TeaThere is a renaissance going on here in Goa. And it is exploding in flavors and colors that boggle the mind. Jin, a rather strange juniper-based spirit, has re-emerged from the shadows. It has been handling the shelves of liquor stores and supermarkets in India’s designated party capital, in a revival driven primarily by Millennials and Gen Zs.
Goa’s gin renaissance or ‘gin-essence’ has been marked by new brands that are young, experimental and adventurous—just like their makers. These bespoke gins have their own unique botanicals, which young entrepreneurs make at their distilleries. Drawing inspiration from Maharashtra’s sportsbook with vineyard tours, a couple have even opened a distillery for gin-tasting events.
Most of the people behind this renaissance have no experience in the industry. Some have left their consultancy jobs abroad to focus on the spirit, while others have relocated to Goa.
For them, Jin is a labor of love and curiosity.
“This is the coming era for brands and customers in India,” says Aditya Agarwal, 27, founder of Sansar. They have expanded the range ever since they launched the Craft Gin brand in 2019, and they are now available in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Delhi.
Screenwriter Devika Bhagat’s love affair with Jin began 14 years ago on a cold London day. As he took his first sip at a hot bar away from the freezing cold, he shifted his allegiance from vodka to gin. “I haven’t looked back since then,” she says.
In 2021, her relationship with the distilled spirit flourished with the birth of Tamaras, which she launched with her husband in Colvale, Goa. The decision to produce small-batch, copper-distilled Indian dry gin in the coastal state was deliberate.
Goa is the place where many gin makers are gathering. At least 10 indigenous brands operate here.
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pink, hemp or lotus
Goa’s craft gin makers aren’t just selling alcohol. They want to tell a story and provide a new experience to the consumers. Gin Jiji, an Indian dry gin brand based out of Goa, evokes the mysticism and magic of India by using Tulsi as one of its botanicals.
“We set out on an expedition around India … We couldn’t resist adding tulsi, an aromatic leaf used in Indian Ayurveda and often regarded by Hindus as the earthly manifestation of the goddess Tulsi, ” it says on the brand’s website.
Wandering the world is the epitome of longing, curiosity and self-expression, says its founder Aditya Agarwal, who left his consulting job in Los Angeles to establish a base in Goa. “These traits define the youth in India who are curious about everything, and want to experience more.”
Just ordering a cocktail was not enough. There has to be a story, and the world wants to fill that gap.
Agarwal felt that Indian wine and culture had no representation in the global market. “Today’s youth want to experience bespoke, and we make it happen. Bottles from all Indian brands are also works of art,” he says. Pink Gin, a brand inspired by Pink City Jaipur, for 750ml in Goa 1,850, is a favorite amongst the consumers.
Few gins’ descriptions are as complicated as a wine label. The Pink City boasts “slight sweetness of fresh strawberries, rose and hibiscus, with an overhead bite of juniper and mellow spice”. Jin Jiji promises “essence of India”, with wild juniper “extracted from the Himalayas”.
If City of Pink is delicate, 24-year-old Shubham Khanna’s gingins rely on heaps of cannabis for a non-sour flavor. And the berries that tamaras use for distillation are juniper from Macedonia rather than its slightly bitter Indian counterpart. It’s just a game of how far you can push the envelope in the use of botanicals, a feat demonstrated by both Khanna and Agarwal.
Devika Bhagat, 42, also turned her husband, filmmaker Khaleel Bachuali, into gin. With the launch of Tamaras and Adventurist Spirits Distillery, they are the newest entrants to the market. The couple’s marketing strategy is either retail or pop-up, as Tamas is expensive. Priced at Rs 1,950 for a 700 ml bottle, this is not the first option for cocktails in Goa’s small shanties, whose USP is cheap liquor. But those looking for good gin are willing to buy a bottle just to indulge in a pop-up or take back home.
Many domestic brands in the state source their native spirit from other distilleries, but the cupro is produced in small batches at a distillery owned by the couple. This allows them more control over the concoction and flavor.
Not wanting to miss a chance, Bhagat and her husband also organize a distillery tour, another first for Goa, for Rs 1,200 per person. A shelf in the shape of its signature glass bottle, with a bright blue design engraved on it, adorns the distillery’s foyer. The approximately one-hour tour, organized by distillery manager Louis Judavez, ends with a signature gin-based cocktail that you can choose from, paired with a platter of cheese and crackers.
