Poland’s drinking scene is getting a distinctly Indian twist, thanks to a Kerala-born entrepreneur who blended Ayurvedic herbs with Polish vodka—and won international recognition for it.
Meet Midhun Mohan, a native of Kodungallur in Thrissur district, and the founder of Ayurvod, a vodka-based herbal liqueur inspired by Indian flavours and crafted in Poland. The drink recently won a gold medal at the 2025 Warsaw Spirits Competition in the herbal liqueur category, putting the Indo-Polish fusion firmly on the global spirits map.
With an alcohol content of 40%, Ayurvod focuses on quality and authenticity, Midhun says. Even its name reflects the idea behind the brand—‘Ayur’ from Ayurveda and ‘vod’ from vodka—symbolising the coming together of India’s traditional herbal knowledge and Poland’s long vodka-making heritage.
What makes the story unusual is that Midhun never planned to enter the liquor business. A former journalist and lawyer, he has lived in Poland for over eight years and does not drink alcohol himself. The idea took shape during a night out in Warsaw in 2018, when visiting friends persuaded him to try a popular European herbal liqueur.
“The strong herbal aroma and spicy flavour stayed with me,” Midhun recalls. Curious, he began researching the drink, only to discover that many so-called ‘Ayurvedic’ liqueurs in Europe had no real connection to India or Ayurveda.
“What struck me was that almost every European country has a traditional drink rooted in its culture, often using spices that originally came from India,” he said. “Yet India didn’t have a comparable botanical drink of its own.”
His research led him to ancient Indian texts that referenced medicinal and herbal alcoholic beverages, including Sura, as well as mentions of drinking spaces in epics like the Ramayana. Over time, curiosity turned into a serious pursuit.
Despite having no technical knowledge of alcohol production, Midhun began learning from scratch—studying distillation, consulting Ayurvedic experts, visiting distilleries, and refining his idea of an Indian botanical liqueur rooted in indigenous knowledge.
By 2021, he started pitching the concept to distillers. While large producers were hesitant, smaller distilleries showed interest. After extensive experimentation, a recipe using jaggery instead of artificial sweeteners was finalised, giving the liqueur its signature brown colour. The final blend includes 75 ingredients, such as cardamom, clove, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, dried ginger, coriander, gooseberries, star anise, mace, cumin and dried grapes.
To make the drink suitable for international competitions, Midhun paired the Ayurvedic herbal blend with Polish wheat vodka. “That’s how Ayurvod was born,” he said.
Today, Ayurvod is served in premium bars, cocktail programmes, fine-dining restaurants, select retail outlets and export markets. According to Midhun, the brand appeals to both Indian audiences proud of their heritage and global consumers looking for something distinctive and story-driven.
His immediate focus is on expanding Ayurvod’s presence across Europe, while plans to enter the Indian market are also being explored, though regulatory challenges remain.
Created to fill India’s absence in the global market for authentic Ayurvedic herbal liqueurs, Ayurvod is something Midhun hopes Indians will one day enjoy at home too. “When the time is right,” he says, “Ayurvod will come to India as well.”
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