The company originated as a trading company called McDowell and Company (also known as McDowell & Co,

McDowell or McDowell's), founded in India in 1826 by Angus McDowell, a Scot. [5] He set up
a warehouse near Fort St. George, Madras (nowChennai).[6] The company imported liquor, tobacco products,
and other consumer goods into India to serve the needs of British people stationed there. [6] McDowell &
Company Limited was incorporated as a company in 1898, with an initial capital of 8 lakh (US$12,000) as
4,000 preferred shares and 4,000 common shares of 100 (US$1.50) each. The company's principal
shareholders were A.M. Hooper, G.D. Coleman, and G.A. Ruppell.[6]
The Vittal Mallya-run United Breweries Group bought McDowell and Company in 1951. [5] In 1959, Mallya
established the company's first distillery at Cherthala, Kerala on the banks of the Vembanad lake. McDowell's
began bottling Bisquit Brandy and Dorville French Brandy, from imported concentrates, becoming the first
company to manufactureIndian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). The company opened India's first distillation plant
to manufacture extra neutral alcohol (ENA) at Cherthala in 1961. The plant began bottling products for
Herbertsons Limited of the Anglo Thai Group that same year. The company launched Golden Grape Brandy, its
first original product, in 1962. The company launched McDowell's No.1 Brandy in 196364 when their contract
with Herbertsons expired. In the early 1960s, the company acquired Carew & Co and Phipson & Co,
manufacturers of rum, gin, and other hard liquors. in 1963-64. [6]