Greater Than, India’s first craft gin, thrives on innovation and creativity to keep the fizz

The gin renaissance in India was spurred by one Goa-based homegrown brand under the stewardship of Anand Virmani. 

Virmani, a wine enthusiast and the former brand manager for Glenfiddich, along with his wife Aparajita Ninan, who’s also an artist, launched India’s first craft gin brand, Greater Than, in 2017. 

However, Nao Spirits, the parent company of Greater Than, was able to sell only 7,836 bottles in the first year of launch. 

“When we came up with the idea to make craft gin in India, the premium gin market (in the country) was just above the 1-lakh bottle mark,” Virmani, CEO and Co-founder of Nao Spirits tells YS Life. 

In the following years, the Indian gin market underwent major disruption with the emergence of a slew of artisanal homegrown brands. 

Thanks to the gin renaissance, the market in India, which was pegged at $914.7 million in 2020, is expected to reach $1,598.2 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.9%.

In particular, Greater Than has grown steadily in the minds of consumers, so much that today the brand is synonymous with gin in India. In FY24, it sold one million bottles—a milestone for a homegrown gin brand. 

The London dry gin was designed to be a bartender’s gin of choice, but owing to the liquid’s versatility, it has now become a go-to gin for home bartenders too.

With Nao Spirits shifting base from Delhi to Goa, the beach paradise has evolved into a hub for alco-bev experiments. 

In fact, many of the popular gin brands in the country today—including Third Eye Distillery (makers of Stranger and Sons), Spacemen Spirits Labs (Samsara’s parent company), Jin Jiji, Matinee Gin, and Pumori–either have their roots or distilleries based in Goa.  

Virmani believes this is just the beginning.

“There’s still lots of space (for new players). Consumers are excited, and they resonate with good quality … As long as the quality is maintained, there’s still time for new brands to come in, explore, and share their stories, flavour profiles, and creativity,” he says. 

How does Greater Than stay relevant in the ever-changing alco-bev space? How has it been able to create an impact in a market that was once dominated by players such as Bombay Sapphire, Tanquery and Gordons and mass-produced Indian brands such as Blue Riband and Blue Moon? Virmani spills the secret. 

Staying relevant 

What makes Greater Than stand out in the saturated homegrown craft gin market is its constant innovation with flavour profiles.

“Greater Than is a craft gin; creativity and experimentation is in our DNA. So rather than creating totally different offshoots that are unrelated, I thought we should use Greater Than as a platform, expand its umbrella, and showcase our creativity through it,” elaborates Virmani.. 

Nao’s first limited edition, Juniper Bomb, was launched in 2021.  

“As juniper is the core ingredient, we kind of amped it up a bit,” says Virmani. 

Instead of macerating or steeping the gin for 10 hours, as is the case with the original Greater Than gin, Juniper Bomb is macerated for 34 hours. 

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the team at Nao Spirits had a lot of time to experiment with different flavours and ingredients. One of the experiments that stood out was a coffee-infused gin—it was the brainchild of Jay Dhawan, the late distiller at Nao Spirits.

The team also partnered with homegrown coffee maker Sleepy Owl to put together cold-brew coffee and Greater Than and create the ‘No Sleep’ gin, which was launched in January 2022. 

“That’s when we truly realised the power of expanding the brand beyond its category. With Juniper Bomb, we were still targeting the gin geeks. Whereas, with No Sleep, we inadvertently reached out to the coffee lovers,” Virmani explains. 

A little later, Nao Spirits decided to crack the brown spirit segment, which constituted 97% of the alco-bev market in India and comprised whiskey, brandy and rum. The team wanted to give it a twist with gin, essentially a white spirit. 

While everyone around the world was ageing gin in oak barrels for a smoky and woody flavour, Nao Spirits sought to add an Indian touch. 

“We were brainstorming at the distillery, wondering what’s that one wood that really resonates with India and is important … The funny answer was a cricket bat!” says Virmani. 

“It really started as a joke but we knew cricket was a religion in India and decided to go ahead with the experiment,” he adds. 

Thus, Broken Bat Gin was born in November 2022—a barrel-aged gin that tastes like whiskey. For this, the team shaved, cleaned and soaked cricket bats made with Kashmir willow in gin for six weeks. 

The brand’s latest experiment—Punk Gin—is a pink gin made with fresh strawberries and hibiscus. 

“We don’t call it pink because we are creating it without the use of any artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners. The whole essence of the gin is anti-establishment, so we called it punk,” Virmani shares. 

Striking a supportive partnership

Being a homegrown brand, it’s not easy for Greater Than to compete with the who’s-who of the liquor industry. 

“There is always an existential struggle to prove to your investors that you are worth the bet,” says Virmani. 

“I think 2020 was the year we realised that maybe it was time for us to step up and instead of asking for small amounts of money from a large number of people, we needed to look at one or two large investors that can back us up.”

In March 2022, United Spirits Limited (Diageo India) announced an investment of Rs 31.5 crore to acquire a strategic minority stake (22.5%) in Nao Spirits and Beverages—a first-of-its-kind investment in a homegrown spirit company by a multinational corporation. 

The Diageo partnership, Vermani says, is supportive, without giving up creative control over operations. 

“It’s actually been like a relationship; we have been able to lean on them in certain markets that we felt we had to … Beyond that, it (the investment) has instilled the confidence in investors that there is a possible exit and it’s not just a mirage.” 

Beyond gin

As Nao Spirits seeks new paths, it wishes to keep its experiments going. 

Recently, the team converted its office space in Panjim into a bar called MTW (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) to facilitate experimentation. 

Initially, the bar was open on the first three days of the work week—usually considered off-days for bars and hospitality outlets. Now the bar is open from Monday to Saturday. 

“The nine drinks in the menu are categorised into three sections, defined by the mood of each particular day at work—long day, tough day, and half day. Long day drinks are tall and refreshing; tough days are when you get told off by your boss or are unable to meet a deadline and are in need of a stiffer, boozy drink; and half day features fun and vibrant drinks,” Virmani explains. 

As for nibbles, the bar serves toasties. 

Greater Than recently launched a #ListenGreater initiative to bolster the indie music scene in India across genres. The Spot Concerts are an extension of the initiative and prioritise collaboration and curation across artists, brands and venues. 

Under this initiative, the brand hosted its first concert on January 27 and 28 at the Piano Man in Delhi, featuring live Indo-fusion and electronic acts. 

Virmani says, “#ListenGreater is an extension of Greater Than Gin and stands as a testament to the brand's commitment to not only set high standards for gin in India but also champion local choices across various avenues.”

Greater Than also hosts annual Bar Wars, a bartending competition hosted across the country.

In January this year, Nao Spirits entered the rum segment with the launch of Pipa–Rum de Goa, a premium spiced rum. 

Greater Than has expanded beyond the sunshine state of Goa and is now available across 11 states and 3 union territories. It is also present in 16 other countries across the world. Its market share in the premium Indian gin category is just over 50%.

“Starting up, our ambition was to get one bottle out of the door … Now we are selling one million bottles (in the last one year). It has been quite a journey, and I’ve lost a bit of hair … but that’s fine!” Virmani laughs.

(Feature image by Nihar Apte)