The Resurrection of Rajasthan's Royal Liquors
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But heat can be brutal out there - one day just sitting on camel around Jaisalmer, I've drunk 6l of water (literally 1l bottles one after another). No pee at all coming out, and even almost had a heat stroke.
India's diversity is stunning, its not just 1 huge country but rather a continent on its own composed out of... 1000 various tribes IIRC? To me, by far the most exotic country (as in different to environment I normally inhabit) globally. Not sure how much of that slowly evaporated in past decade with phones everywhere, I've spent some time there 15 years ago.
Got completely soaked at night though because it was the one day in the year where they got a torrential downpour.
If you go, make sure to visit The Bhang Shop for a bhang mango lassi!
Bring oral rehydration salts for the inevitable less-than-optimal digestion experience. You may not feel like you need it, but mixing oral rehydration salts into your water intake after an episode of bad digestion will help you a lot. ORS are cheap and scientifically simple and well proven.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=oral+rehy...
If I understood you right, this was because you didn't sanitize your hands the second time?
Don't take it as negative comment overall, I can't express with words how much that backpacking experience there meant to me. I came back as different, dare to say a better person but listing reasons would take tons of time.
Love the culture, history, various coexisting religions, common people were always very kind and helpful, and overall intensity, even with few negative aspects. Learning to haggle a bit was very hard but it paid back itself later in life tremendously, ie managed to haggle down 60k $ from the price of apartment we bought from one CFO of major insurance company where I live now. Wouldn't have balls to do it without that experience. But whole list is massive and many things I don't even realize myself and never will.
Gin is something that I always believed India would do well - given their expertise with herbs and spices.
Hopefully, one of the big Indian brands takes an interest and revive these liqueurs.
https://www.cntraveller.in/story/rajasthans-heritage-liqueur...
And helpfully compares this stuff to amaro.
So, where can i buy it? Neither Whisky Exchange nor Gerry's list it, so i'm stumped!
Most artisanal or regional liquors are near impossible to export in most countries (eg. finding Ruou or Lao Khao in the US) as these are primarily manufactured by SMBs, and the liquor industry globally is filled with protectionist regulations.
So I went to a local "wine shop" (which sell spirits, etc.) and asked for some "local liquor". The man handed me an Indian version of whiskey.
No, I said, I don't want IMFL; give me something that's traditional and local.
He sighed, reached down behind the counter by his feet, and pulled out a half liter bottle of a clear liquid which did not even have a label. It was about 25 rupees (around $0.30 today). And sure to blind anyone who partook in it.
No thanks, I said, and passed on that quest.
There are a number of regional liquors across India, but most are looked down upon as the drivel of the poor or the working class.
If you want something that tastes closest to normal traditional North Indian liquor in North America, just drink some Arak or Raki with a side of cucumbers and a bit of tasting salt.
That said, I've seen that Total Liquor has started importing artisanal Indian liquors now too (btw, Old Monk is not artisanal nor are the beers served at Indian restaurants the normal beers that Indians drink)
Are you a coder/tech person now? It sounds like you'd have quite a bunch of stories to tell. Can't imagine too many former Goan DJs on HN, let alone one who'd dj'ed so long back.
It was a neat scene technologically because that was one of the few places that would book DJs from Russia/CIS, and they had a DJ tradition based on reel to reel rather than vinyl. It still explains a lot of the difference between psytrance and the various house descendants that come out of a vinyl tradition.
> reel to reel
Thanks, as a buddying audio guy I learnt something new today!
> It still explains a lot of the difference between psytrance and the various house descendants that come out of a vinyl tradition.
If these genres came from vinyl, what were the genres coming from r2r? (Until now I thought everything was from vinyl.)
(Ps guessing from your username you're Indian too?)
Here's one of the best old school Russian DJs using a r2r: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg4VzVXKhAk
I'm not Indian, but I've lived more of my adult live in South Asia than out of it.
Is there any way to get it in the EU (or US), or is taking it in your luggage the only way ?
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/heritage-spirit-of-...
I've also seen it occasionally in packies on Boston's south shore in heavily Portuguese neighborhoods, but I assume it just came in somebody's luggage as you mentioned (it still had the Indian tax stamp on it).
If you're in NYC you might give Edison a shot?
Definitely not these liquors from Rajasthan. I have Kesar Kasturi, Royal Jagmohan, etc. and you can tell they have some top-shelf ingredients in them like saffron, etc.
Now rum, on the other hand, is terrible.
The switch to heritage is definitely the right move from a branding standpoint.
Edit: it might be a brand thing too - "Kesar Kasturi" and "Somras" are generic names and based on some limited internet sleuthing, it looks like generics of these are made as well from Molasses+artifical flavoring
There is large enough demand for heritage liquors in India that there isn't much of an interest in dealing with customs.
Most Indian liquor abroad is exported by a couple specific conglomerates (Radico Khaitan, Mohan Meakin) that fell out of favor after 2013-14 because they were close with the Samajwadi Party, and thus pivoted abroad as they faced issues domestically. The liquor business is VERY dirty in India.