The rise of Indian craft vodka — local flavours, innovative filtration processes, and big ambitions

Infused with java vapour, and 24-carat gold, India’s vodka distillers are rewriting India’s cocktail civilization with inventive techniques and determination ingredients

James Bond prefers his martini shaken (not stirred), portion Taylor Swift likes hers with a splash of Diet Coke. What’s communal though is their prime of basal liquor — vodka, a tone that, by definition, is colourless and odourless, cleanable for mixing and a trusted companion to galore cocktails.

India’s vodka market, valued astatine $4.73 cardinal successful 2025, is expected to deed $7.5 cardinal by 2034 and determination are 2 important factors contributing to its dependable maturation — rising disposable incomes and well-travelled consumers looking to portion better, not more.

When it comes to sipping vodkas (premium vodka without additives), Indiapivots the provenance of the h2o (vodka, aft all, traces its roots to voda in Russian, meaning water), section ingredients and filtration processes that impact gemstones.

While established brands similar Smirnoff and Magic Moments person customised their portfolio past twelvemonth with India-forward flavours, similar jamun and mango, New Delhi-based Smoke Lab Vodka went a measurement up with aniseed (2021) and saffron (2023).

Vikram Achanta, founder, Tulleeho, which offers beverage acquisition and consulting services, and co-founder of 30Best Bars India says, “Vodka is an important play successful cocktail menus, particularly arsenic cocktails similar the martini marque a spirited comeback, vodka gives bartenders a batch of country to experimentation with funky highballs.”.

Let’s instrumentality a look astatine immoderate of India’s homegrown vodka brands that are rewriting India’s cocktail civilization with inventive techniques and determination ingredients.

Brew meets booze

Built connected the thought of trade and character, Three Fields vodka, from Chennai-based Indie Brews and Spirits, debuted successful March this twelvemonth with 2 variants — classical and café. Crafted from 3 grains — breached section atom (Andhra Pradesh), wheat (Triticum aestivum variety, utilized successful breadstuff making, from Rajasthan) and two-row barley (sourced from Scotland and Rajasthan) — Three Fields Café vodka is India’s archetypal vapour-infused java vodka made with 100% specialty Arabica java from 2 estates successful Chikkamagaluru on with a atom tone made from breached atom sourced from Andhra Pradesh. For the café vodka conscionable the atom tone and java vapour distillation. No barley oregon wheat is used.

The two-day process of making a batch of 1,200 bottles entails roasting and grinding caller java beans, followed by vapour distillation successful a 2,000 litre copper cookware still. As the intoxicant vapours walk done freshly crushed coffee, they seizure the aroma of the beans, resulting successful a vodka that is affluent with notes of roasted coffee, cocoa, and accented by subtle vanilla tones.

“We acceptable retired to bring real, ingredient-led quality into vodka — whether it’s balancing 3 grains oregon cautiously extracting Arabica java done vapour. This scope reflects our content that vodka tin beryllium some axenic and expressive,” explains Isaac Vivek, laminitis and CEO, Indie Brews. The café vodka is champion served connected ice, successful a Coffee Highball, with sparkling h2o and a twist of citrus, oregon an Espresso Martini oregon Black Russian.

Three Fields Café Vodka (40% ABV) is disposable successful Goa, priced astatine ₹2,120/ 750ml; it volition soon beryllium disposable crossed confederate states.

Spirit of spring 

Hudka is India’s archetypal Himalayan vodka, crafted astatine the Himmaleh Spirits distillery successful Uttarakhand. The vodka owes its moniker to the hudka drum played by the wandering storytellers of Kumaon, Hurkiyas, whose songs are a taste repository of the region. Crafted from Himalayan outpouring h2o that typically has little mineral content, yielding a cleaner tone with crisp notes and a sativa atom sourced from section farms successful the Kumaon region, Hudka is produced from a rice-based extra-neutral spirit, redistilled successful a copper cookware still, filtered done an activated charcoal filter, and yet diluted with demineralised h2o to execute 40% ABV earlier bottling.

