Spirit of expansion: AABL takes its premium portfolio to Jharkhand

MADHYA PRADESH: Associated Alcohols & Breweries Ltd (AABL) is going east. The Indore-based spirits maker has uncorked its premium portfolio in Jharkhand, bringing Nicobar Indian Dry Gin, Titanium Triple Distilled Vodka, and whiskeys Hillfort and Central Province to a state it reckons is ready for the good stuff.

The move, announced on 11 December, marks another notch in AABL’s strategy to colonise high-potential markets across India. Jharkhand, with its growing urban centres and rising disposable incomes, presents what the company calls “strong growth potential”—corporate speak for “people there want to drink better.”

“We are pleased to introduce our premium portfolio to the Jharkhand market,” says AABL managing director Prasann Kumar Kedia. “The launch marks another significant step in our strategy to expand our national footprint.”

The company is betting that Jharkhand’s “discerning customers” will develop a taste for its craft credentials. Nicobar’s dry gin aims to ride the juniper wave that’s swept urban India, whilst Titanium’s triple-distilled vodka promises the sort of smoothness that makes morning-after regrets slightly less painful. Meanwhile, Hillfort and Central Province target the whiskey drinkers who’ve outgrown the usual suspects.

AABL, which trades on the BSE (scrip code 507526) and NSE (symbol ASALCBR), has been systematically building its presence beyond its Madhya Pradesh heartland. The company operates from Khodigram in Khargone district, where it presumably distills the good stuff before dispatching it to new frontiers.

Whether Jharkhand develops a taste for premium spirits or sticks with the familiar remains to be seen. But AABL is clearly banking on eastern ambitions—one well-crafted tipple at a time.