India, Feb. 26 -- The recent import duty cut on bourbon whiskey has sparked curiosity among spirits enthusiasts and, perhaps, renewed interest in a category long overlooked in India. The reduction in tariffs, from 150% to 100%, is expected to make both mid-market and top-shelf bourbons more enticing, if not downright compelling. But will that alone make you pick a Woodford Reserve or a Knob Creek over, say, a 12-year-old Aberfeldy or an Amrut Fusion? What will it take to get die-hard Scotch whisky drinkers (and now Indian single malt, Irish whiskey, and tequila lovers) to consider the sweet, woody pleasures of bourbon? That, industry experts say, is what many multinationals will have to contend with in the coming days.

Bourbon whiskey re...