The rise of Indian gin - Anand Virmani

Gin from India (including elements from the Himalayas, which might excuse the use of the pun “Peak gin”), is a growing category, with a number of new brands taking advantage of local juniper and other local botanicals.
Gin Guild Warden member Anand Virmani, of Goa based NAO Spirits & Beverages, presents a view on these new challengers, including those of his own company, from the country that launched the winning combination of gin and tonic.
Anand Virmani helped kick start the Gin revolution in India by launching the country’s first Craft Gins - Hapusa, a contemporary Himalayan Dry Gin and Greater Than, a classic London Dry Gin. Over three years, he has been distilling these award-winning Gins and taking them and their stories across the country and the world.

[@BrazilSaint]

Great to see a review of Indian Gins - thank you! I had always understood that Tonic Water was another plant the Brits stole from Brazil and managed to grow successfully in India (as they did with the Rubber tree in Malaysia) hence the name ‘Indian Tonic Water’. The Cinchona tree is native here in Brazil, but with the Portuguese link between Goa & Brazil, it’s sometimes hard to know what the origins are! Rangpur Lime, for example, is an import here that grows just about everywhere, and is widely used in both food and drinks!
I’m looking forward to trying some Indian gins as soon as I can.

[@hermes8258]

I am coming to India (West Bengal and Odisha, perhaps not the best states for alcohol purchases) and look forward to sampling some of the craft gins. Also, comparing those to more basic Indian gins that cost a fraction of the price. Can you recommend a gin bar, distillery or even association where one can try an assortment? I would rather discover which two or three suit me best before buying even a micky. Why? I am a light drinker and a big bottle (best value) will last me two years. I don't go to bars for decor or music ('chat' maybe). But on Park street in 2016 a very functional bar over-charged for the snacks. So, this trip I will go to a serious bar for 'serious' drinkers. Kolkata had some sort of protest going on about high taxes related to drinking. Has the changing of the guard from CPI (M) to whatever the current one is changed anything related to booze? Please do a video on the best and worst states for drinking and purchasing alcohol. Nextdoor in Bangladesh, in order to 'wet my whistle' I had to go to extremely sleazy bars and be either a Christian, a certified alcoholic or a tourist. They don't let citizens (if Muslim anyway) drink according to as their conscience dictates. Presumably India has sharia nowhere.
P.S. The only surprise in this video is when you said that 'samsaara' means "the world". That is an understatement and somewhat misleading, as according to what I remember from only one year of academic Sanskrit, this word has many connotations other than the physicality of the world, especially as it refers to wandering or the cycle or rebirth. Gin helps.