THE NEW SPIRIT OF GOA

When he moved to Goa post the lockdown in 2020, RANJAN PAL chanced upon a growing number of gin entrepreneurs keen to utilise Indian botanicals and innovate. He takes us on a tasting tour.

- RANJAN PAL

GOA HAS ALWAYS been famous for its parties, but lately, it is coming into its own as a spirits producer. In fact, several new gin distilleries seem to have sprouted overnight. It’s not surprising that these businesses have chosen to set up base in Goa. The destination is a great test market because of the constant inflow of tourists from all over India.

While Paul John Single Malt Whisky (pauljohnwhisky.com) put Goa on the map in 2012 and DesmondJi’s Agave India (desmondji.com) has been a pioneer in agave and mahua spirits, the first movers in gin are just three years old. Traditionally, gin accounts for less than one per cent of the annual 300-million-case spirits market in India. Now, a revolution is brewing. Not one of the founders profiled here is above 35, so it seems to be a domain of the youth. This, too, is not surprising. Of all the spirits, gin lends itself most to experimentation because there is no fixed recipe or method. In fact, it is not uncommon for a new entrant to test up to 150 botanicals before settling on eight or 10!

THE EUREKA MOMENT

When I meet Anand Virmani, the soft-spoken CEO and co-founder of Nao Spirits & Beverages (