisky brands globally by volume — a commercial reality that reflects India's position as the world's largest whisky-consuming nation, with annual consumption exceeding 200 million cases. Most IMFL whiskies are produced from a blend of molasses-derived neutral spirit with a small percentage of imported Scotch malt whisky, producing spirits that are lighter and sweeter than standard Scotch but significantly less expensive. The IMFL Highball — served with soda water, water, or cola over ice — is the dominant serving format across India's enormous spirits market.