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'Old Monk' rum founder Kapil Mohan dies at 88

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Jan 09, 2018, 06:34 AM IST
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Mohan was not keeping well for some time and breathed his last on January 6, at his home in Ghaziabad’s Mohan Nagar area Photograph:(Zee News Network)

Kapil Mohan, the man behind India's cheapest and iconic rum 'Old Monk' passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest at the age of 88.

Mohan was not keeping well for some time and breathed his last on January 6, at his home in Ghaziabad’s Mohan Nagar area.
 
The former Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of Mohan Meakin Ltd, launched 'Old Monk' on December 19, 1954, just 7 years after India’s Independence.

It is interesting to note that Mohan was himself a teetotaler.  

Mohan gave the company an entirely new look after taking the affairs of Dyer Meakin & Co.Ltd in his hands. 

Under him, the company reached stellar heights and developed three distilleries, two breweries and a wide range of new franchises across the country.

Founded in 1855 by Edward Dyer, Mohan Meakin was Asia’s first brewery which started its operations in hill-town of Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, where the water is suitable for brewing.

Its first product was Lion Beer.

In 1966, the company was renamed Mohan Meakin Breweries, and as the company diversified, the term ‘breweries’ was dropped from the name.

For a long time, Old Monk was one of the best selling rums in the world and the biggest Indian Made Foreign Liquor brand as well. 

However, between 2010 and 2014, there was a 50% decline in its sales.