Attention to detail is characteristic of the distiller, as is copper pot distillation. While other gin makers rely mostly on Himalayan juniper berries, Tamras wanted to make sure the berries were from Macedonia to retain the flavor. The base spirit is made from basmati rice procured from Punjab in 230 liters of German Müller copper which is still named as Odysseus.
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made in India
For most entrepreneurs who viewed their endeavor as a journey, Goa was an obvious choice to set up camp. With favorable excise laws and a constant influx of tourists, the coastal state checks all the right boxes. Local wine stores and supermarkets have also seen an increase in demand for bespoke gin.
“We have sold 8,000 liters of gin in the last nine months alone. This is four times the previous sales record,” says Vishvendra Singh Tomar, owner of GA11 Wineshop on Goa’s Morjim beach. Where a small shelf was previously provided for gin, and that too for imported brands such as Beefeater or Tanqueray, local gin bottles now dominate the cabinets in many stores.
In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, India’s gin sales declined over 50 Percentage, but also increased sales of premium gin 16.9 Percent. Not only this, Indians love made-in-India gin. A report in the Economic Times states that small batches of Kraft gin account for almost half of the mass-premium segment. In 2021, nine liter case salesAccording to a report by global market analysts IWSR, it rose to 1.68 lakh from 80,400 in the previous year.
“With strong potential for more brands and more investments from big and small players alike, the Indian craft segment is expected to be strong,” said IWSR Market Analyst, Jason Holwayin the report.
It is also cheaper to set up a distillery in Goa. To promote tourism, the state has consistently kept the tax on liquor very low. “The excise laws in Goa have been relaxed a lot as compared to other states of India. You have a ready market in the state- people from all over India come to Goa and even abroad. Where else would you find such an amazingly diverse market for edible wine?” he adds.
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new era converts
Gin is a ‘find’ for Millennials familiar with Gen Zs and even vodka, whiskey and wine.
“My whole world changed,” 21-year-old Riya Mehta said dramatically after trying Sansar’s pink gin in Goa. Rhea, who has been trying different types of alcohol since she was allowed to drink it legally, said it tastes infinitely better than cranberry vodka, her liquor of choice. “It is refreshing and light, and doesn’t give off an overwhelming vodka feeling after a few drinks. I am a convert now.”
Ironically, gin has been around for hundreds of years but it was more known for its so-called medicinal properties. In 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, a Prussian field marshal and a commander during the Napoleonic Wars, fell from his horse on his way to help Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. He was apparently revived through a rub of gin and onions. Blucher helped Wellington defeat Napoleon and create history.
In India, British brought into The essential flavorings used to prevent malaria were masked with water, lime, and sugar to hide the bitter taste of quinine. More than two centuries later, the domestic gin market, which didn’t exist nearly five years ago, is experimenting with different flavors.
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botany game
Experimentation is the name of the game today. India’s first cannabis craft gin is the brainchild of 24-year-old Shubham Khanna. The Delhi-born Punjabi who shifted to Goa a few years ago loves his wine “like any true-blue Punjabi”, he laughs. It was the cool culture of Goa that prompted him to first settle there and then think of his own band.
GinGin was the product of two years of intense research and 40 recipes. This is a single-shot distilled hemp gin that contains nine botanicals—hemp, Himalayan juniper, coriander lavender, rosemary, caraway seeds, cinnamon, lemongrass and butterfly pea flowers.
Khanna traveled to New York to learn the art of gin-making before creating his signature gin. He started by leasing a distillery before opening his own distillery in Cuncolim. A 750 ml bottle of Jingin costs Rs 999. In Goa, it is only available at For the Record bars, where Shubham did most of his tastings before developing his recipe.
Meanwhile, in Samsara, Aggarwal constantly experiments with his botany. Their latest offering, Fruit Orchard, which launched on September 1, has flavors like Grapefruit and Rose, Lemon and Elderflower, and Coffee and Hazelnut.
Tamas claims to be one of the very few gins that use the whole citrus fruit, sweet lime, instead of the peels to lend that unique flavor. Other flora is also very indigenous – green cardamom, lotus flower, lotus seeds, ‘mosambi’ (sweet lime), Indian lemon, eucalyptus tea and Indian mint.
Desi at heart and global in nature, Indian dry gins are not just here to stay. They are trying to replace the good old vodka as the most preferred distilled spirit in the country. But with so many new craft gin labels exploding, a lot of contradictions can work against this growing market.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)