Crazy Gin is a British gin brand started by a London-based Indian couple, Paramjit and Bruce Nagra, who set out to meld traditional Indian flavours into classic British gin. In the process, they both quit their jobs and earned the gentle admonishment of their mother, who called them Paagal (or crazy) for doing so. 

Their gin's claim to fame is that it's the world's first clear lassi gin, inspired by a Punjabi drink called lassi. If you haven't heard of lassi before (and are wondering why that would be shocking), lassi is a creamy, lactic, full-bodied and sometimes fruity, yoghurt-based dessert drink. It's made by blending water and yoghurt and can come in both savoury or sweet forms. To incorporate the lassi influence into their gin, Crazy Gin macerates yoghurt into the distillate.

The brand also uses other botanicals like turmeric to incorporate added Indian spices and flavours to the final gin. The botanicals are macerated in the spirit for 48 hours, before being vacuum distilled. To create added creaminess, the resulting distillate is even further fatwashed with melted ghee, a nuttier, stronger form of clarified butter that is popularly used in Indian cuisine. 

Mr and Mrs Crazy Singh (Image source: Crazy Gin)

It's these magic three: yoghurt, turmeric and ghee, that the brand celebrates as the key contributors behind the taste of their clear lassi gin. I was myself skeptical when I first heard that this gin was made with these unconventional ingredients, but I'm hoping that there's a method to the madness! Let's find out together! 

Crazy Gin - Tasting Notes

Aroma: The aroma is unmistakably fruity and creamy with notes of yoghurt, strawberry marshmallows, and mango lassi. Earthy aromatics of turmeric join in, alongside subtle spices of white pepper and coriander seeds.

Taste: Wow, the texture on this is sublime - creamy, luscious with buttery, ghee-like flavours. There's a confectionary note of yoghurt and ice cream soda, with a mild fruity tartness of mango and pomegranate. The body takes on some warmth from the added influence of cumin, pepper and coriander. 

Finish: Medium, with notes of ghee, butter, turmeric and black pepper. 

Overall Thoughts

I gotta say, the texture on this is as surprising as it is sublime! This gin has a delicious, lip-licking creaminess (no doubt some of that fatwashing at work!), with a really intriguing balance of fruity and lactic flavours, as well as added spice complexity. You'd be forgiven for doubting how they could incorporate the lactic element of the lassi drink into a gin, but trust me, this turned out to be a really rich-bodied and well-balanced gin that will surprise anyone! 

With juniper and joy,

@lotusroot518