GianChand's Diwali gift boxes put three award-winning Jammu single malts under one festive roof

If your Diwali gifting list has a whisky lover on it, GianChand has just made the shortlist easier. DeVANS Modern Breweries, the Jammu company behind the GianChand Indian single malts, has unveiled a Diwali gifting collection of three gift boxes: GianChand Signature at Rs 4,500, and GianChand Adambaraa and GianChand Manshaa at Rs 9,000 each. The boxes are on sale at retail outlets in Gurgaon, Punjab, Chandigarh, Goa and Jammu.

The collection grows out of the brand's campaign 'The Pursuit of Craft', which treats whisky-making as a process that never really finishes – creation, refinement, evolution, repeat. The campaign uses the infinity symbol to make that point, and the idea carries through to the festive packaging, with each box designed around the character and heritage of the whisky inside.

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Three boxes, three personalities

GianChand Signature honours the founder, Dewan Gian Chand, who started DeVANS in Jammu in 1961. On its official page, GianChand describes this flagship malt as mildly peated, with brandy snaps, gingerbread, dried apricots and honeycomb toffee on the nose, and a sweet, creamy palate that turns gently spiced and dry, ending on bitter chocolate and white pepper.

GianChand Adambaraa is the unpeated one: a non-chill-filtered single malt matured in American bourbon casks, inspired by Dogra hospitality and Himalayan heritage. The brand's notes promise honeyed malt, orchard fruit and soft vanilla, then caramel, toffee, peach and dried apricot, with a long, sweet finish.

GianChand Manshaa is for the smoke-chasers. It is a peated, non-chill-filtered single malt, also matured in American bourbon casks, drawing on the culture of Jammu and the Himalayas. Expect campfire smoke, earthy peat and toasted spice, balanced by sweet malt and caramel, according to the brand.

The medals behind the boxes

These are not untested festive novelties. At the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2026, the flagship GianChand Indian Single Malt won a Double Gold – the award given when every judge independently rates a spirit Gold – and Manshaa took Silver. In 2025, Manshaa was named International Whisky of the Year at Meininger's International Spirits Award (ISW) in Germany, while Adambaraa was crowned Best Indian Whisky and Best Indian Single Malt Whisky at the International Whisky Competition in the USA.

The flagship has also caught the eye of whisky writer Jim Murray, who called it "unquestionably the most delicate Indian malt I have nosed in the near 30 years" in his Whisky Bible 2022, as GianChand proudly notes on its own website.

Which box should you buy?

• For the friend who is new to single malts: Signature at Rs 4,500 is the easy, elegant entry point, and the flagship carries that SFWSC Double Gold.
• For the dad or boss who likes it smooth: Adambaraa at Rs 9,000 – unpeated, bourbon-cask sweet and very easy to like.
• For the peat fan who already owns everything: Manshaa at Rs 9,000 brings the smoke, and an International Whisky of the Year title to talk about over dinner.

Availability is the catch. The gift boxes are listed only for retail outlets in Gurgaon, Punjab, Chandigarh, Goa and Jammu, and GianChand's own gifting page says availability, packaging and delivery vary by location. If you live elsewhere, call your local premium liquor store before you plan the gift around it. And the usual rule applies: alcohol is only for adults of legal drinking age in your state.

Chairman and managing director Prem Dewan sums up the brief: "Diwali is about celebrating meaningful relationships and expressing appreciation."

The FHM take

Indian single malt has well and truly graduated from 'surprisingly good' to simply good, and GianChand's trophy cabinet proves it. The Rs 4,500 Signature box is the smartest buy here – a Double Gold whisky at a very friendly festive price – while Manshaa is the bottle we would quietly keep for ourselves. Our only wish: wider availability, because a Jammu-made malt this good deserves a shelf in every state.