New whisky and gin coming from UK

bangalore: uk-based allied domecq, theworld''s second largest spirits company, is looking at introducing two of itsleading products, ballantine''s premium whisky and beefeater gin, into the indianopen market. currently it is available in select duty freeoutlets.the expectation is that next year''s budget will bring down theheavy counterveiling duty and give the multinational sufficient cushioning tolaunch these world class products in the open market.india being apredominantly whisky-drinking country, allied domecq has been eyeing the whiskysegment for quite some time. srikant illuri, allied domecq''s chief executiveofficer for india, told the times of india that the company was in the processof studying the market potential.ballantine''s premium whisky is nowavailable in duty free outlets for $14. according to trade pundits, the whiskywhen launched will cost close to rs 2,500 in the open market, taking mumbai asthe benchmark. beefeater gin too is likely to cost the same.ballantine''swhisky sells 5 million cases worldwide and is the number one whisky in europe,illuri said. according to him, india had the potential to turn into a major highend whisky market.meanwhile, the company has temporarily put on hold itscoffee liqueur products, tia maria and kahlua, containing 26.5 per cent alcohol.coffee liqueurs are considered as post-dinner drinks in the west.he saidit would be unwise to launch the products immediately considering the currentmarket scenario. ``the market size is a concern. we may have to wait sometimebefore launching our coffee liqueurs which are a big hit abroad,'''' hesaid.globally, allied domecq has been on a major expansion drive the lastone year. in september, it had bought out german bitter maker kuemmerling for$186 million in an all cash deal. last december it had gulped down two frenchchampagne houses gh mumm and perrier-jouet.