Rajesh Chhabria, a 35-year-old banker with a multinational company in Nagpur, enjoys his Glenfiddich and Singleton single malts. But when the monsoon arrives, there is only one drink he reaches for: Old Monk.
So when friends braved the pouring rain for an evening at his home recently, the menu had already been decided: hot kebabs, onion pakoras and India’s best-known dark rum.
Wine shops across Nagpur either had no stock or said supplies had become irregular. Local bars offered Old Monk by the peg but refused takeaway bottles.
Curious, Chhabria called fellow loyalists in Pune, Akola and Mumbai.
The answer was the same. The smiling monk on the label, affectionately known as the ‘Budha Sadhu’, had quietly disappeared from liquor shelves across much of Maharashtra.
What began as one consumer’s search for his favourite monsoon drink is emerging as a wider supply squeeze.
Retailers and distributors say Old Monk has become increasingly difficult to replenish just as seasonal demand accelerates, raising questions over whether ethanol diversion, bottling constraints or distribution bottlenecks are disrupting supplies of one of India’s most enduring liquor brands.
That question is now echoing through liquor stores and distribution warehouses across Maharashtra.
Industry executives say ethanol diversion alone does not explain the shortage. While the Centre’s ethanol-blending program has increased demand for molasses-based feedstock, the current crunch appears to reflect a perfect storm, a predictable monsoon demand surge colliding with bottling and dispatch constraints at facilities serving western India, including the Khopoli unit, along with state excise approvals, transport permits and distributor allocations.
Because alcohol is regulated state by state, delays in bottling or dispatches can leave one market short without affecting another. If ethanol were the primary reason, trade executives argue, competing dark-rum brands would also be disappearing from shelves. Instead, the shortage appears largely confined to Old Monk, pointing to a brand-specific supply-chain issue rather than an industry-wide rum shortage.
Some in the trade also believe institutional channels such as the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) may receive priority whenever production tightens, although there is no official confirmation that this has contributed to the current crunch.
The timing could hardly be worse for Mohan Meakin. While whisky dominates India’s ₹3.3-lakh-crore spirits market with nearly 67 per cent of revenues, rum remains a ₹20,000-crore category selling around 50 million cases annually. Old Monk alone accounts for an estimated 5-6 million cases a year, or roughly 10-12 per cent of the market.
Unlike whisky, Old Monk’s sales are highly seasonal. Trade estimates suggest 60-65 per cent of annual volumes are sold between July and January. Across India, monthly dark-rum sales rise from about ₹1,300 crore in summer to more than ₹1,800 crore during the monsoon and winter, creating an additional ₹500-crore monthly demand wave, particularly in western and southern India.
Maharashtra is at the centre of that surge. The State’s dark-rum market is estimated at around ₹2,000 crore, with Old Monk off-take rising nearly 80 per cent after the first heavy rains. Retailers build inventory before the season, but when production, bottling or dispatches fail to keep pace, those buffers can disappear within days, quickly leaving shelves empty.
Launched by Mohan Meakin in 1954, Old Monk remains one of India’s most recognisable liquor brands despite little conventional advertising. It has survived changing drinking habits and the rise of premium whiskies through the loyalty of generations of consumers.
For many Indians, Old Monk is more than a bottle of rum. It is part of the ritual of the first rains, military canteens, hostel reunions and family gatherings. That enduring emotional connection explains why its temporary disappearance has become a talking point across Maharashtra. Consumers are not simply looking for another dark rum, they are looking for Old Monk.
Published on July 26, 2026
