How do you celebrate the launch of Hapusa Gin in Delhi? By curating a cocktail dinner at Megu, of course. The Hapusa x Megu collab, put together by Gagan Sharma of Indulge India, was a night to remember.
When one of India’s key wine and beverage professionals invites you for a cocktail dinner, you take heed. Gagan Sharma’s instructions were clear: be on time, and don’t drive back yourself, coz there’s going to be a lot of booze, gin, to be precise.
Hapusa, the premium gin from the same folks who make Greater Than, launched in Delhi a few months ago with a special Distiller’s Cut. Hapusa decided to celebrate with a six-course dinner at Megu (No. 49 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants List 2022) at The Leela Palace New Delhi. With a 47 percent ABV (the regular Hapusa is 43 percent), the makers recommend that the gin be drunk by itself at ‘mountain temperature, straight from the freezer’. Yangdup Lama, their brand ambassador, was clearly having none of it, and came up with several cocktails to pair with the food, but not before we were plied with gintos.
Hapusa is the Sanskrit name for wild Himalayan juniper berry, which is the primary botanical in this Himalayan dry gin, although it has a tonne of things, including turmeric, mango, ginger, cardamom, coriander seeds, gondhoraj limes and so on.
The dinner was a marriage made in heaven. Chef Shubham Thakur’s food shone and the cocktails matched perfectly. Anand Virmani of Hapusa Gin who was in attendance mentioned how meticulously they had paired the drinks with the food over, hic, several tastings.
I particularly liked the Hapusa Martini, Yuzu Gimlet and Himalayan Negroni. In the food, the Shira Ae (pressed tofu served with sesame sauce), yellowtail carpaccio, tuna tartar and lamb tsukune stood out for me. It is safe to say that the gin flowed freely and Hapusa found some new fans that night.
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