IN HIGH SPIRITS
Artisanal spirits are the big emerging trend in the luxury space
Being a restaurateur is not an easy task in India as tastes are fickle, and well-heeled, well-travelled Indians are always looking to replicate their foreign food and drink experiences in their home environment. While many trends are not replicable, there is an attempt to cash in on those that are. In the world of spirits, that means staying abreast with the changeable drink landscape and tapping into what is likely to make a favourable impact. No drink is too expensive and no glass is too much if it holds the promise of luxury and is at par with what friends in say Shanghai or Moscow are drinking.
The big emerging trend today is artisanal spirits. A consumer who perhaps used to drink a JW Black Label is now opting for a JW Double Black because he wants variety. It’s cool to be different and to express your personality through your drink.
Over the past several years, gin has made a huge comeback worldwide. The trend is no different in India. Brands like Monkey 47, Hendricks and The Botanist are doing extremely well. Their appeal lies in their artisanal nature and versatility. Brands like Stranger & Sons and Hapusa, quality craft gins manufactured in Goa, are new but garnering a fan base. From batch-crafting gins to infusing them with botanicals and giving the staid G&T (gin and tonic) a wicked top-up, artisanal gins are clearly having their moment in the sun. If you order a G&T, you are likely to be offered a menu complete with exciting tasting notes and a list of tonic waters that are anything but run of the mill.
The same can be said of the whisky market where brands like Amrut and Paul John are making waves not only in India, but internationally as well. They have a story, a soul. And they’re rated extremely high on all the charts. The duties and taxes to be paid in importing liquor makes it unsustainable for many brands. In such a scenario, the winner will be craft spirits manufactured in India, of the same, if not higher, quality as their international counterparts. At a time when the indie businessman is on the rise (read hotels, fashion, food), why should spirits be far behind? As the world culturally moves away from conventional, big business models towards independent craft businesses, people have realised that while big businesses means big profits, it is the small, homegrown and handcrafted that is likely to be the winner today.
GIN IS MAKING A HUGE COMEBACK WORLDWIDE, AND THE TREND IS NO DIFFERENT IN INDIA