The best new alcohol brands from Goa
On your next trip, check out the sunshine state for these brands.
The number of new alcohol brands coming out of Goa is only increasing by the day. From feni infused with honey and cinnamon to gins made of cashews, folks in the sunshine state are experimenting with all kinds of ingredients to create unique spirits. Here are some alcohol brands to check out on your next vacation:
Gin Gin & Clearly Good Gin
A bottle of Gin Gin
24-year-old Shubham Khanna has always brought something new to the table with his distilled spirits. Gin Gin, India’s first hemp-based gin consists of nine botanicals including hemp, Himalayan juniper, coriander, lavender, rosemary, caraway seeds, cinnamon, lemongrass and butterfly pea flower. Described as a gateway spirit, Khanna took two years and forty recipes to perfect this homemade spirit.
A bottle of Clearly Good Gin
His next invention, Clearly Good Gin, was a blue-tinted gin distilled eight times and vapour-infused with 15 Indian botanicals. When you mix it with tonic or anything with citrus, the drink turns into a fun science experiment as the blue spirit turns pink!
Desmondji’s Mahua and Agave
A bottle of Desmondji’s Mahua
The brainchild of entrepreneur Desmond Nazareth, Desmondji began with purely Indian Margarita blends and then expanded to high-quality agave and mahua liqueurs. Both the spirits are made in artisanal pot-stills and distilled multiple times. The flowers for the mahua liqueur are handpicked.
Aani Ek Feni Infusions
All three Aani Ek Infusions
Architect- turned-feni aficionado, Clement DeSylva, along with Jill D’souza, Karlyle Gomes and Pritesh Desai, has attempted to make the local-favourite feni more tourist-friendly with their brand Aani Ek.
DeSylva says that the three infusions of honey, lemon, chilli and cinnamon tone down the strong cashew aroma that turns many drinkers away from feni. The bottle comes with a cocktail recipe booklet to encourage folks to experiment with it.
Cazulo Feni
A bottle of Coconut feni from Cazulo
Family-owned Cazulo is preserving the rich heritage of Goa and feni while transforming it into a sophisticated drink without compromising on the aroma. The premium fenis are distilled in small-batch pot stills and aged for a year in glass carboy-garrafãoes. They can be found in the original cashew and coconut flavours.
Nilgiris Indian Dry Gin
A bottle of Amrut Distilleries Nilgiris India Dry Gin
Luxury Indian single-malt makers Amrut Distilleries recently ventured into the world of botanical-based craft gins. As the name suggests, the Nilgiris Indian Dry Gin pays homage to the plantations of the hills. It comprises an array of local herbs and spices, including betel leaves from Mysuru and tea from the estates. The gin is a product of heavy experimentation with the proportions of the botanicals, distilling them individually and as a part of a compound recipe to understand the nuances in the flavour and mouthfeel.
Segredo Aldeia Rum
Bottles of Segredo Aldeia in a treasure chest
Fullarton Distilleries’ newest rum comes in two editions—a white rum and café rum. They are made with a combination of cane and jaggery. The clear white rum, made with a mix of aged and unaged spirits, has a dry finish with notes of vanilla and caramel. The café rum, on the other hand, is infused with dark roasted whole coffee beans and comes in a lovely amber shade.
Matinee Gin
A bottle of Matinee Gin
After years of distilling experiments with 42 different ingredients, longtime friends Anjali Shahi and Lavanya Jayashankar launched their maiden Matinee Gin. Matinee Gin is made with less-known spices such as snake saffron, white turmeric (instead of angelica root), kagzi lime and Goan peppercorn to make it stand out from the rest.
Makazai Rum
Bottles of Makazai – Tribute Edition and Bartender’s Edition
Kasturi Banerjee left banking to dive into the world of blending and muddling, and created India’s newest premium rum brand, Makazai. This all-Indian rum gets its molasses from west India, bottles from Firozabad, and caps from Meerut. Of the two variants, the Bartender Edition is a white rum, dedicated to bartenders around the world. The Tribute Edition is a more premium and creamy drink with notes of praline, fig and honey. The bottles, designed keeping the bartender’s needs in mind, rest comfortably between two fingers while the base sits firmly on your palm.
Seqer Gin
A 70cl bottle of Seqer Gin: alcohol brands
While everyone was looking for new hobbies during the lockdown, Adriel Sequeira began working on a new gin recipe for his family-owned company Spirit de Goa. With an opaque, blue bottle that embodies the susegad life, Seqer celebrates Goa with its unique ingredients, one of them being the state’s classic ingredient cashew nuts. Try it with tonic or soda, and a slice of orange; maybe even some ginger ale for a touch of sweetness.
Jin Jiji Gin
A bottle of Jin Jiji India Dry Gin
Jin Jiji set out on an expedition to create a gin that depicts the rich and diverse botanicals found in India. From Tulsi leaves to Darjeeling tea and cashew nuts, their dry gins capture some of India’s unique ingredients.
The juniper is sourced from the Himalayas and distilled with other Indian botanicals in a copper pot still. The Darjeeling India dry gin is made with the highest grade tea from Jungpana Tea Garden.
