Making IDAAYA as Good as the Himalayas

There are many unique features about the recently launched Idayya sipping rum, the best one being that it is made from the pristine waters of the great Himalayas. Giving traditional rum a modernist spin along with a combination of the traditional and the contemporary, The Good Distillers has found its niche with IDAAYA, which is what will take it places across the world, as the company’s Founder and CEO, Karishma Manga Bedi puts it.

A premium sipping rum crafted against the backdrop of the Himalayas. Doesn’t that sound enticing, mysterious, alluring and elevating? It is, and the brand that has come into being in its very ‘natural’ surrounding is Idayya. Created with the intent of promoting India’s heritage of spirit making and a vast reserve of methodologies and ingredients, Idayya is rooted in a vision to present the best of India to global audiences. This dark sipping rum is created from a 12-year-old rum aged in bourbon casks along with Indian molasses spirit. Water from the snow-capped Himalayas is used in the making of the rum, which is blended in sal wood casks using Indian methodologies, and further bottled using the solera system, which is a process for ageing liquids like wine, beer, vinegar and brandy by blending different ages and vintages together to create a consistent quality. As such, Idayya is a culmination of passion for the craft of rum-making, reflecting a deep reverence for tradition and an aspiration towards uncompromising skill. “Our vision at Those Good Distillers is to create speciality spirits representing India that are competing with the best in the world, made without compromise and compelling in their story and taste. We create for joy and passion, with detailing at every level,” says Karishma. It’s a journey that comes packed with its own romanticism, as she puts it.

The Craft 

“During our research we found that the oldest reference to a drink made by fermenting and distilling from sugar cane juice was done in India. Our ancient book, the Arthashastra made reference to this as a kind of Amlasidhu. There have been many different ways that liquid has been treated within the Indian cultural context and inspired by these, we are using two of the techniques to treat our casks, which is proprietary to Idaaya,” explains Karishma. “These are ‘lepam’, where a paste is smeared inside the cask and ‘dhoopam’ where the casks are smoked. Historically, these were done to treat, disinfect and close gaps in the casks,” asserts Karishma. Such treatments also allow the casks to take on distinct characteristics of the ingredients used, which in this case are all indigenous to India. “Additionally, we also believe that how the barrels work at a higher altitude is a kind of magic. Given changes in temperature between day and night and between summer and winter as against more tropical climate where there is less variation, such changes in the mountains allow the barrels to contract and expand, along with temperature, barometric temperature and humidity – all playing a part in the f lavour profile imparted to the rum,” Karishma elaborates. The brand chooses to work with the indigenous sal wood that grows at the base of the Himalayas. The solera system for bottling allows for great consistency in the product. All of these, Karishma points out, have given her rum a distinctive edge and a point of differentiation from other rums not just in India but globally. What has also helped is having an experienced master blender like Christopher Arms overseeing the process. Based out of the UK, he is a highly experienced and commercially aware technical innovator in the f ield of alcoholic beverages for over 30 years. “Taking into account the exposure that we have to Indian traditions and Ayurvedic practices, we jointly worked together to craft the profile for Idaaya,” Christopher says. More than 60 rums across the globe were sampled before committing to the aged one from Latin America that the team thought was perfect to build the profile of the liquid that they wanted. The brief clearly outlined that they wanted to create a product that was neither feminine nor too masculine. Christopher was particularly intrigued by the idea of fusing Indian traditions to the world of rum that enabled the birth of this layered drink.

Not Without Challenges

The path to creating the rum they wanted certainly had its stumbling blocks. For one thing, there isn’t much transparency over nomenclature, route to market, duties and so many other aspects of this business which differ from one state of India to the other, she says. In addition to this, making a product in India that confirms to EU standards (which are most rigorous), while trying to market the same in India, duty-free and Europe created a whole host of challenges. The brand, however, found support from others within the industry for guidance but eventually, it was the courage of conviction with a problem-solving mindset and a result-oriented perspective that won the battle. “The brand thus far has received a very positive and heart warming response. Idaaya is true to its testament of presenting a world class spirit,” remarks Karishma. Currently, Idaaya is available at duty-free in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru and will be launched in trade, in India soon. It will also be available internationally starting with the UK at the beginning of 2025. Its pricing varies between markets, and ranges between Rs. 7,500 11,700.

Acclaims for Idaaya

Prior to its launch this June 2024, Idaaya has received international acclaim by winning a Double Gold at the International SIP Awards 2024 and it earned Silver at The Asian Spirit Masters and a Bronze at the International Wine and Spirits Competition 2024, further solidifying its status as a world-class spirit. At the time of Idaaya’s entry in the world of fine rums, there has been a shift that is taking place at a global level in the rum industry. Today, the complexity and sophistication that is being implemented in rum making has allowed it to take centre-stage with a more nuanced and novel approach. In recent times, there has been a change in narrative away from old lore to talk about processes, craft and the experience of sipping, all of which is shaping the context for a modern outlook to rum.