Ansh Khanna, co-founder, Himmaleh Spirits, explains, “With Hudka, we are placing India, and specifically the Himalayas, connected the planetary vodka map. ” Smooth with a gentle grainy texture, the vodka has citrus notes and a gentle hum of spice lingering done the finish. It tin beryllium enjoyed connected crystal oregon successful spirit-forward cocktails.

Hudka is disposable successful Uttarakhand for ₹1,320

Crystal clear! 

New Delhi-based Globus Spirits introduced Terai gin successful July 2020, with a beardown tether to Rajasthan’s unsocial terroir, and has precocious entered the sipping vodka segment. The ‘grain to glass’ vodka crafted astatine the Terai distillery successful Behror, Rajasthan, is fashioned from locally sourced atom that goes done milling and fermentation, and a unsocial filtration process done amethyst crystals, from Karur, Tamil Nadu.

Paramjeet Singh Gill, CEO, Consumer Division, Globus Spirits explains, “The copper cookware inactive decorativeness provides a neutrally axenic distillate, with subtle micro-impacts of copper congeners, which assistance with smoothness. Then travel the amethyst crystals that assistance successful gentle adsorption of hint impurities, each without stripping desirable volatiles. The effect is simply a tone that feels softer connected the palate and much refined.” 

Terai India Craft Vodka (42.8%ABV) is disposable successful Jaipur and Udaipur, Rajasthan (₹2,245) and volition soon beryllium disposable successful Delhi, Gurgaon, Goa, and Mumbai

Ode to a chameleon

From ABD Maestro, the super-premium subsidiary of Allied Blenders and Distillers (ABD), Rangeela Contemporary Indian Vodka is simply a triple-distilled, platinum-chill-filtered vodka, launched successful November 2025. Platinum acts arsenic a catalyst to trim aldehydes (reactive integrated compounds) and impurities that origin unpleasant alcoholic aftertastes giving the tone its polish. Chill filtration cools the tone to highly debased temperatures betwixt -2°C to -12°C, causing fatty acids, esters, and proteins to coagulate and beryllium trapped successful a filter, yielding a cleanable vodka.

The tone crafted from demineralised water, atom and grape spirits, is creaseless connected the palate with a crisp texture. The vessel plan is colourful and modern featuring a cheeky ode to a chameleon, the colour changing mascot that captures the tone of Rangeela.

Bikram Basu, managing director, ABD Maestro, explains, “With Ranveer Singh arsenic the co-founder and originative spouse for Rangeela, we purpose to bring a taste flair, similar celebrating colours, quality and fun. It is for India and the planetary consumer.” Whether successful a changeable oregon successful cocktails, Rangeela reimagines classics with an Indian twist. Bandra Barbie is their instrumentality connected the Cosmopolitan portion the Espresso martini with Rangeela is called latte lag gai. (

Rangeela, 42.8% ABV is disposable successful Maharashtra astatine ₹2,400 (750ml) with Goa, West Bengal and North Indian markets to follow

Liquid gold

New Delhi-based Smoke Lab has unveiled Liquid Gold, a limited-edition vodka infused with 24-carat edible golden flakes, launched successful November 2025.

Crafted from basmati rice, the vodka goes done a five-step distillation and is refined done a proprietary ‘sparkle filtration’ process to heighten depth, clarity and texture. The method ensures the golden flakes stay suspended, giving the tone an iridescent quality. The vessel comes successful a bundle resembling a golden biscuit, with an authenticity certificate for its 24 karat golden flakes. The edible golden flakes added for ocular luxury, bash not change the taste.

The vodka, made with basmati rice, is designed to beryllium enjoyed neat, connected the rocks, oregon arsenic portion of a crafted cocktail. “Liquid Gold was calved retired of a elemental idea, to instrumentality Indian vodka to the adjacent level,” says Varun Jain, founder, Smoke Lab, adding, “It is India’s astir luxurious vodka, lasting enarthrosis to enarthrosis with the champion successful the world, yet profoundly rooted successful who we are.”

Launched exclusively successful New Delhi, Rajasthan and Goa, the 40% ABV vodka is priced successful the luxury conception astatine ₹8,000 per litre.