What could be more British than a bulldog? An Indian! Indeed, there’s an Indian entrepreneur behind Bulldog London Dry Gin, an ultra premium gin which was named among the top 50 spirits last year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine which gave it a superb (90-95) rating and highly recommended it.
The CEO of Bulldog Gin is Anshuman Vohra, an investment banker with J.P. Morgan who gave up the structured life of Wall Street to go on a quest to find the perfect gin, make it an affordable luxury and take it back to its glory days when it used to outsell vodka.
Bulldog, made in London, has a distinctive blend of botanicals like poppy, lavender, and dragon eye and this season mixologists have created some fun cocktails including Plumdog Millionaire which blends Japanese plum wine and lavender with the gin.
“Coming out of college liquor was not on my radar screen,” says Vohra. ” Like most Indians I was told either to go into medicine and if I was a failure at that then to go into finance. I chose finance.”
How hard was it to break into the competitive world of brand name liquors? Says Vohra, “I knew it would be daunting – I chose to do it not because it was easy but because it was hard. I wanted to spread the love of gin. ”
New York is a great place to launch a new product and Bulldog has really taken off in this city of bars, cafes and lounges. Says Vohra: “We had a great year, a banner year – we’re up 66 percent for the year.”
Then I asked Vohra the question which all Indians want answered? How did his parents take to his career switch from banking to Bulldog?
He says, “When I told them on the phone, there was a silence for 60 seconds. First they thought I was opening a liquor store – they had no idea that a person could own a liquor brand. Now it’s a different story – my dad and I have gin and tonics together!”
Plumdog Millionaire– created by John Freeman
2 oz. BULLDOG Gin
1 oz. Japanese Plum Wine
1 oz. Lavender Soda
Black Plum Half Wheel Garnish
Lavender Sugar Rim
Directions: Stir over ice, strain. Serve in a martini glass with lavender sugared rim and
garnish.
2 Comments
I am the father whom Anshuman shares his gin with! It is truly a remarkable product
I love this story – Bulldog Gin is one of my faves and I am so proud that an Indian is representing such a high end liquor and introducing successfully in ALL markets.