19 best whisky, rum, gin, RTD & other spirit bottles to try

Aug 04, 2023

By Saumyaa Vohra

A corralling of the most interesting liquors like whisky, rum, gin and more launches that have hit shelves that deserve your attention. Read on to find out the most exciting spirits that have been born (or brought to Indian shores), and choose the ones that pique your interest most…

The first pure cane juice rum to come from India, this premium craft is one of the most exciting spirit launches of the season. Bottled at 50 percent ABV (so it really packs more than the average punch), the sipping rum is matured for 12 years in American oak casks. It finds its inspiration in Punjabi customs, from the local households of the region and their making of a local cane-juice brew called Laahan. The fact that it's limited-ed–with only about 400 bottles of Camikara allocated for the Indian market and less than a couple thousand more available the world over– only adds to its covetable value.

Five Rivers Rum

A legacy rum that reeks of its Punjabi roots, the origin story of this dry, Indian-spiced rum is almost cinematic, with the Sanghera family of Punjab at its epicentre. With every generation adding new nuances to an age-old recipe, the rum has continued to evolve. Its current form is a whirlpool of clove, cardamom, cassia, ginger, and coriander seed, re-distilled into a blend of pot and column-distilled rums. You could do this with a simple Coke, but a hot buttered rum might be just the ticket for the season.

From Allied Blenders and Distillers Limited (Officer's Choice, Sterling Reserve, and the recently launched XO) comes an easy-drinking budget rum that's ideal if you want to experiment without putting down good money on a new brand. A simple dark that makes no bones about the fact that is meant to be chased–either with a hot cocktail, or, if you’re in warmer climes, with a crisp, cold Coca-Cola and a squeeze of lime.

Born in a Mumbai-based family-owned distillery, this triple-distilled small-batch rum is definitely one of the more interesting crafts of the year. You’ll find it in two variants; The Indian Spiced and The Coastal White. The first is oaky and spicy, with pops of herbs that cut through the maple and vanilla. Made with locally sourced sugarcane, the artisanal rum is botanical-first and definitely spicier than its average counterpart. The Coastal White variant is a lighter alternative, which finds its wings in a frozen mojito or a tropical pina colada. Better for mixing than sipping, I’d say.

Plantation Rum

A French artisanal rum that has quite a little following already, Plantation was brought to India by Third Eye Distillery (the folks behind cult gin Stranger & Sons) earlier this year. The two variants–Original Dark and 3 Stars–work for different palates. The Original Dark is an aged rum from Trinidad and Jamaica, blended and aged further in cognac casks. 3 Stars is a crisp white, with hints of coconut, sugar cane and spice that peek through. While I’m always partial to a homegrown, I’ll admit that this is worth straying from the ‘shop local crafts’ philosophy for.

A new Goan craft that manages to stand out amidst a swelling sea of Goan crafts. The citrus-forward spirit finds its base in the Bosnian Juniper, punctuated by the refreshing stylings of Valencia oranges, Turkish grapefruit, and piquant Cuban pepper. It's that extra bit of spiciness that saves it from being a run-of-the-mill lemony gin and gives a little something-something worth deviating from your regular for.

Doja Gin

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

We’ve made our fondness for Japanese whisky clear, especially for the distinct, lighter flavour profiles it offers in contrast to heavier, oakier Scotches. This particular Indo-Japanese bottle makes a case for Japanese gin as well, with its infusion bringing together two cultures; yuzu, sansho peppers, and hinoki with coriander, pepper, and cardamom from India. A punchy number, this; is best partaken of as a sipping gin with loads of ice or shaken into a burn-your-tongue cocktail.

Tamras Gin

Chances are, you’ve already seen this clear bottle with its Goan mosaic-esque blue label on shelves in bars, and in aficionados' homes. It was a rainy London night spent cocktail-tasting that led to this North Goan craft gin coming to life. The hand-crafted Small-batch is a copper-distilled Indian Dry, ​​distilled from Punjab Rice and infused with about 16 botanicals (a mix of homegrown and not). The lotus flower (foraged for in North Goa) is at its heart, cut just enough with citrus to make this new number a distinctly delicious holiday gin.

No Sleep

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

In a collaboration with cold-brew stalwarts Sleepy Owl Coffee, craft favourite Greater Than gin's limited edit is definitely a collector's edit worth acquiring. With a claim to being India's first coffee-infused gin, the traditional brand brew is steeped with a special-made smooth, 100% Arabica cold brew from the estates of Chikmagalur, Karnataka; and the rendition marries the two beautifully.

