Moonshine Meadery

The Moonshine story began not as a company but as a garage experiment. Co-founders Rohan Rehani and Nitin Vishwas started brewing mead as a hobby in 2014, at a time when commercial mead production barely existed in India, and almost no local data existed on fermenting Indian honey. What began as curiosity slowly turned into recipe development, and eventually into a business case worth pursuing seriously.

The brand was formally established in 2018 in Pune, becoming what is widely cited as Asia's first commercial meadery.

Since then, Moonshine has expanded steadily across the country. It reported 100 percent year-on-year growth for three consecutive years, and by 2023 had extended its footprint into Gurugram, Haryana, alongside existing markets including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, Rajasthan, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, and Silvassa.

In 2020, the brand launched The Moonshine Honey Project, a separate initiative through which it sells pure, single-origin honey sourced directly from beekeepers across India, including Sidr honey, Acacia honey, and Mustard honey.

The project reflects how central honey sourcing is to the brand's identity, not just as an ingredient but as its own point of craft.

Signature Products

Moonshine's core, year-round range includes three flagship meads: Apple Mead, Traditional Mead, and Coffee Mead. Alongside these, the brand runs a rotating seasonal programme called the MeadLAB series, through which it experiments with small-batch, limited-edition flavours.

Past and present MeadLAB releases include Guava Chilli, Grilled Pineapple, Bourbon Oaked Apple, Chocolate Orange, Mango Chilli, Christmas Apple Pie, Salted Kokum, Thai Ginger and Kaffir Lime, and a Hopped Mead built for craft beer drinkers curious about mead.

What Makes This Brand Unique

Moonshine's clearest point of difference is that it created the category in India rather than entering an existing one. Before 2018, commercially produced mead was essentially unavailable in the country, so the brand had to introduce both the product and the concept of mead at the same time, which is a considerably harder marketing task than launching a new entrant into an established category like beer or whisky.

The brand has also built real international credibility for a homegrown Indian producer. Its meads have won awards at the European Beer Challenge in London and the International Wines & Spirits Competition, including a gold medal for its Project X mead and medals for the Guava Chilli and Grilled Pineapple expressions.

That track record matters for a category with almost no reference points among Indian drinkers, since it gives newcomers a reason to trust the quality before they have tried the drink themselves.

Flavour Philosophy

Moonshine's flavour approach favours boldness and Indian ingredients over strict adherence to European mead-making tradition. Guava with Naga ghost chilli, mango with Guntur chilli, and kokum with pink salt and ginger are combinations built around Indian palates and Indian produce rather than imported flavour templates.

The brand describes its philosophy simply as wanting people to drink better, not bitter, which shows up as an emphasis on approachable sweetness balanced by genuine complexity rather than mead that leans purely traditional or purely novelty.

Popular Bottles

1. Coffee Mead: a flagship, year-round expression blending multifloral honey with cold-brewed Arabica and Robusta coffee.
2. Apple Cyder Mead: a semi-dry, flagship mead made with multifloral honey and Kashmiri apples.
3. Guava Chilli: a seasonal MeadLAB release combining pink and white guavas with Naga ghost chillies, an internationally awarded fan favourite.
4. Traditional Mead: the brand's original, floral expression made with a blend of multifloral, Acacia, Sidr, and Mustard honey.

Who This Brand Appeals To

Moonshine works well for curious drinkers who have exhausted the usual beer, wine, and cocktail options and want something genuinely new to try without stepping into an intimidating category.

Its lower ABV meads (most MeadLAB releases sit around 6.5 percent) make it approachable for people easing into stronger drinks, while its award-winning, more complex expressions give experienced drinkers something worth exploring for flavour rather than novelty alone.