What gets built, in what order, by when, and what "done" looks like for each workstream. The Project Hub dashboard tracks live progress against this plan.
Built on a working asset base: VKM's live bulk business, a 2000L iStill, and matured malt stock (incl. 3-year ex-bourbon and Oloroso casks) that brings the first single malt within reach in 2026 itself.
Engagement signed · cask stock audit (Batch 001 candidates + UK/EU 3-year-compliant casks identified) · HP excise counsel engaged (Reserve & Collect, tasting room, House Spirits supply route) · trademarks filed India + UK · design agencies briefed · awards calendar locked.
Positioning & brand architecture signed off · brand book + label system in design · gin/vodka specs frozen and trial batches run · pricing ladders + distributor strategy finalised · IEC + FSSAI central licence in hand · QA/HACCP framework live · Hire #1 (QA/Production lead) onboard.
Gin & vodka into HP + Chandigarh + Delhi on-trade · Ashmira Single Malt Batch 001 — limited, numbered, GC-MS data on label · brand-home v1 (tours + tastings, subject to permits) · House Spirits pilot with 2 hospitality properties · awards entries submitted.
PR + content engine running (ASCI-safe) · Collective club opens post counsel ruling · Reserve & Collect allocations · visitor experience v2 · Stillhouse AI consumer transparency pages live · state expansion (2–3 new markets).
UK importer signed (LOI gate) · first UK shipment + tasting roadshow · Indian duty-free listing conversations · EU entry via Germany/Netherlands · awards results steering allocation strategy.
Allocation-led single malt drops · brand-home as destination · US market entry decision (gated on medal traction; 25–35% landed-cost uplift priced in) · House Spirits programme at 8–10 properties.
| Phase | Window | Workstreams in play | Exit criteria (what must be true) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Foundation | Months 0–4 | M1 Brand · M2 Product · M3 GTM · M8 QA (start) | Brand book approved · Batch 001 plan locked · first SKU specs frozen · licences underway · counsel opinion received |
| 2Launch | Months 3–9 | M4 Marketing · M5 Visitor · M6 Team · + M1–M3 execution | Spirit Studio trading · Batch 001 sold through · brand-home v1 open · 3 core hires made |
| 3Export | Months 6–18 | M3 export lane · M7 Tech · M8 export readiness | UK shipment landed · travel-retail talks live · EU dossier complete · compliance stack running |
| 4Scale | Months 18+ | All modules at export depth | Allocation model proven · US go/no-go decided on awards evidence |
Each workstream has a full execution pack — scope, owners, budgets and acceptance criteria — ready to hand to the specialist who executes it. Summarised here.
| Deliverable | What "done" looks like | Indicative timing |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning house & brand architecture | "Proof, not poetry" — Sirmaur-specific, science-transparent. Ashmira master brand → Single Malt / Spirit Studio / Collective; relationship to VKM bulk defined. | Month 1 |
| Trademark filings | India + UK filed (classes 33 & 35) immediately; EU + US within 90 days to lock priority. | Months 1–3 |
| Export-grade brand book | 12 mandatory components incl. wordmark, label system with printed batch data + QR to GC-MS, photography direction, voice matrix. | Months 2–4 |
| 4-market label compliance matrix | India FSSAI (July 2026 provisions built in) vs UK vs EU vs US TTB — every SKU label passes all four from day one. | Month 3 |
| Deliverable | What "done" looks like | Indicative timing |
|---|---|---|
| P0Cask stock audit | Every cask logged: fill date, type, volume, sample verdict. Batch 001 candidates + UK/EU 3-year-compliant casks identified. | Weeks 2–4 |
| Portfolio ladder & SKU specs | Entry (gin/vodka) → Core (single malt) → Limited drops → Allocation. Spec sheet per SKU: ABV, batch size, cask, GC-MS window, price corridor. | Months 1–3 |
| Batch 001 release plan | From existing ex-bourbon/Oloroso stock; numbered bottles, data-on-label; launch Q4 2026. | Locked Month 2 |
| House Spirits line (hospitality) | House Pour / Signature / Estate tiers; development via Stillhouse AI; 2 pilot properties priced. | Pilot Months 2–4 |
| Cask sourcing & innovation roadmap | RFQs to brokers (ex-bourbon, Oloroso, wine); finish experiments scheduled against stock. | Months 2–4 |
