Indian gin brand Vanaha, crafted and produced at the Revelry Distillery in Goa’s Sattari forest, is celebrating a new launch, a debut export market and a concerted travel retail expansion.
Revelry Distillery, founded by CEO Vaniitha Jaiin in 2023, has just launched Vanaha Buransh Bagh, the world’s first gin to be made with the delicate Buransh (known as Rhododendron in the west) flower.
The vibrant, crimson-red tree flowers (the official state tree/flower of Uttarakhand) are hand-gathered from high-altitude forests in the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, affectionately known as the Land of the Gods.
“It is a beautiful expression of our continued journey of exploring India’s rare botanicals through craft and distillation,” Jaiin told The Moodie Davitt Report (look out for our extended profile and interview coming soon).
Jaiin featured recently featured in The She List, India Today’s 50th Anniversary Edition, one of 50 Indian women who have built their career journeys independently.
The article (below) highlights her journey as the first Indian female to create an alcohol distillery. Vanaha – derived from vana (forest) and aha (epiphany) – Artisanal Forest Gin was launched in 2025, based on a ‘forest-to-bottle’ mantra.
A passionate endurance sports competitor (Ironman and marathons), Jaiin told India Today in an August interview, “Entrepreneurship is the longest endurance event I’ve ever taken up.”
The original Vanaha expression was launched into duty free at Manohar International Airport in Goa a year ago.
Revelry Distillery and Vanaha are represented in travel retail by Hyderabad-based businessman Rajesh Panda’s SAI RP Enterprises, which specialises in bringing Indian wines and spirits to the channel.
Panda is renowned for having introduced Indian single malt whisky Paul John to travel retail.
Vanaha has just launched in China, the brand’s first export market.
In a recent LinkedIn post, Jaiin said, “For decades, trade between India and China has mostly run one way. Last week, a shipment left our distillery going the other way. Carrying Indian gin, to 1.4 billion people.
“In 2017, Vanaha was one word on a flip chart. Now it is on its way to one of the biggest spirits markets on earth. Two gins on that truck. Vanaha Artisanal Forest Gin and Vanaha Buransh Bagh. All natural. Zero sugar. Nothing added that I would not drink myself.
“I think that is part of why China said yes. People there know good spirits. They read labels. And they do not want sugar in their glass. Neither do we.
“It is 17 months since launch. 20 global awards. A Gin Brand of the Year shortlist. And now, China. I honestly cannot wait to see where this goes next.”
{Look out for an extensive profile of Vaniitha Jaiin, Revelry Distillery and Vanaha Gin, coming soon}.✈
Comment: As I write this article on a balmy November night in Hong Kong, I do so with a bottle of Vanaha Artisanal Forest Gin and a generous glass of its contents by my side, writes Martin Moodie. It’s a tough job but somone’s got to do it, as they say.
More seriously, it’s just as important to understand and evaluate the liquid inside the bottle as it is to comprehend and then describe Vaniitha Jaiin’s fascinating backstory.
How to characterise this unique expression of gin’s myriad wonders? The sublimely elegant bottle’s label declares an array of botanicals, including deodar wood, patchouli, pine tips, palash flowers, cacao nibs, wild lemons and berries.
That all adds up to an enticing and delicious flavour harmony, the pine tips prominent but not overwhelming on the nose nor palate.
Of course there’s also the indispendable juniper, its berries sourced from the Mimalayan foothills and Macedonian mountains, combined nicely to bring out the potent anchor flavour.
Vanaha Artisanal Forest Gin is earthy, befitting its forest origins, but delightfully fresh and quite viscous, warming, woody and gently herbal in character.
Its authenticity, presentation and quality all add up to a stand-out contender in already crowded duty-free gin shelves. Watch this space.
Contact: To reach out to Vaniitha Jaiin and Revelry Distillery please email her at vaniitha@revelrydistillery.in or visit https://vanahagin.com/. Please say you read this story on The Moodie Davitt Report.com
* If you would like your independent, local/national brand to appear on Local Heroes, please contact Martin Moodie at Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com
