The Gin Garden

The jungles have been her muse. For Vaniitha Jain, founder of The Perfect Pour, a consulting firm specialising in wines and spirits, India’s bubbling cocktail culture led her to her precious moment of epiphany in the wilderness, and into creating her speciality sip in Vanaha.

“Vanaha is for the modern connoisseur who is searching for depth, not dazzle; ritual, not rush. Our vision is to build a world-class gin that proudly embodies the Make in India spirit, and stands shoulder to shoulder with the finest international brands,” says Vaniitha.

The gin, wrapped up in a bewitching jewelled green bottle, sustains the intrigue of the wild, lacing an atlas of flavours in the handpicked 24 botanicals from across the country. Call it the song of the jungle. Each sip brings in the whiff of pines, the kicky citrus twist, and the lingering background score of pepper breath with berries. You can almost feel the moist earth below your feet, breathe in the freshness of the forest, and hear the soft birdsong, in a story where the ingredients come together to narrate and recreate the feeling that Vaniitha has been able to bottle successfully – “Knitted to my ‘aha’ moment in the forest when I felt grounded, present in the moment, and one with nature,” she recalls. A feeling that she has been able to realise with Vanaha, with immense support from her husband Navvin, who brings in deep-rooted expertise in finance, as her co-partner in Revelry Distillery.

Over the past few years, Vaniitha and her team have ferreted over 200 botanicals from the heart of India’s forests: from Assam lemons (kaji nemu), mulberries from Maharashtra, to forest peppercorns and teppal from Goa, palash flowers from Bihar, mandarins from Sikkim, deodar wood, patchouli, pine, juniper and wild berries sheathing the slopes of the Himalayas to cacao nibs,  orris and angelica roots, vetiver, and more, nosing and pairing combinations to distil and create their own unique pour. In a nod to the India’s natural bounty.

“Vanaha has no added sugar. For every 30 ml, the spirit brings in 65 calories,” says Vaniitha, pointing out the fallacy that all spirits are sugar-dipped. Each element of the packaging carries a Made in India stamp too, with the logo of the woodpecker, the ninja of the forest known for its precision and vitality as part of the eco system, crowning the bottle.

The market for wine went from zero to hero over the past decade in India. With the spirited takers for craft gin, Vanaha stands at a distinct advantage with its artisanal elegance. Bookended by the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, in the lush Sattari region in the sunshine state of Goa, Revelry Distillery, brings in the 5 step process in botanical maceration, copper pot distillation, vapour infusion, cold vacuum distillation and staging to create India’s first cold vacuum distilled gin in Vanaha.

“It is a resounding ode to the depth and dimension of the Indian bio diversity. Honest, and rooted in the land,” say Vaniitha and Navvin. “A reflection of our ongoing effort and commitment to creating small-batch, world-class spirits that that plant India firmly on the world map