Five-star hotels are stocking their bars with private labels of rare whiskies and fine wines, pushing the indulgence of wealthy clients . They are creating bespoke single malts and are handcrafting wines for a luxury drink. And some are even private labelling the Goan country liquor Feni for a heady mix in their exclusive bars. 

The Leela chain of hotels and resorts plans to debut this August with custom-designed wines - collections of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay andsauvignon blanc - procured from California , Italy and Australia. The Lalit would launch its own label of Feni - a local coconut or cashew based drink - at its 255-room Goa property . The Taj and ITC hotels are building their private malt portfolio even as other chains like Park and Oberoi are exploring the high-margin private label business as per a report in ET.

Luxury hotels have been upgrading their library bar, replacing the low-brow brands with pricey malts, niche vodkas and personalized wines. Not all are looking to create expensive labels; some like Leela want a reasonable and cheerful list of house wines. Some chains are also evaluating to offer custom-labelled wines as souvenirs to guests for their stay at the luxury rooms. 

The luxury hotels can import spirits and wines without local levies in exchange for their foreign exchange earnings, making private label a compelling business proposition.

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