What does your weekend G&T share with colonial India’s battle towards malaria? Quite a bit, really. The gin and tonic, now an iconic cocktail, owes its origins to the battle towards malaria throughout the British Raj within the nineteenth century.
Gin & Tonic’s Shocking Indian Origin
Within the 1800s, malaria posed a lethal risk to British troops and officers stationed in India. The one identified treatment was quinine, extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree. Though extraordinarily bitter, quinine successfully handled and prevented the illness. To make the medication extra palatable, the British combined quinine with water and sugar, creating what we now recognise as tonic water. Nevertheless, the bitterness lingered. British officers quickly started including their rationed gin, lime, and infrequently sugar or soda, leading to a extra pleasing and drinkable concoction.
This mix not solely masked quinine’s harsh style however served an necessary medicinal objective. As British affect expanded globally, so did the recognition of the gin and tonic. By the twentieth century, it had left its medicinal roots behind, turning into synonymous with summer time evenings, refined tastes, and colonial nostalgia. Over time, the gin and tonic developed right into a ritual, refreshment, and social treatment mixed, notably interesting throughout India’s harsh summers.
Increase in India’s Gin Market
As of 2025, India’s gin market is estimated to be value round $1.79 billion and is projected to develop to roughly $2.95 billion by 2032, at a compound annual development fee (CAGR) of about 7.4%, in response to Coherent Market Insights. This development is primarily pushed by rising disposable incomes, shifting preferences amongst youthful drinkers, and the booming cocktail tradition throughout India’s metropolitan cities. “India’s gin renaissance is now not about catching up, it’s about carving out a brand new world id. With the gin class projected to the touch practically $3 billion by 2032, what’s really thrilling is that Indian distillers are now not following world cues. We’re now setting them,” stated Shekhar Swarup, Jt. Managing Director of Globus Spirits, the makers of the Indian gin TERAI.
Including momentum to this rise is India’s thriving craft gin revolution. Homegrown manufacturers like Jaisalmer, TERAI, Stranger & Sons, Larger Than, Samsara and Jin Jiji are creatively experimenting with native botanicals comparable to tulsi, gondhoraj lemons, mulberry, and tea leaves. This exploration of uniquely Indian flavours appeals to a rising client base all in favour of artisanal, domestically crafted spirits, and aligns with the worldwide developments in the direction of authenticity, sustainability, and cultural delight.
As an illustration, within the class of flavoured gins, the primary Restricted Version launch within the ‘TERAI – The BAAGH Explorations’ vary is ‘Expression 01: Recent Litchis & Mulberries’. This vivid, layered spirit opens with the juiciness of ripe litchis and the depth of mulberries with delicate hints of rose and lavender for a well-balanced, flavourful profile.
Speaking in regards to the newest addition, Swarup stated, “At TERAI India Dry Gin, our imaginative and prescient is to raise India’s wealthy agricultural range and botanical abundance into craft expressions that resonate far past our borders. Our new vary of Restricted Editions, The BAAGH Explorations, is rooted on this very concept. It’s a journey to the farms of the SWARUP household in Jarauda, Uttar Pradesh, expressed via these pleasant small batch distillates. This journey celebrates the land, the craft & the love that binds the household collectively… Greater than only a flavoured gin, Terai India Craft Gin – Litchi & Mulberries is an invite to expertise India via its seasons, scents, and tales. Globally, drinkers are shifting past impartial profiles, they’re in search of boldness, provenance, and that means in each sip.”
What started as a colonial coping mechanism has reworked right into a booming life-style development in modern India. On World Gin Day 2025, every G&T poured is greater than a refreshing drink—it’s a toast to India’s modern spirit and its fascinating journey via historical past. With homegrown manufacturers gaining worldwide acclaim and a increase within the home market, the way forward for Indian gin seems promising, each at dwelling and on the worldwide stage.
