According to Midhun Mohan, a Malayali entrepreneur from Kodungallur living in Warsaw, Poland, the story behind Ayurvod, a vodka-based herbal liqueur inspired by the Ayurvedic traditions, goes back to 2018, when he was out barhopping with his European friends. At one of the watering holes, a friend suggested he try a German herbal alcoholic drink, claiming it was inspired by Ayurveda.
Intrigued, Midhun set out to find the Indian roots behind the drink. While he discovered that the ingredients, such as spices and aromatics for this century-old beverage, were imported from India, it had no direct relation to Ayurveda, despite some equating it with an arishtam (traditional Ayurvedic fermented herbal liquid medicine).
This inspired Midhun to distil Ayurvod, a name derived from the portmanteau of terms Ayurveda and vodka. The drink recently won a gold medal at the 2025 Warsaw Spirits Competition in the herbal liqueur category.
Ayurvod won a gold medal at the 2025 Warsaw Spirits Competition in the herbal liqueur category.
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“After I came across the German beverage, I enquired about alcoholic beverages in Ayurveda with Ayurveda practitioners in my circle. While there were fermented drinks like arishtam and asava, they were considered medicines and not used for recreational consumption. The only alcoholic drinks my friends found in the ancient texts were sura and phalamadhya, which were fruit-based,” says Midhun.
The entrepreneur adds, “As Indians, we do not consider making alcohol a prestigious business. But countries like the Czech Republic and Italy have herbal drinks such as Becherovka and Amaro, respectively. India has the heritage of making such botanical beverages, but other countries are using our ancient techniques.”
Ayurvod vodka
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Ayurvod is bottled at around 40% Alcohol by Volume and contains around 75 ingredients, including clove, cinnamon, cardamom, gooseberries, cumin, dry ginger, black pepper, star anise, mace, turmeric, coriander, and dry grapes, among others. “Ayurvod combines the structure of a vodka with the smoothness and aromatic richness of a herbal liqueur,” says Midhun.
During its initial days of production, Midhun had approached distilleries in Poland to blend Indian spices with vodka. However, the flavours were considered “too harsh” for consumption, says Midhun. That was when his friend and distiller Mariusz Pluciński suggested he add some Polish forest fruits to make the taste milder.
“Ayurvod also contains jaggery for sweetness. Usually, people add sugar or caramel but jaggery gives it a completely distinct sweetness that Europeans haven’t experienced.”
The beverage was made with a European market in mind, says Midhun. “Initially, distillers were of the impression that I was an Indian guy trying to make an Indian beverage with historical origins. At each stage, when we released new samples, I was checking with industrial specialists in the country.”
He adds that the European market is easier to enter. “Currently, I am selling only in Poland, but I have clients from Europe and West Asia asking for it.”
Midhun says, “India is a difficult market for alcoholic beverages. The making procedure is also complicated, due to which we cannot easily scale up. I want to sell in India, but not immediately.”
The journalist-turned-entrepreneur recommends consuming Ayurvod neat as a shot. “However, 40% alcohol is not easy to drink. It can be consumed with energy drinks too.”
Apart from Ayurvod, Midhun is currently working on another beverage called Charayam, translated as arrack in Malayalam. “Charayam is trying to recreate what was banned during the prohibition in 1996. I want it to be accurate as before with the same flavour and alcohol volume.”
He adds, “I am also thinking of a beverage based on palada payasam (pudding made using rice ada). There are liqueurs with flavours of dessert. I think we can do the same with palada. I bought some payasam from Kerala last week and I have spoken to distilleries about what the beverage is and how it should taste. I aim to take Indian flavours that can go with alcohol and introduce them to the world.”
Published – February 12, 2026 11:10 am IST
