STRANGER AND SONS
As a relatively new distillery, the Third Eye Distillery range is less range but more of a singular focus on their flagship spirit, Stranger and Sons.
The three founders, Sakshi Saigal, Rahul Mehra and Vidur Gupta have shrouded their distillery in light humoured myth and legend – an angle that works particularly well with Goa’s status as a hippie mecca. That said, there are no secrets here – despite a vague website, these chaps are doing all of their own distilling and are merely poking a little fun at themselves and at the country’s obsession with ritual and folklore.
The trio came together to create a gin when they realised that, despite some clever labelling, most of the ‘Indian’ gins available had very little to do with the country, bar their ingredients. Theirs, in fact, is one of the first fully Indian gins to emerge since the ‘40s, with the country’s distilleries having dedicated all of their efforts to dark spirits for the past few decades.
Starting as they mean to go on, the Third Eye team have been working hard to reduce their environmental impact from the get go. The women who help them with fruit peeling take the fleshy citrus home, turning them into traditional jams and pickles which are then sold at local markets.
There’s no plastic on their packaging – not even a dash of tape – and botanicals are used whole, with no part discarded as waste.
They’re also in the process of installing a solar roof, which will help to provide at least some of the energy that distilling uses. “One of our biggest concerns is water,” Saigal said. “It takes a lot to distil gin, and while most distilleries use a constant flow of cold water (which is later drained out), we decided to invest in a recycling tank that reduces our water requirement to 25-litres instead of over 10,000 litres of water.”
ONE OF THE FIRST FULLY INDIAN GINS TO EMERGE SINCE THE ‘40S
THE RANGE
Stranger & Sons is crafted with 9 botanicals that represent an India that’s familiar but defies stereotyping. In this decidedly bold and uncommon selection resides our recipe for gin that is as strange as the India we inhabit.
Created by Third Eye Distillery, Stranger & Sons is crafted in Goa, where our distillery is surrounded by our own botanical plantations and lush jungle expanses, that have influenced our label. Stranger & Sons is a contemporary style gin from India that’s both progressive and rooted. Crafted with 9 inherently Indian botanicals, the spirit is a fitting representation of our bold and layered country that delivers a unique three-dimensional flavour that relevals new layers with each sip.
The ‘Strange’ in the name is a nod to India’s quintessential peculiarities - its customs and chaos, cultural diversity, myth and mystery. While the ‘& Sons ‘ is an ode to the legendary Indian businesses that flourished in India and across the globe passing their craft from generation to generation - which we set out to pass on too. Stranger & Sons is an invitation to seek the strange - where nothing is ever as it seems, demanding that you look again and to celebrate it.
APPEARANCE
Clear.
NOSE
Crisp refreshing citrus notes with spice and peppery undertones.
PALATE
Front : you’re greeted by freshness from our Indian citrus peels and juniper.
Middle : Black pepper, coriander and mace follow to give our gin a strong spiced middle. Back : Angelica root, cassia bark, liquorice and nutmeg make the finishing flourish warm and sweet.
Gin
UNIT SIZE. 70cl
CASE SIZE. 6
ABV %. 42.8%
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.
India
REGION OF ORIGIN.
Goa
UNIT BARCODE
8908017168008