Gin has an interesting history in Britain. It was said to be given by working class families to their children as it was cheaper and cleaner than water in the industrial age in England. Gin was blamed for the death of thousands leading to the Gin Act to crack down on its consumption. But it is not only the English who are known for their gins, the Dutch have a long history of producing a spirit called “genever”. Gin has in past decades been the favoured tipple of middle class housewives in England but has now gone global. In South Africa, everybody seems to be drinking gin, and more and more craft distilleries are sprouting up all over the country. Cape fynbos is a favourite infusion and the Economist writes that there is a gin flavoured by elephants. This is perhaps a nod to the famous coffee regarded as the most expensive in the world called Kopi luwak which is made from coffee cherries that have been eaten and digested by an Asian civet. The fermentation in the luwak’s stomach is said to add to the flavour of the coffee. – Linda van Tilburg
By Thulasizwe Sithole
South Africans Paula and Les Ansley have come up with a novel way to flavour gin and to create the “textures and flavours of the African bush” by using elephant dung. It sells for R659 a bottle and is marketed by Indlovu gin for those with an “adventurous spirit.” This may not be for everybody’s pocket but there are plenty other new craft brands on the market as South Africans appear to have caught the gin bug. The intake of gin in South Africa has increased by 54% in 2018 from the year before, according to research firm IWSR.
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There are dozens of companies who want to cash in on the gin craze with 110 entries at South Africa’s new Craft Gin Awards in August. The manager of The Gin Box, Jean Buckham runs a subscription service for South African craft gin, and says gin has now been Africanised with 50 local varieties of which 30 are from the Western Cape. The province’s ‘botanicals or natural flavourings, which makes each gin taste different adds to the appeal of South African gins.” The Cape fynbos is used by Inverroche, which was one of the “pioneers of South Africa’s craft industry”. The company produces 18,000 bottles a month, and exports to 17 countries.
There are three main reasons for South Africa’s gin boom. Gin is becoming more popular around the world with consumption going up by 8% globally and in Britain there was a 52% jump in 2018. It can also be attributed to the ‘liberalisation of licensing laws after the end of apartheid in 1994, which enabled more companies to start distilleries’ and that people of colour in South Africa were no longer restricted by law from buying at liquor stores. Another contributing factor is that wine producers in South Africa are battling. It is easy to set up a gin distillery in a warehouse whereas “a vineyard needs sun, water and land.” In the Western Cape wine growers are struggling with droughts, land claims and depressed prices. Consulting firm BDO estimates that only 50% of vineyards are making a profit.
With all the new craft gins on the market, South Africans are however buying cheaper brands of gin. “Gins that cost more than R225 a bottle account for just 6% of sales.” But for those who want something more exotic, elephant dung and tonic can add a new twist.
