HBI Staff | Hyderabad 
Nao Spirits, the makers of Greater Than and Hapusa Gin, are on track with their goals of launching a new limited-edition gin annually, each with a distinct flavour, unique narrative, and exclusively fresh ingredients.
Their Pink Gin is called “Punk Gin”. Punk, by definition, is anti-establishment, and this gin is particularly disruptive as it shuns all the norms established by commercial gin producers. In making Punk Gin, the distillers wanted to stay true to their craft and did not use artificial colour, flavour, or sweeteners. They have instead used only the freshest of strawberries handpicked from Mahabaleshwar, a hill station nestled in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and the go-to destination for strawberries in India.
The strawberries are washed, chopped, and then left to macerate in a vat of their classic London Dry Gin for 48 hours. But that’s not all – they add a touch of dried hibiscus flowers to bring in a bit of acidity and brightness to the Gin. The result is a champagne-pink gin with a delicious freshness that is going to be the perfect accompaniment to the upcoming summer.
Anand Virmani, Nao Spirits, Co-founder and CEO says “Pink Gins are all the rage, but most pink gins have artificial flavouring, colour and lots of sugar, bearing little semblance to a real gin. As the pioneering craft gin brand in India, we use every opportunity to guide the category forward and set the right example for what it means to be ‘craft’. That is exactly what we did with Punk Gin – stuck to our principles in a fast-growing and competitive landscape by using fresh ingredients and taking Pink Gin back to its origins and showcasing what it was really intended to be.”
Punk Gin is best enjoyed with tonic water, a slice of fresh strawberry, and a basil leaf or sprig of rosemary. Owing to its use of natural ingredients, the Gin needs to be refrigerated to preserve its freshness for as long as possible. This Gin will be released annually during the strawberry season in Mahabaleshwar, which begins in December and extends till March.
Punk Gin is now available in Goa and Karnataka, and shall shortly be available in Haryana as well.