Matinee Gin

The rare homegrown with two women founders at the helm, this spice-forward gin doesn't rely on its backstory to be picked up off the shelves. The piquant nuances of Nagkesar, Goan peppercorn, Kagzi Lime and White Turmeric do that for it, making it a surprisingly great sipping gin, even for winter time.

The Broken Bat by Greater Than

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

A big year from this craft ginnery it has been, indeed. With the aforementioned limited-ed making news earlier in the year, the brand also chose to put out a new edition towards the end of it; the barrel-aged limited-release The Broken Bat. Look to this one if you’re partial to your distillate being avant-garde; this is made by soaking sourced, cleaned and shaved cricket bats in gin to give it a distinct profile (one that almost has whisky nuances).

Launched at the absolute end of the year, this particular brand of homegrown vodka comes with an air of celebrity. Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan is the person behind the label, and while it's too early to tell whether it's the celebrity label cachet that has people talking about it, or whether the brand will stand the test of time, it's definitely an exciting new spirit to try out this holiday season. Particularly if you’re partial to homegrown vodkas, for which the market doesn't expand quite as regularly as it does for, say, whisky or gin.

Bombay Sapphire & Tonic Ready-to-Drink

The oldest, most beloved gin cocktail in the book–the G&T–is still a cocktail. It isn't a one-stop-shop, needing still the space and glassware to mix a stiff drink. And while most of the time, that's more than possible, this new RTD by Bombay Sapphire makes you a GinTo for when you’re on the go that really holds up. All you need to do is throw a can in the fridge to chill and then drink up.

For a lot of us, the thriftier years of college meant that our first introduction to vodka that wasn't snuck from our parents' liquor cabinets was the infinitely affordable Magic Moments. It is perhaps that nostalgia that will fuel your desire to try the brand's RTDs, available in three variants; Cosmopolitan, Cola, and Mojito. Ideal for a night you’re feeling unfussy and after a quick, guaranteed buzz.

Raya

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

Find the source of its name in the idyllic little Goan village of Raia–where this hard seltzer is distilled and bottled–Raya is a good craft beverage that needs zero effort. At 5% ABV and under 100 calories for its 330ml serving, you can have a few of these on a sunny afternoon without really giving it much thought.

IST Hard Seltzer

The spiked seltzer might’ve been one of the top drinks of choice across the US and the west (with The Spirit's business pronouncing White Claw the second highest-selling spirit in the world, but it's only recently taken the Indian market by storm. Of the homegrowns to take a chance on Indian Standard Time, a 5% ABV with 99 calories, is up there. It does all the things a breezy seltzer ought to; deliver a buzz without the accompagnement of too much sugar.

Pursue Hard Seltzer

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

By Gaurav Sonavane

Ideal if you’re heading on a beach holiday and need a go-to for light, day drinking, this Goan-born, low-ABV seltzer (which comes in at five percent alcohol) is ideal. For the calorie-watcher, that they use less than one percent sugar and fewer than 110 calories is a sell–a marked difference from the average cocktail that puts you at about 180-200. You’ll find these bottles in four flavours; Mosambi [sweet lime] and Mint, Strawberry and Rose, Mango and Chilli, and, a personal favourite, Peach and White Tea.

It's been a solid year for whisky and while 13 new brands and bottles have either been born on (or made their way to) Indian shores, there are definitely some hot favourites that have stolen the spotlight. Diageo's Godawan 02 seems to be the star in the 2022 sky, with a multitude of the country's top bar-runners and bartenders already declaring themselves a fan of its fruity-spicy palate. Homegrown edit Indri Trini is also worth making a place for on your shelves this holiday season, as is the made-to-mix Glenmorangie X from early this year that does splendidly in a cocktail.

Pistola

In a year of craft gins, IMFl and homegrown whiskies, there was one indie release that garnered a lot of attention; Pistola. The 100 percent agave made news for being agave–the country's first aged edit–and also for being incredibly smooth. Indian-born and bred from its plant to its label, the nuanced smoothness of this agave works just as well in a snifter with a touch of crushed ice as it does in a spicy Jalapeno mango margarita.

Skinny Witch Prosecco

Homegrown prosecco brand Skinny Witch (presumably a take on the "skinny bitch" cocktail, i.e. vodka, lime, and soda) is a sugar-free edition of the stuff that sounds like it might taste like a diet edit of the Veneto-origin sparkling, but fares surprisingly well. You’ll find two variants: Rosé Prosecco and Prosecco DOCG. The latter is rife with pome and stone fruit—think white cherry, green apple, and pear—with a citrus afternote, while the Rosé brings with it a fun, red-berry tanginess, made gentler and more floral with a hint of rose petals.