Guwahati: The Cherrapunji Eastern Craft gin, already a rage in Meghalaya, was launched in Guwahati, Assam amid much fanfare on April 11. The unique craft gin, made with the pristine rainwater of Meghalaya and other unique elements, will now be sold all over the state bearing a price tag of Rs 3100.

Raincheck Earth Co, the company behind the spirit, believes it is eastern India's only craft gin made with purified rainwater and native botanicals. So what is a craft gin, one may wonder? Craft gins are, in essence, spirits that are created in small batches by a small team or singular person. Unlike large gin companies, a specialist will have handcrafted the gin themselves.

The Cherrapunji Eastern Craft gin is unique as it is bottled in a reusable steel bottle instead of glass. Launched in October 2023 in Meghalaya, and earlier this week in Guwahati, the brand is also available for purchase in Arunachal Pradesh, Business North East has learned. "The gin will soon be available in Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa, and select international markets", Raincheck Earth Co informed Business North East.

"Our inspiration to turn rain and native botanicals into a gin comes from rain and also the lack of it in the rainiest place on earth", a Raincheck representative told Business Northeast after the brand's launch in Guwahati. "We have taken a wilful stance on making alcoholic beverages responsibly and sustainably, by using rainwater in our product."

According to the company, the gin is a fusion of 12 native botanicals from Northeast India. "The idea was to make a sipping gin with a local signature that would appeal to a global palate", said the company. "Cherrapunji eastern craft gin is a designer gin with citrus forward notes, a creamily smooth juniper base, and a hint of smoke."

The approach to distilling, bottling, and sourcing is rooted in sustainability, said the company. "We source native botanicals close to the distillery and reduce energy consumption by 70% using the most advanced stills sourced from the Netherlands", said Mayukh Hazarika, CEO and founder. “We wanted to make a gin which is unique to our place but designed for a global palate. We source and process these rare botanicals ourselves as there is no existing supply chain. These botanicals have never made their way into a gin and that’s what makes us very unique."

Using ingredients like kaji nemu from Assam, Khasi mandarin from Meghalaya, smoked tea from Manipur, cardamom from Sikkim, and Juniper from the eastern Himalayas, Cherrapunji gin is said to be a "product of the rich terrain of the Northeast."

According to the company, the unique steel bottle is illustrated with the coloured life of Cherrapunji, India. "A mandarin picker, a colonial-era Bedford bus, a red panda, bamboo forests, monoliths, etc. are all a part of this sleepy, rainy place", said the company. "These elements have been illustrated beautifully by Portland-based designer Reshidev RK."

The Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin bottle is made from a military-grade stainless steel bottle. "The bottle has been shaped with our strong belief in sustainability and hence they looked for a material that can replace a glass bottle to reduce its carbon footprint - the result is a stainless-steel bottle, weighing 158 grams, making the bottle highly reusable and recyclable", added the release.

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