On an Indian gin trail

If you do not have a picture holding a glass of Indian gin on your social media you are likely to be a social outcastrdquo says Gagan Sharma creator and educator at Indulge India and he has us in splits It is the recent popularity of Indian gins that made Bhopalbased Wine Telegrams run by Shalini Singh partner with Indulge India to create a virtual tasting event featuring Indian ginsThe assembled tasting kitsIn an hourlong Zoom tasting session Sharma will take you through the history and flavours behind seven Indian gins including Greater Than Terai Stranger amp Sons Samsara Hapusa and Pumori along with a surprise gin which is like the Jack in a pack of cards ldquoLast year India experienced a gin revolution and while Goa and Mumbai were getting all the good stuff many were unavailable in Delhi Bhopal and the rest of India Our first virtual tasting session was in October last year after I flew down to Mumbai to buy a few gins and did a blind tasting here for my team In November we did a public tasting of the Indian gin trail for 80 people in Delhirdquo recalls Sharma While Indulge has done over 20 sessions of the gin trail since then this is Wine Telegramrsquos first virtual gintasting eventGagan SharmaldquoI started conducting wine tasting sessions with my family and friends that led to a few paid sessions in 2019 The plan was to have continuous sessions starting March and thatrsquos when we went into the lockdownrdquo says Singh who studied Wine and Gastronomy Management from Le Cordon Bleu London She decided to partner with Indulge after attending one of Sharmarsquos tasting sessions ldquoI wanted to introduce this virtual tasting concept in cities like Bhopal and among the people I know Even now most interested folk are requesting inperson tastings Once they participate in this virtual tasting their apprehensions will disappearrdquo she suggestsAnother plus of attending a virtual tasting session is that one gets to sample gins that may not otherwise be available in their city ldquoSampling these gins allows one to understand their palette when things open up and people travel they will know exactly what they want to drinkrdquo says SinghSharma believes the rising popularity of Indian gins is because one can rarely go wrong with Indian gin and tonic ldquoFor example you slice a mango and add it and throw in blueberry or a syrup You canrsquot add Rooh Afza to whiskey for example but with gin it can work It allows you to experiment In the lockdown drinking at home became a thing and homebartending picked up Gins were the easiest to experiment with Also in Indian gins you can tell the spice and botanicals that are added such as ginger gondhoraj lime pepper fennel rose petals or the juniper that we source from Delhirsquos famed Khari Baoli spice market Indian gins invoke a sense of nostalgiardquoOn August 29 6 pm Confirmation and payment by August 15 for kits to be delivered in time from Delhi or GoaCost Rs 3000 including doorstep delivery Call 9425301430 Log on to winetelegrams on Instagram for more details