Our Story

We're on a journey to shake up what drinks enthusiasts know of India and its delicious array of high quality drinks – and we've saved you a seat.

Our mission is to find the gems in the treasure trove that is the Indian drinks world, and deliver them to your door. To truly dive into each supplier’s story, we go back to the source: personal meetings with the makers, tours of their facilities and tasting sessions (naturally, our favourite part).

Here is where you’ll find our collection of favourite Indian drinks. We've consciously chosen and tasted them ourselves to ensure that they deliver on flavour and deserve a spot in your drinks cabinet.

Meet the founders

As an eclectic bunch hailing from all walks of life, we’re united in our passion for Indian culture, sport and of course, drinks. While the various branches of our lives have taken us far and wide across the globe, our roots are in India, a place we frequent over and over again.

We're on a continued quest to find Indian drinks that both quench our thirst and enchant our palates. Cue many a shared evening, poring over stories while pouring samples of recent favourites.

The Surgeon

Hailing from Punjab, the Surgeon is our resident gin fanatic. Having qualified first in Karnataka, he qualified again in the UK and has worked for the NHS for close to three decades. We can always rely on his cocktails to be poured with surgical precision.

Preferred pour: Indian gin flavoured with Himalayan botanicals
Favourite food: Kashmiri cuisine
Dropped catch: Couldn’t learn to ski
Crowning glory: Turnaround of a failing care home

The Reformed Hippy

The Reformed Hippy is a Londoner through and through: schooled first in the Big Smoke, then Essex and the school of hard knocks. This start-up specialist wears many hats, and is probably going to need a new hat stand soon, given the tasks he’s taking on for Maharaja Drinks.

Preferred pour: The next one
Favourite food: Dal makhani & roti
Dropped catch: Not making the grade in pro football
Crowning glory: Self-employed since the age of 15

The Brand Guru

This Chennaite's work footprint spans multiple locations including Kenya, Texas and even as far as Australia. From marketing ball bearings in Nigeria to worldwide oil sales and insurance in the UK, The Brand Guru now adds Indian drinks to his varied roster.

Preferred pour: Old Monk Rum with Thums Up and Bisleri in the ratio 1:1:1
Favourite food: Pongal and vadai
Dropped catch: Driving licence restricted to automatics only
Crowning glory: Creating a household insurance brand in the UK protection sector

The Ski and Sailing Instructor

Our global citizen, born in the UK and qualified in Greece and Canada. While zooming around on H2O in various forms is a key part of his day-to-day, as part of Maharaja Drinks he is adding a more diverse array of liquids to his list (this time, for drinking).

Preferred pour: A pint of ice cold Indian beer on a hot summer’s day
Favourite food: Mutton rogan josh
Dropped catch: Not (yet) skied in Kashmir
Crowning glory: Leading out the London Irish for the Guinness Cup final 2009

The Accountant

The Accountant is a Kerala-born, Calcutta-educated, UK-qualified numbers guru. Now as an angel investor, he spends time helping entrepreneurs raise funds by day, and helping us raise the profile of Indian spirits at night.

Preferred pour: Single cask, single malt Indian whisky
Favourite food: Erachi ularthiyathu
Dropped catch: Didn’t qualify as a microlight pilot
Crowning glory: Helping save Indonesia’s banking sector

When curating our drinks choices, our thinking goes beyond taste. We seek out suppliers who, like us, are considerate of their workers, mindful of their environmental footprint and always evolving their processes to move towards ethical and sustainable production.

The rule of one

We follow our Rule Of One: a simple guiding principle that ensures we’re supporting and championing the people at the heart of Maharaja Drinks

We donate 1% of all sales value to charity

Specifically, charities that benefit people working for our producers and suppliers in India. Without their incredible efforts, our drinks cabinets would be far less enticing.

We divide 1% of all sales value equally between our staff

Our appreciation for our staff goes beyond just a hat tip, and this bonus is shared between the team (excluding directors and shareholders).

We give 1 free unit back to our customers

Our equivalent of a cricketer raising his bat for every century. When you line your shelves with 100 units of any of our products, we'll give you 1 free unit. (That's in addition to any other discounts we offer.)