| Deliverable | What "done" looks like | Indicative timing |
|---|---|---|
| P0HP excise counsel opinion | Reserve & Collect structure, tasting-room/on-site retail permits, House Spirits licensee-to-licensee route — all ruled on before launch spend. | Weeks 2–8 |
| Pricing & margin waterfalls | Per SKU per channel (HP, Delhi, export UK) with excise modelled; distributor terms framework. | Month 2 |
| On-trade launch plan | Top-30 accounts HP/Chandigarh/Delhi; House Spirits prospects flagged on the same call sheet. | Months 2–4 |
| Export sequence | UK importer long-list → LOI → first shipment; then travel retail; then EU (DE/NL); US last, gated. | Months 6–18 |
| 12-month commercial calendar | Launches, allocations, events, club windows — one page Vishal can pin up. | Month 3 |
| Deliverable | What "done" looks like | Indicative timing |
|---|---|---|
| ASCI-safe domestic playbook | PR-led, awards-led, experiential, age-gated 25+ digital; explicit "will not do" guardrails; zero surrogate spend until rules gazetted. | Month 3 |
| Awards programme | IWSC/SFWSC/ISC entries timed to Batch 001; QA pack per entry. | Rolling from Month 1 |
| Launch campaigns | Spirit Studio "Batch Culture" + Batch 001 "Altitude Data" concepts to agency brief level. | Months 3–5 |
| Export-market playbook | Unrestricted advertising plans for UK/EU; trade-press story bank (iStill precision, Sirmaur terroir, GC-MS transparency). | Months 6–9 |
| Deliverable | What "done" looks like | Indicative timing |
|---|---|---|
| Brand-home concept & build plan | v1 tour + tasting room → v2 club hub → v3 destination; grain-to-glass tour script; pricing tiers. | Concept Month 3; v1 open Q4 2026* |
| Collective club design | Tiers, benefits, allocation access, events; Reserve & Collect customer journey end-to-end. | Month 4; opens post-ruling |
| Visitor revenue model | Conservative/base/stretch scenarios with stated assumptions; KPIs (visitors, conversion, revenue/visitor). | Month 3 |
*Subject to HP excise permits — Gate A.
| Deliverable | What "done" looks like | Indicative timing |
|---|---|---|
| Org chart now → 18 months | Three-speed org; what stays fractional vs full-time; consultant-vs-hire boundary explicit. | Month 2 |
| Role cards & hire sequence | 6 roles with JDs, scorecards, indicative bands. Hire #1 = QA/Production lead. | Hire #1 by Month 3 |
| Training calendar | HACCP certification, sensory panel calibration (8–10 weeks), tour-guide training. | Rolling |
| Deliverable | What "done" looks like | Indicative timing |
|---|---|---|
| Stack ruling (buy vs build) | Ops ERP bought; Stillhouse AI built (it's the moat): trial logs → sensory+GC-MS fusion → predictive maturation. | Month 2 |
| Stillhouse AI roadmap v1→v3 | v1 production logging · v2 client development mode (House Spirits) · v3 consumer QR transparency pages. | Months 2–12 |
| Club CRM & booking stack | Membership, allocations, tour bookings; feeds the Collective. | Months 4–6 |
| Compliance data layer | India state excise reporting + UK/EU/US import documentation generated from batch records. | Months 6–12 |
| Deliverable | What "done" looks like | Indicative timing |
|---|---|---|
| HACCP-based QA framework | Distillery-specific CCPs, batch records, sensory QC panel, GC-MS spec windows, retained samples. | Months 1–3 |
| SOP register (20 SOPs) | Authored, owned, trained — mash to dispatch. | Top 10 by Month 3 |
| India export licences | IEC, FSSAI central licence, state excise export permit process documented. | Months 1–3 |
| Per-market export dossiers | UK (importer pack, labelling) · EU (2019/787 compliance) · US (TTB COLA + FDA registration, costed). | Months 4–12 |
| Gate | Rule | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| A · HP counsel ruling | Reserve & Collect + tasting room cleared by written opinion | Club revenue, on-site retail, House Spirits contracts |
| B · Stock audit | Cask dates verified + sensory/GC-MS pass | Batch 001 public announcement |
| C · UK importer LOI | Signed letter of intent | Export bottling & label spend |
| D · Awards traction | First international medal | US market spend (costliest market, last in line) |
| E · Surrogate-ad gazette | Enacted rules read & assessed | Any brand-extension/surrogate activity (until then: zero) |