We had our first Indian gin recently at Bar Goa, in a gin martini, without vermouth, the better to savor the flavors of the highly herbaceous spirit. We knew there were more Indian gins on the menu, so we went back to sample a few with beverage director Allison Kim.
Kim talks us through a tasting of several Indian gins, each one different, which is unsurprising, given the huge range of botanical combinations available in Indian gins. Of those botanicals, Kim points out, “all the herbs used are fresh, and these Indian gins contain no essential oils, which is kind of a cheat sometimes used by larger gin producers, but it’s a no-no.”