Number 11: A Summer of Exploring the South African Craft Gin market

Week 12: a visit to Six Dogs Distillery in De Wet

A summer of gin discovery.

I enjoy a G&T so I set out to explore the offerings of our local market and to learn about the ‘perfect pour’.

NUMBER 11:

Exploring the South African Craft Gin market

The handcrafted gin revolution is exciting here in South Africa. 

We have visited a number of distillers, been exposed to the secrets of a good gin and also to the wonders of infusing botanicals with the traditional juniper berries. This last week of the challenge found us at Six Dogs Distillery and I could smell the fragrance of Lemon Buchu from the hills on the farm, one of the botanicals in their delicate and balanced Karoo offering!

I soon realized the value of a good quality gin, in this context, cheap can be nasty.

Fred has set up a gin shelf for me and my collection is growing nicely, I am impressed with the branding and shapes of the bottles too, from the medicinal simplicity of Bloedlemoen Gin with artwork by the Cape Town miniaturist Lorraine Loots, to the edgy Ginologist bottles.

Very soon I realized that I needed to buy glassware too and the stemless Copa glasses are perfect with their bulbous base.

So for a ‘perfect pour’, gin first, then have fun with dressing the gin – peppercorns, a spritz of salty water, sliver of cucumber, fresh lemon rind, then loads of ice next to chill the alcohol and only then are you ready for the tonic water. My brand of choice is Fitch and Leedes, a local business making great mixers. We still need to perfect ice though, the bigger the block and the clearer the ice the better.

My insight, support our local gin makers and mixer business, search out innovation, visit the distilleries, embrace gins steeped with botanicals, do not short cut on quality and lobby restaurants and bars to keep local gins.

Some of the local brands and I have highlighted the ones I have explored:

Western Cape 

Hope on Hopkins Gin

Six Dogs Gin

Bloedlemoen Gin

Cruxland Gin

Triple 3 Gin

Wixworth Gin

Woodstock Gin

New Harbour Gin

Amari Gin

Durbanville Gin

Musgrave Gin

New Harbour Gin

Cape Town Gin

Inverroche Gin

Clemengold Gin

Generals Gin

Jorgensen's Gin

Wilderer Gin

Pienaar & Sons Gin

Blossom&Hops

​

Dutchess (Alcohol free) 

Gauteng

Time Anchor

Ginologist Gin

Still33

Free State

De Vry Gin

Zwazulu Natal

031 Gin