Rum pum posh!

If this thandi season you are planning to rekindle your love for rum Kasturi Banerjee founder of Stilldistilling has a plan for youThe former banker from Mumbai launched Maka Zai Indiarsquos first homegrown premium craft rum from Goa in January this year Available in two avatarsmdashWhite and Goldmdashit is now available in Maharashtra The tipple has created a buzz largely through word of mouth and we first tried it in Gurugram when a friend brought it in from Goa earlier this year The gold edition had us whiskey lovers take notice The dark golden hue suffused with honey caramel and vanilla notes and a woody leathery smooth finish made us sip the drink without ice or additionsThe rum is blended and bottled in Goa but she procures molasses spirit from Maharashtra and aged sugarcane spirit from Punjab to make the rum which is 428 ABV alcohol by volumeDespite launching in the pandemic the brand has managed to get a noticeable foothold in the market ldquoWe are in 140 retail shops in Goa and 40 food outlets including fivestars that are stocking our product We also tapped the local market because we realised our audiences were open to premium spiritrdquo she shares In Mumbai the products are available in 80 retail outlets and on the Living Liquidz and Craft Liquors appsLast week we took the offer for a virtual tasting for the two rums By now wersquove mastered the art of formalities and socialising on the screen and even dodging bad internet connectionsWe poured about 20 ml of white rum in a goblet and gave it a soft swirl to release the flavours Past the alcohol we got a floral grassy nose We took a small sip first to clean the palate A larger sip paved the way for spices like white pepper and cinnamon on the palate The spices were gentle Personally wersquod sip this minus the mixersldquoThe white edition is made for cocktails and our recommendation is lime and ginger ale or even coconut water and sodardquo says Banerjee who has conducted some food and cocktail pairings in Goa ldquoWe do a mango and gunpowder drink and a Sundowner with turmeric ginger and honey This rum pairs well with prawns and even margherita pizza or mushroomsrdquoWe pour a few drops of water in the glass and sense herbaceous grassy notes with floral flavours and a bit of corianderThe interesting bit is that the spirit doesnrsquot burn the throat in the aftertasteThe second tasting is Gold and the sight of gleaming liquid under the light inevitably reminds us of whiskey The whiff is of honey caramel vanilla and cinnamon Aged in an American oak cask it has a slight woody aroma Like Speyside whiskies which are aged near the sea therersquos a hint of a medicinal aftertaste ldquoEvery spirit matures itself and it responds to the terroir Goa and its humidity adds a gentle saltinessrdquo she explains We add a few drops of water and the nose unfurls into nutmeg fig dates and a hint of leather ldquoThis one steers towards cognacrdquo she suggests adding that a tasting is a personal experience and everyonersquos taste buds are uniqueBeing a whiskey drinker we confess there are similarities ldquoAgeing brings texture and complexity to a drink India has 92 per cent whiskey drinkers and that is the audience we are looking at Our smooth finish makes us stand outrdquo Gold we realise is complex of the two and deserves a few sittings Honey notes are evident and Banerjee insists they donrsquot add sugar The sugarcane makes up for it ldquoYoursquoll get notes of figs dates and a nuttiness like hazelnutsrdquo What we liked about the rums is that they arenrsquot a spirit blast and leave us warm in the chest like after having received a bear hug