Meghalaya-made rainwater-gin seeks to spread dry story of the Earth's wettest place

Guwahati: With 22,000mm average rainfall every year, Cherrapunji and Mawsynram in hilly Meghalaya are known as the wettest places on Earth. Perched atop 4,650-feet, the two small towns and its residents, however, grapple with acute scarcity of water during winters. 

This contrast and the struggle it carries for residents in the two small towns encouraged Mayukh Hazarika, a local entrepreneur, to use purified rainwater and the locally available botanicals from farmers to prepare a gin and spread the dry story of the wettest place on Earth, outside Meghalaya.

Branded as Cherrapunji Eastern Craft gin, it contains GI tagged Khasi Mandarin from Meghalaya, Kaji Nemu (lemon) from neighbouring Assam (also GI tagged), smoked tea from Manipur, cardamom from Sikkim and juniper from eastern Himalayas. 

"Our inspiration to turn rain and native botanicals into a gin comes from rain and also the lack of it in the wettest place on earth. We have taken a wilful stance on making alcoholic beverages responsibly and sustainably, by using rainwater in our product, bringing the sublime taste of our rain to the world and thereby spreading the story," said Mayukh Hazarika, CEO and founder of Raincheck East Co.

"Our approach to distilling, bottling and sourcing, all is rooted in our values of sustainability. We use rainwater instead of groundwater, we source native botanicals close to the distillery and reduce energy consumption by 70% by using the most advanced stills sourced from the Netherlands. We have used a reusable steel bottle instead of glass. They are greening the craft spirits industry by changing how spirits are made," Hazarika said.

The gin was launched in the markets in Assam on Thursday after a good response in Meghalaya. It is also available in Arunachal Pradesh and will soon be made available for consumers in Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa and select international markets, the company said.

“We wanted to make a gin which is unique to our place but designed for a global palate. We source and process these rare botanicals ourselves as there is no existing supply chain. These botanicals have never made its way into a gin and that’s what makes us very unique," Hazarika further said.

The bottle is illustrated with the colorful life of locals in Cherrapunji and Mawsynram. A mandarin picker, a colonial-era Bedford bus, a red panda, bamboo forests, monoliths and many more are all a part of this sleepy, rainy place. These elements have been illustrated beautifully by Portland-based designer, Reshidev RK, said the company.