Amrut Distilleries have entered the craft Gin market with Nilgiris Indian Dry Gin. The Bangalore-based company is best known for its range of award-winning Indian single malt Whiskies.
Called the Nilgiris Indian Dry Gin, this new addition to the wheelhouse of Amrut is handcrafted at the Bangaluru distillery in locally-sourced copper pots. Made with botanicals from Nilgiris and imported juniper berries the gin promises and delivers as expected.
The idea of entering the craft gin market came to the late Neelakanta Rao Jagdale, former chairman and managing director of Amrut Distilleries, during a holiday in Ooty, back in 2015. He conceived a gin that would represent the region. Using botanicals grown in Doddabetta, the highest mountains in the Nilgiris, and adding other ingredients from the area; teas and spices, betel leaves from the foothills, coriander seeds, angelica roots, orris roots, nutmeg, cinnamon, mace and lemongrass.
“Gin demands patience and time,” says Thrivikram Nikam, Joint Managing Director, Amrut Distilleries. “We had to select from an array of spices and herbs from South India and use it in the right proportions for us to get a rich and an enjoyable feel of botanicals. I am very pleased with the outcome and the flavor profile we’ve achieved. I am sure our patrons will like it as they have liked our other brands.”
“We think of our distillery as a kitchen where we keep adding to our offerings,” added Thrivikram. “Gin was in the pipeline for the last two years and we finally felt that this was the right time to launch it.”
Currently retailing in Karnataka for ₹2,464 ($34 USD) per 750ml bottle, Amrut Nilgiris Gin is set to be released across India in the near future.
In December, Amrut unveiled Fusion X to celebrate 10 years of the game-changing Indian Whisky. Launched in 2009, Amrut Fusion put the South Asian country’s brown spirits on the map.