Gin, vodka and rum for new joiners
If you have joined a drinks company from outside the industry, the white spirits and rum portfolio can look like a wall of clear bottles. This guide explains how each is made and what the labels really tell you.
They all start as a fermented liquid
Every spirit begins as a fermented liquid, a beer or a wine made from grain, fruit or sugarcane. Distillation then heats it and collects the alcohol, which boils at a lower temperature than water. What changes from spirit to spirit is the raw material, how far it is distilled and what happens afterwards. Our guide comparing beer, wine and whisky covers the fermentation basics.
Vodka
Vodka aims for neutrality. It is made from almost any fermentable base: grain, molasses, potatoes or grapes. It is distilled to a very high strength, usually in column stills that can reach around 95 to 96% alcohol by volume. At that strength very little flavour from the raw material survives.
The spirit is often filtered, sometimes through charcoal, then diluted with water to bottling strength. Differences between vodkas are subtle: texture, a faint sweetness, a trace of grain or a clean finish. That is why packaging and brand do so much of the work in the vodka category.
Gin
Gin starts with neutral spirit much like vodka. It is then flavoured with botanicals. Juniper berries must lead, under the rules that define gin in Europe and widely elsewhere. Common partners are coriander seed, angelica root, citrus peel and orris root. Indian craft gins often add local botanicals such as tulsi, kokum or Indian spices.
- London dry gin is a method, not a place. The botanical flavour must come from redistilling the neutral spirit with the botanicals. Only water and a very small amount of sugar may be added afterwards.
- Distilled gin is also redistilled with botanicals but may have flavourings added after distillation.
- Compound gin is neutral spirit flavoured with botanical extracts or essences without redistillation. It is cheaper to make.
On the floor, botanicals sit either directly in the still with the spirit or in a basket in the vapour path, which gives a lighter, more aromatic result. Distillers adjust recipes batch by batch because a crop of juniper or citrus varies like any harvest.
Rum
Rum is made from sugarcane. Most rum uses molasses, the thick by-product left after sugar is crystallised out of cane juice. Some styles, notably the French Caribbean rhum agricole, use fresh cane juice instead, which gives a grassier character.
Rum can be white and unaged, aged in oak for colour and depth, or spiced. Many dark rums are also coloured with caramel. Ageing rules differ by country, so "aged" on one label may not mean the same as on another.
India has a long rum tradition built on its large sugar industry. A lot of Indian spirit across categories is made from molasses-based neutral spirit, which is why the debate in our guide to molasses versus grain spirit comes up in so many portfolio conversations.
Where Indian spirits fit
Much Indian spirit starts as extra neutral alcohol, often shortened to ENA. It is a highly rectified spirit, close to vodka strength, made mainly from molasses or grain. Producers then blend, flavour or age it to make whisky, rum, vodka, gin and brandy for the Indian market. Knowing that a large part of the portfolio shares one base spirit explains why grain and molasses supply shows up in so many cost discussions.
India also has its own traditional spirits. Goa's feni, distilled from cashew apple or coconut toddy, is the best known. Like rum, it carries the flavour of its raw material in a way neutral spirit never does.
Strength, mixing and occasions
Most gin, vodka and rum is bottled at around 37.5 to 43% alcohol by volume, depending on the market's rules and the brand. Higher strength gins are sold for cocktails where dilution is expected.
These spirits are mostly drunk mixed: gin and tonic, vodka with juice or soda, rum with cola. That matters commercially. Mixer partnerships, bar programmes and cocktail menus often move volume more than the liquid itself. The rise of ready-to-drink cans follows from the same habit.
What to ask in your first month
When a brand lands on your desk, ask what the base spirit is made from, whether the product is distilled, redistilled or compounded and whether any of it is aged. Those answers explain most of the cost, the label rules and the positioning. Regulation on all of this varies by state in India and changes, so the team that handles compliance will have the current position. Our guide to onboarding in a drinks company has more on finding your feet.
Common questions
What is the difference between gin and vodka?
Both start as neutral spirit. Gin is then flavoured with botanicals, led by juniper, while vodka stays as neutral as possible.
What does London dry gin mean?
It is a production method, not a place. The flavour must come from redistilling with botanicals, with only water and a tiny amount of sugar added afterwards.
What is rum made from?
Sugarcane, usually molasses left from sugar production. Some styles use fresh cane juice.
Is darker rum always older?
No. Oak ageing adds colour, but many rums are also coloured with caramel. Read the label and the brand's own information rather than judging by colour.
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