Hapusa Himalayan Indian Gin

Hapusa Himalayan Indian Gin is a craft gin from Nao Spirits using juniper from the Himalayas, spices from Goa, and other Indian botanicals.

Hapusa Dry Gin from the Himalayas in India shows us that there’s much more to Indian spirits than the mass-produced whiskies and other spirits, which make it one of the world’s biggest markets. In fact in the past India has been the world’s biggest market for spirits including whiskey, rum, and brandy, though not gin. The gin market is, however, growing rapidly.

Hapusa Dry Gin is a small part of that growth, as it’s a craft gin produced by an independent spirits brand, Nao Spirits. The company was founded in Delhi in 2015 by two bar owners, who felt that India was lagging way behind in the gin market.

Botanicals in Hapusa Indian Gin from the Himalayas — Hapusa Himalayan Gin Botanicals

Despite the fact that the Gin and Tonic was invented in India by army officers, and that most botanicals that go into gins can be found in many Indian kitchens, the founders of Nao Spirits felt that India was still in the dark ages when it came to gin, despite a gin boom happening all around the world.

The two bar owners bought themselves a copper still, and set to work experimenting with recipes. They settled on two gins, a London Dry Gin and the super-premium Hapusa, which is the Sanskrit word for the juniper berry.

Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin Botanicals

Although Hapusa is one of the few gins in the world that uses juniper berries from the Himalayas, its botanicals come from all over India. It’s distilled and bottled in Goa, whose spice farms; provide some of those botanicals.

There are some unusual inclusions in the eight botanicals that go into Hapusa, including raw mango and almonds. The other ingredients are juniper, coriander seeds, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, and gondhoraj. The gondhoraj has been called the king of limes, is a cross between a lime and a mandarin orange, and very unusually is more or less oblong in its shape.

Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin Awards

The founders of Nao Spirits obviously knew what they were doing, as their two gins quickly started winning awards. Hapusa in particular has won gold and double-gold medals in competitions all over the world, and was recently exported to the UK for the first time, and is also available in the USA.

Tasting Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin

On the nose the juniper is very evident, though not overpowering. It’s balanced by a strong element of lemon and lime, and subtle hints of spice. On the palate the juniper is still the star, but with the ginger spice coming through a little more and the citrus providing a good balance of flavours. Paired with a Fever Tree Tonic, it also made for a really delicious G&T without needing to add anything but ice., and a garnish of something sharp like basil or mint.