3 new flavour-forward gins to try

Kumaon and I
Juniper and botanicals from the Himalayan region are key ingredients in homegrown gins. The brand new dry gin Kumaon and I from Uttarakhand champions these too. There’s timur (Sichuan pepper), black turmeric, pahadi nimbu or galgal, walnut, coriander seeds, thuner leaves (Himalayan yew), kalmegh and kinu (orange). These combine for a harmonious blend of herbaceous as well as citrus notes. The design motifs on the bottle is borrowed from the ritualistic folk art Aipan from Kumaon to represent the region. The parent company is Himmaleh spirits with the co-founder Ansh Khanna who has launched the gin Jin Jiji in the past.

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44°N
From the heartland of France’s perfume region, Grasse, comes the aromatic gin, 44°N. It can be best described in a format reserved for high-quality perfumes. The top notes have zesty grapefruit, the middle notes begin with bitter orange and finishes off with spicy pepper, and the end notes are rounded off with the sweetness of honey. The best way to enjoy its seductive aroma is to sip it neat on the rocks. They deliver to a selected list of countries including India.

Mohulo
It was about time that popular liquor ingredient Mahua was integrated into gins as a defining botanical, and the newest bottle Mohulo does just that. It was launched earlier this month. Mahua seeds are the defining ingredient backed by 11 other botanicals including coriander seeds, cardamom, wild honey, orange blossom and more. Provenance is essential in craft spirits, and the gin pays homage to the Baiga community of Chattisgarh that produces and supplies the Mahua. The makers of this gin, liquor entrepreneur Varun Jain and master distiller Jamie Baxter, have positioned it as India’s first sipping gin. Connoisseurs can debate over this standing, because most premium attentively crafted gins qualify for sipping, indicating an enhanced flavour-forward drinking experience.

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