STRANGER & SONS GIN
“In a strange situation, no one is a stranger”
The Stranger & Sons story begins with a three-eyed, two-tailed tiger, who chanced upon juniper berries hidden in the pocket of a sari blouse while roaming the Western Ghats in Maharashtra. Now, she’s known to appear at dusk and dawn, frequenting local bars in Panjim, Goa and swapping secrets for drinks with Strangers. From her, Stranger & Sons inherited the recipe of their Indian spirited gin and our rather strange ethos, all filtered through her third eye.
The key to making a great gin is sourcing good botanicals. Gin manufacturers world over, look to India for botanicals and to explore its provenance for their brand and identity, but most are made nowhere near it. And it makes sense, for centuries India was the nexus of international trade with its most sought after exports being botanicals.
Stranger & Sons knew it was time to create a truly Indian gin for local and global audiences. They chose inherently Indian botanicals that they believe represent India’s diversity. Located in the Western Ghats, Goa offers access to a bounty of spices along the Konkan and Malabar coasts and holds 3000 years as a key player in India’s spice trade. Juniper berries, coriander seeds, black pepper (once called ‘black gold’) nutmeg, mace, angelica root, cassia bark, liquorice, Nagpur oranges, Gondhoraj lemons (known as the ‘King of Fragrances’), Mosambi (AKA Indian Bergamont,) and Nimbu citrus sourced from the local garden behind the distillery all go in to making these wonderful spirits.
Stranger & Sons also takes steps to be an ethical brand through employing local women and having a careful water management system to limit waste.
“There is nothing to not get excited by when it comes to Stranger & Sons Gin, a new and bloody delicious offering bursting out of Goa, India. It looks as great as it tastes, which helps, but it’s the cunning of its three young makers that mean it is poised be one of the names that take over its home country. And then maybe the world too, as this distillery has the kind of potential we’ve not seen in years…” – Gin Foundry
Visit Stranger and Sons’ website here