Our Lady of Perpetual Inebriation

Anything can happen. It's a long way to Delhi.

Major drinks companies including the Edrington Group, Moet Hennessy and Diageo are jockeying for position for the tiny segment of top-end spenders in hotels and restaurants, where a shot of 30-year-old Glenfiddich can cost 1,600 rupees ($36).

But producers of Scotch also want some of the action among India's growing middle classes, particularly the affluent over-35s.

However, they are currently being priced out of the market because of tariffs of up to 525 percent, according to the Scotch Whiskey Association, leaving Indian producers with a tight grip on the mass market.