The Magic Three: Turmeric, Yogurt and Ghee
Crazy Gin Ingredients line up at the CrazyCo Distillery
No botanical or ingredient is included in Crazy Gin just for the sake of it. Every flavour tells a story, speaking to our British Indian identity and heritage.
Yoghurt
One of the key elements of Crazy Gin is the addition of yoghurt, which represents the lassi; a very popular drink back home in Punjab. It was drunk by our forefathers, and its refreshing quality made it the drink of choice on a sweltering day. (To find out more click here)
Traditionally non-alcoholic, and as people who enjoy a good drink, we thought why not spin the lassi on its head and infuse it into a gin? Not only does this allude to our Punjabi heritage, but it truly sets us apart from other brands. Have you ever heard of yoghurt in a spirit before? As “crazy” as it is, yoghurt doesn’t just symbolise an important part of our culture, or add the wow factor to Crazy Gin, but it adds a smoothness and sweetness that makes our gin go down a treat!
Ghee
Ghee is clarified butter, which originates from India. It was traditionally made with butter coming from ‘Water Buffalo’ milk but is most commonly made today with cows. It’s different to standard clarified butter as it has a stronger, nuttier flavour and is darker in colour – one of our interns likened the ghee distillate to butterscotch cookies.
We use Ghee to fat wash Crazy Gin, which in turn enhances the silky feel when it is drunk and ensures that savoury flavours can be infused successfully (click here to find out more about ‘Fat Washing’). Ghee is commonly used in Indian culture, not just for cooking, but also for medicine and religious rituals. It was a lifesaver back in our childhood, when we used it to dampen the heat of the spicy curries our parents made.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a herbaceous member of the ginger family, native to India and Southeast Asia. As you may already know, it’s a key staple to Punjabi cooking and also Ayurvedic medicine, hailed as the miracle spice with an amazing flavour.
It is often used to colour dishes, and we also learnt during our childhood that it is excellent for permanently staining our lunchboxes and leaving us with glowing fingers. But we’ll always have fond memories of turmeric, as our parents would serve us a bedtime drink consisting of ghee, turmeric and milk.
The ghee would be melted in a saucepan, then a tiny amount of turmeric would be added (too much would make the drink incredibly thick and awful to drink - you’ll understand if you’ve ever been too heavy handed with turmeric in your own cooking), and it would be cooked out until it turned a beautiful golden colour, before adding milk and bringing to the boil; our childhood bedtimes in a glass.
For The Crazy Singh, it wasn’t the tastiest of things to drink by all means, so he would sneak a spoonful of sugar in to make up for this from time to time.
It’s interesting to see how the fancy titled ‘golden latte’ has really exploded into the mainstream of late, making appearances in supermarkets and coffee shops. In Crazy Gin however, turmeric adds just the right amount of warmth and a slight kick (a balance we’ve perfected with Formula 4).