This new Indian gin is a tribute to the forests

Some manufacturers start in boardrooms. Vanaha, a new artisanal gin, started in the woods.

For Mumbai-based Vaniitha Jaiin — a wine and spirits skilled and founding father of The Perfect Pour, a consulting agency specialising in wine and spirits — the concept for her debut gin started to take root throughout a quiet afternoon in 2017. She was strolling barefoot by way of the forest close to her sister’s dwelling in Puducherry, the air thick with vetiver and birdsong, when a second of stillness supplied surprising readability. “There was this feeling of being small, grounded, and entirely present,” she remembers. “I knew then I wanted to bottle that feeling.”

Founder Vaniitha Jaiin
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The identify Vanaha — a fusion of vana (forest) and aha (epiphany) — got here to her in that very second.

But distilling that have into a spirit was something however romantic guesswork. Over the subsequent few years, Vaniitha and her workforce sourced greater than 200 botanicals from throughout India — deodar wooden, patchouli, cacao nibs, palash flowers, pine ideas, Assam lemons, wild berries, Sikkim mandarin, orris root, angelica root, and juniper berries, amongst others — working carefully with foragers and spice cultivators. “The goal was never to make a gimmicky gin,” she says. “It had to feel honest. Rooted in the land.”

Eventually, the record was whittled down to 24 hero botanicals, every chosen for its purity, provenance, and skill to play effectively with others. Vanaha is crafted at Revelry Distillery in Goa’s Sattari forest, and undergoes a five-step distillation course of — together with chilly vacuum distillation, a method Vaniitha discovered in Uttar Pradesh’s Kannauj, the nation’s historical fragrance capital. “The way perfumers preserve delicate florals taught us to approach gin with similar sensitivity,” she notes.

The ensuing profile is earthy and resinous, layered with floral highs and a crisp, citrusy elevate. There is deodar and pine ideas for a contact of the Himalayan cover, cacao nibs and teppal for heat, and citrus notes from Assam lemon and kaffir lime that reduce by way of superbly. “It doesn’t scream citrus-forward like most modern gins. It whispers forest,” Vaniitha says.

The gin comes full of 24 botanicals
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With Vanaha, the complexity lies not simply in flavour however in how the gin sits on the palate. “People assume spirits are full of sugar, but distillation filters most of that out. Vanaha has no added sugar, around 60-65 calories per 30ml, and many of its botanicals—like vetiver and teppal—have traditional digestive benefits,” says Vaniitha.

“Gin is one of the most versatile spirits when it comes to food,” says Vaniitha. “We’ve paired Vanaha with sushi and dim sum, tapas, Indian curries — you name it. It doesn’t overpower. It elevates.”

There is additionally a cultural shift at play. “Our consumer tastings showed even die-hard whisky drinkers reaching for G&Ts or gin with soda,” she notes. “People want to go out, have a good time — and feel fresh the next day.”

Revelry Distillery in Goa’s Sattari 
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India is prepared. According to the International Wine and Spirits Record (IWSR), which now solely trades as IWSR, with round 25 million individuals getting into authorized consuming age yearly, and a projected gin market of ₹2,952 crore by 2032, the premium phase is anticipated to bounce from 20% to 45% of whole consumption. It is no surprise international gamers are eyeing the nation — however Vaniitha is focussed on staying native in spirit.

“Consumers today don’t just want a drink. They want a story, a connection, a sense of place,” she says. “Vanaha is that — it’s forest to bottle.”

After launching in Goa on May 16, Vanaha will roll out throughout metro cities quickly after, beginning with Karnataka. Priced at ₹2,400 for 750ml, it is available in a thoughtfully illustrated bottle that nods to its pure origin.