Paul John

John Distilleries, one of India's biggest spirits companies, chose laid-back coastal Goa for its single malt adventure, distilling from 2008 and launching Paul John in London in 2012. The grain is Indian six-row barley grown in the north — huskier and oilier than Scottish two-row, giving a distinctive honeyed, spicy depth — and some expressions fold in peat shipped from Scotland. Goa's heat and monsoon humidity drive maturation hard; the angels take around 8% a year, and five-year-old casks emerge tasting of dark honey, cocoa and tropical fruit.