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Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin Distils The Unique Flavours Of The Himalayas

Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin is India’s first craft spirit made with sustainably harvested rainwater and Khasi botanicals from the remote hills of Meghalaya.
Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin Distils The Unique Flavours Of The Himalayas
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3 min read

The sister towns of Cherrapunji and Mawsynram in Meghalaya are among the rainiest places on Earth, receiving over 11,430 mm (1,042 inches) of annual rainfall. To put that in perspective, Mumbai receives approximately 2,300 mm of rainfall during the monsoon. Yet even here, drinking water becomes scarce during the winter. Stil, locals have found ways to live with the extremes of their environment. Drawing inspiration from this resilience, the founders of Raincheck Earth Co. asked a deceptively simple question: What if rainwater—naturally distilled by the atmosphere—could be turned into a spirit?

The result is Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin, India’s first craft gin made with sustainably harvested rainwater and native botanicals from North-East India. Winner of the prestigious SIP Double Gold Award, this gin is an expression of the region’s unique terroir and weather.

Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin is infused with twelve native botanicals harvested from the north-east Indian alpine and rainforests, and exhibits citrus-forward notes, a creamily smooth juniper base, and a hint of smoke.
Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin is infused with twelve native botanicals harvested from the north-east Indian alpine and rainforests, and exhibits citrus-forward notes, a creamily smooth juniper base, and a hint of smoke.Raincheck Earth Co.

A Global Craft Gin With North-East Indian Roots

Created by Mayukh Hazarika—founder, CEO, and master distiller at Raincheck Earth Co.—in collaboration with a Dutch master distiller, the gin is produced using energy-efficient stills imported from the Netherlands. It is infused with twelve wild and cultivated botanicals sourced from the rainforests and alpine slopes of North-East India. The flavour profile is bright and citric, grounded in a creamily smooth juniper base, and edged with just a hint of smoke.

“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 for them. These botanicals have never made its way into a gin and that’s what makes us very unique.”
Mayukh Hazarika, CEO, Master Distiller, and Founder

A Taste Of Cherrapunji's Unique Terroir And Weather

The terroir and weather theatre around Cherrapunji and northeast India nurtures unique botanicals not found anywhere else. The Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin captures the tastes of these rare botanicals and builds on them with soh sohra (Khasi mandarin) from Cherrapunji, kaji nemu (aromatic indigenous lime) from Assam, and hand-harvested juniper from the eastern Himalayan alpine and rainforests. The botanical blend is layered with black and green cardamoms and wild forest peppercorns from Sikkim and Meghalaya, and pine-smoked tea from the Lushai Hills — giving the spirit its signature finish.

The Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin captures the tastes of rare botanicals hand-harvested from the eastern Himalayan alpine and rainforests.
The Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin captures the tastes of rare botanicals hand-harvested from the eastern Himalayan alpine and rainforests.Raincheck Earth Co.

A Designer Gin Bottled In Reusable Military-Standard Stainless Steel

In keeping with Raincheck’s commitment to sustainability, the gin comes packaged in a reusable military-grade stainless steel bottle. Illustrated by Portland-based artist Reshidev RK, the bottle is wrapped in vibrant imagery from the region: a mandarin picker in the mist, a colonial-era Bedford bus, ancient monoliths, bamboo groves, and an endangered red panda peeking through the forest — each element is an ode to Cherrapunji’s sleepy, rain-soaked life.

Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin is bottled in a reusable MIL standard stainless steel bottle in a win for sustainability.
Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin is bottled in a reusable MIL standard stainless steel bottle in a win for sustainability.Raincheck Earth Co.

Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin is currently available in Meghalaya, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh. Learn more about Cherrapunji Eastern Craft Gin here.

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