A recent whisky competition dominated headlines for all the wrong reasons. As it turned out, the winner, Indri-Trini, was believed to have been founded by a murderer called Manu Sharma.
Every year, the Las Vegas Global Spirit Awards — the Oscars for alcoholic brands — bring together industry experts and connoisseurs to determine which beverage tastes the best. The recognition helps companies form valuable partnerships with conglomerates like Diageo, as well as hotels and airlines around the world that want to offer their clients the very best of the best — not just the most popular brands.
The 2025 whisky category, in particular, was dominated by Indian brands. Forbes reported that four of the top five spots were claimed by Indian whiskies. So you can imagine the scale of the achievement when Indri-Trini eventually took the top spot. It’s one thing to win an international competition — it’s another to know your brand is part of an emerging class of excellence, and your company just happens to be the best among them.
Reportedly, Indri-Trini is made near the Himalayas in Indri, Haryana. The brand hit the market in 2021. The controversy surrounding the company lies in its founding. When news of Indri-Trini’s victory hit its home market, the rest of the world got an update about its owner.
Indri-Trini is owned by Siddharth Vashisht, but for those more familiar with his public persona, he is better known as Manu Sharma. Back in 1999, there was a party in New Delhi where Sharma, mingling with the upper echelon of society, shot and killed a model named Jessica Lal after she refused to serve him a drink. For over seven years, Sharma fought a murder charge, but he was eventually convicted and served almost two decades in prison. People have certainly been chased out of the US for less.
According to MSN, Lal’s sister Sabrina reacted to his release positively, saying she felt a lightness after finally letting it all go. She said, “Fourteen years after, when he walked out of prison, there was no hate in my heart. I’m glad he was starting afresh just like I had. It was like a circle coming full, and I could see my Shona smiling down upon me as if to say, ‘You’ve fought a good fight, just let go now.’”
On X, in a thread celebrating Indian tech advancements and other related achievements, Indri-Trini’s win was also celebrated. Several commenters made sure Jessica wasn’t forgotten, but one remark summed up the general sentiment best: this can only happen under capitalism.
Indri is owned by Piccadily Group which is owned by Manu Sharma who killed Jessica Lal at a party for not serving him Alcohol. The irony.
— PlaatinumK (@plaatinumk) October 1, 2025
Jessica Lal's killer owns Indri – the fastest growing whiskey brand in the world.
— Think With Your Mate
Manu Sharma, the man who shot dead model Jessica Lal for refusing him a drink, is the actual person behind
Indri, an Indian brand that is the
fastest-growing whiskey in history.
Shame on you!!pic.twitter.com/fW6qIG0z09
(@rochngaditya) October 1, 2025
only under capitalism
— Fiercely Virgo (@FiercelyVirgo) October 3, 2025
For better or worse, we live in a society that only rewards making money. While that sounds noble in theory, there’s an unspoken blindness to mercy and empathy. We now live in a world where people only care about potential financial benefit and attention. At times that leads us into lying about the strangest thing.
However, there is an alternative worth considering. How do we regard prisoners who have served their time? Do we ever truly allow them back into society, or do we condemn them to forever pay for their worst mistakes?
