Drinking practices vary substantially among different countries and different masses. But both alcoholic beverages are very popular among all ages of people. The alcoholic drinks market is broadly classified into five classes, starting from beers, wines, hard liquors, liqueurs and others. The market is stocked with different types of alcoholic beverages, differing in terms of alcohol content. There are some alcohol beverage types that are low in alcohol content like beer. Beer has an alcohol content of about 3-8% and wine consists of approximately 7-18% alcohol concentration. The alcohol content of certain alcoholic beverages can be increased by adding on distilled products. Beer is one of the oldest and probably the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world. It is sometimes even referred to as liquid bread. Distinctive alcoholic beverages differ in terms of their aging process like beer that undergoes a process of short fermentation, lasts for about a week or so. On the contrary, wine, which involves a longer process of fermentation, has a long aging period lasting many months or even years. Beer is usually made from barley, whereas wine can be made with different fruits like plums and cherry, but usually the wine that can be found in the market is made from grapes. Certain kind of alcohol beverages contains anti-oxidizing chemicals like phytochemicals. The phytochemicals are basically found in good quantity in wine. Alcoholic beverages are said to be beneficial if taken in limited amount to increase the appetite. Excess consumption may lead to several other biological problems. Liquor industry has always remained under strict governmental control in terms of capacity creation, distribution, taxation. While overall public perception spells restraint, it is the symbol of high life even in puritan India. The branded liquor industry is growing at a rate a around 10 to 12%. The total consumption of liquor in India was nearly 100 mn cases of beer and 60 mn cases of whisky and other spirits in fiscal 2005-06. The consumption expanded by nearly 10% in 2006-07 to reach over 110 mn cases of beer and about 70 mn cases of whisky and other spirits. The growing popularity of wine in India is generating lots of interest among big and small wine producers. This is also reinforced by the fact that the cost for opening and setting up of wine plants with capacity of around 100,000 Its comes only to somewhere between Rs 10-15 mn mark. As a result many entrepreneurs, Indian and foreign, are entering in this sector. Total market of wines, spirits and liquors was estimated at Rs.127.27 bn in 2007-08, which represents an increase of around 16% over that of the preceding year. The annual growth in the Indian beer market has been around 8% in the recent years, which compares well with the growth in China. A feather in India alcoholic drinks industry is that McDowells No.1 brandy has emerged as the highest selling brandy globally, pushing the world famous E&J Gallo to the second spot. Other global majors at the top included Presidente brandy (Allied Domecq), Wilyhever Goldkrone (Graflich von Hardenbergsche Kornbrennerei) and Chantre (Eckes) occupying the next three spots among the top five. Nearly 62.5 mn people in India drink alcoholic beverages. The per capita consumption of alcohol is 4 Its per adult per year. About 17% of adult men are addicted to alcohol. Over 65% of alcohol produced in South East Asia is from India. India produced 4 mn tonnes of alcohol in 2006-07. Besides, it imports 7% of the total alcoholic beverage imports in the region. The factors that make India a promising market is the changing demographics - youth and middle-aged persons will constitute 54% of the population in 2011, as against about 50% in 2006, adding 20 mn to the drinking age population annually. Changing lifestyle has also seen the number of Indian drinkers rise from 1 in 300 two decades ago to more than 1 in a 20 today. It is apprehended to grow to 1 in 5 by 2011. There is a very good scope and ample space for entry for new entrepreneurs into this sector. Few Indian Major Players are as under: Arlem Breweries Ltd. Arthos Breweries Ltd. Associated Breweries & Distilleries Ltd. Aurangabad Breweries Ltd. Blossom Industries Ltd. Buckingham Distilleries & Breweries Ltd. Castle Breweries Ltd. Charminar Breweries Ltd. Charosa Wineries Ltd. Devans Modern Breweries Ltd. Doburg Lager Breweries Ltd. [Erstwhile] East Coast Breweries & Distilleries Ltd. FosterS India Ltd. Grover Vineyards Ltd. Haryana Breweries Ltd. High Range Breweries Ltd. Hindustan Breweries & Bottling Ltd. Impala Distillery & Brewery Ltd. Indage Vintners Ltd. Indo Lowenbrau Breweries Ltd. Kalyani Breweries Ltd. Kesarval Beverages Ltd. Kool Breweries Ltd. Lilasons Breweries Ltd. Lilasons Industries Ltd. Malabar Breweries Ltd. Mangalore Breweries & Distilleries Ltd. Millennium Beer Inds. Ltd. Mount Shivalik Breweries Ltd. Mount Shivalik Inds. Ltd. Mysore Breweries Ltd. Mysore Wine Products Ltd. Pals Distilleries Ltd. Premier Breweries Ltd. Punjab Breweries Ltd. Rainbow Breweries Ltd. Rajasthan Breweries Ltd. Rochees Breweries Ltd. Shaw Wallace Breweries Ltd. Sica Breweries Ltd. Skol Breweries Ltd. Skol Breweries Ltd. Som Distilleries & Breweries Ltd. Tripti Alcobrew Ltd. United Breweries Ltd. Vinedale Distilleries Ltd. Winsome Breweries Ltd.