This Kerala-based boutique liquor company aims to punch above its weight with new gin and rum launches

Gautom Menon has his justification down pat for launching yet another gin brand in a world that seems to be overrun by the spirit. “Gindia has an array of botanicals that are 100 percent Indian,” he says, referring to Coimbatore-based Wild Tiger Beverages’ latest launch. “There’s Himalayan juniper, Sweet Orange peel from Nagpur, Darjeeling tea, nutmeg from Kerala, green cardamom – 23 botanicals in all.” Isn’t 23 a bit too much? Most fine gins contain around 7 to 8 botanicals.

“True. Even in Gindia’s case, you’ll have four to five that will really stand out. But the idea behind Gindia is to drive home the message that India is the world’s botanicals capital, and besides, of course, gin and tonic originated in India,” says the 37-year-old who belongs to a family that has interests in distilling and bottling liquor in Kerala.

Wild Tiger Beverages, which Menon heads, takes inspiration from across the country for its products and mostly operated in the travel retail space until last year. This year Menon is set to enter the domestic market as well. Wild Tiger’s first offering, an eponymous rum, was launched four years ago because Menon felt there was really no one well-known Indian liquor brand. “I was a teetotaler when I joined the family business, and I’d rather have done something else. But once I took the plunge and got familiar with the workings of the industry, I realised that I wanted to create an all-Indian brand, something that would be right up there with big whisky, vodka and bourbon brands of the world.”