Maka Zai – Homegrown Indian craft rum | Penang Web and Graphic Design Agency – GurlstudioPenang Web and Graphic Design Agency
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Text by Joanna Lobo. Photographed by Tenzing Dakpa
A spirited craft liquor industry finds a home on the state’s shores
There’s a new gin lining the shelves of certain Goan supermarkets. It’s a flat, hip flask-shaped bottle, and the liquid inside shimmers with a faint hue of blue. This butterfly pea gin is marketed as the cheapest craft gin in Goa. And at 245 rupees per bottle, it’s a well-founded claim.
The past few months have seen an influx of new liquor brands: the above-mentioned Clearly Good Gin, Maka di craft beers, Maka Zai rum and Rahasya vodka. On the anvil are Matinee Gin, Aani Ek infused feni and GinGin. And so my recent sojourn back home found me exploring liquor shops with a keen eye, and I spot shiny new bottles of gin, vodka, beer and whisky. They boast tags like “local”, “home-grown” and “craft”, and the producers are a mix of locals and non-locals who’ve made Goa their temporary home.
Anjali Shahi and Lavanya Jayashankar
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While Maka Zai rum and Rahasya Vodka were launched in January this year, Matinee Gin will be launched on March 13
There’s change rippling through the Indian alcobev industry with 2021 seeing women take the helm at the Indian arms of two of the largest alcohol companies in the world: Diageo (in July 2021) and Moet Hennessy. Women also have key positions across most beverage multinationals, reflecting not just increased diversity, but also the changing face of their consumer.
The other seismic shift that has taken place is in the craft spirits space in the country, where a slew of mostly young entrepreneurs of both sexes have captured the zeitgeist, and made Indian brands cool and aspirational. However, while there have been changes in the producer profile, the actual business still gets done via distributors, retailers, and bars and pubs. These are largely male-run and owned, with women being allowed
These craft rum makers are creating a buzz in Goa
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Updated:
February 16, 2021 17:00 IST
Stilldistilling Spirits came up with the newest Indian craft rum offering this year. We speak to founder Kasturi Banerjee about her journey from banking to blending
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Stilldistilling Spirits’ team: Founder Kasturi Banerjee with Anurag Bhatnagar and Abhirup Bhattacharyya
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Stilldistilling Spirits came up with the newest Indian craft rum offering this year. We speak to founder Kasturi Banerjee about her journey from banking to blending
Kasturi Banerjee does not believe in half measures. Leaving behind an illustrious career in banking spanning 16 years, the former director of Compliance at an MNC bank, has taken the spirit industry by storm. She is the founder and CEO at Stilldistilling Spirits, based in Goa, that sprung into 2021 with Maka Zai, (‘I want’ in Konkani), a homegrown duo of white and gold rum with a distinctly
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