As a banker zipping between India and Singapore, Kasturi Banerjee’s evenings were often filled with work deals struck over good conversation and liquor. Till one day she decided to walk across and get behind the bar. It was 2018 and after 16 years in finance, the idea of lifting boxes of wine, understanding the right ratio and density of a drink, and serving it up seemed exciting.
After two years of bartending, tasting sessions, distillation workshops, travel and research, Banerjee decided to set up Stilldistilling Spirits along with two others. In January this year, they launched their first premium craft rum — Maka Zai. Maka Zai, which translates to ‘I want’ in Konkani, has two artisanal avatars — white and gold craft rum. “We realised that rum is an old world spirit but with no representation in the premium segment. For many, rum is still Old Monk,” she says. Made with sugarcane grown around the Panchaganga river in Maharashtra, the white rum, she says, is floral, sweet, spicy and herbaceous while the gold rum has hints of praline, dry dates, figs, caramel, cinnamon and honey.