Camikara

From the same distillery that crafts Indri single malt whiskies comes Camikara—India’s first rum distilled from 100% sugarcane juice. Distilled at Piccadily Distilleries’ Indri distillery in Haryana, India, Camikara—or “liquid gold” in Sanskrit—is a premium rum that builds on India’s long history of rum-making.

In 2009, the first stalks of sugarcane were harvested for the distillation of Camikara and 956 ex–bourbon barrels filled. These barrels were inadvertently neglected for the next twelve years, all but forgotten while the distillery focused on malt whisky production with just a single month of the year dedicated to rum distillation. When the original barrels were finally rediscovered, only 6.6% of the rum remained—the rest lost to angel’s share and damaged barrels. Finding it to be of exceptional quality, Picadilly founder Siddhartha Sharma bottled and released the twelve-year-old rum in 2022 as Camikara’s flagship release. After receiving instant international acclaim and accolades—including a 95-point score at the 2023 International Wine and Spirits Competition—it seemed the distillery had indeed struck liquid gold, and it refocused its efforts on rum production to expand the Camikara range.

While most Indian rums, which are distilled from molasses, Camikara is distilled from fresh juice extracted from local Haryana sugarcane that is processed within thirty-six hours of harvest at Piccadily’s sugar mill. Cane juice rum, often referred to as agricole, is appreciated for its ability to express a full spectrum of sugarcane flavors, from sweet and grassy to green and vegetal. This translation of agriculture and terroir into spirit sets Camikara apart as the brand singlehandedly defines a new wave of Indian rum.