Besides botanicals, Indian craft gin makers are tuned into sustainability practices and, more importantly, generate employment in the local communities. Mehra added: “We introduced our gin in their revolutionary green ecoTOTES in Singapore and have also partnered with them to bring this revolutionary packaging solution to India.”
Stranger & Sons hires local women to handle citrus, practices a zero-waste policy and saves 10,000 litres of water per batch, as does Tamras, who are also working towards securing a Green Certification from the Ministry of Environment by 2025.
The ‘local’ for most craft gin distilleries is Goa, a beachside retreat location an hour from Mumbai. The city attracts craft distilleries by the dozen with their lower excise tax duty. At the same time, Goa is India’s club town and attracts scores of revellers across the year, for whom, drinking is a big priority. Bachooali who is based in Goa with his co-founder wife, Devika Bhagat, shared: “Every international brand that comes to India is launched in Goa. It’s the perfect test market.”
While Indian gin drinkers have increased leaps and bounds, Indian craft gins are also boldly making their way into international markets, including the US and UK, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and picking top international awards along the way.
At the same time, gin is a saturated category with numerous contenders, said Brandon Grust, general manager for Southeast Asia at Proof and Co. “The gin and tonic movement are not going away, nor is it being diminished. Having said that, I am not hearing consumers or trade asking for more gins from any country. I believe new brands looking to launch will generally find difficulty in finding a foothold in Singapore unless they are of exceptional quality with clearly defined objectives.”
Back home, the well-travelled Virmani believes India’s limitless spice bounty is enough for new players to sustain further growth. He said: “If you look in the UK, every neighbourhood has its own gin, and you wonder if they really are different from each other. We don’t have the problem in India because there’s so much to uncover. There is no limit to the number of flavours and aromas you have to play with in India.”
Here are six Indian craft gin brands available in Singapore.
STRANGER & SONS
