Unique Local Gins and How to Enjoy Them
Some like it neat, at room temperature. Others prefer it splashed over the rocks with sparkling tonic and a squeeze of fresh lime. From international award-winning gins to some of the most delicious craft gins, South Africa produces world-class juniper tipples. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite local gins and how we love to enjoy them.
Old Buck Dry Gin
Price: R174.99
Flavour profile: A classic dry gin that gives a gorgeous release of clean juniper; its cleanliness heightened by some zesty citrus.
A winner of multiple international awards including, most recently, World’s Best Classic Gin at the 2024 World Gin Awards, Old Buck Dry Gin is one of South Africa’s most distinguished gins. No bells, no whistles, just classic dry gin of the highest quality.
Surprisingly, it under-cuts the price-point of most other quality gins by 50%, so it’s a steal.
While it makes a delicious classic gin and tonic, we’d recommend trying an Old Buck. It’s really easy to mix:
Ingredients
60ml (2 x shots) of Old Buck Dry Gin
180ml of Ginger Ale, or to taste
1 x lemon wedge (give it a light squeeze for a slight zesty tang)
Ice cubes
Method
Drop a couple of ice cubes in a tall glass
Add your shots, and give the lemon a light squeeze
Fill up with ginger ale
Top with the lemon wedge
Cruxland Kalahari Truffle
Price: R389
Flavour profile: A delicate and fragrant aroma of juniper and citrus, with a hint of earthy truffle.
Winner of World’s Best London Dry Gin category at the 2024 World Gin Awards, Cruxland Gin with Kalahari Truffles blends the rare Kalahari truffle with nine Southern African botanicals. The earthiness of the truffles complement the variety of botanicals like rooibos and honeybush, giving it its unique taste.
We could easily sip this gin neat, but try the Rooibos Radiance – Cruxland’s own recipe:
Ingredients
60ml Cruxland Gin infused with Kalahari Truffles
30ml Rooibos tea concentrate (steeped strong and cooled)
15ml Lemon juice
15ml Honey syrup (equal parts honey and water, heated until honey is dissolved and then cooled)
Tonic water
Ice cubes
Lemon twist and a sprig of fresh mint (for garnish)
Method
Begin by making the rooibos concentrate.
Steep rooibos tea in hot water for longer than usual (around 10 minutes) to extract its rich flavour.
Allow it to cool and then, in a cocktail shaker, combine the gin, rooibos tea concentrate, lemon juice and honey syrup with ice.
Shake well until the mixture is chilled. Strain into a glass filled with ice.
Top up with tonic water and give it a gentle stir.
Garnish with a twist of lemon and a sprig of mint.
Inverroche Amber Gin
Price: R469
Flavour profile: Notes of toffee apples, saffron, rooibos tea and a subtle woody finish.
Launched in 2011, Inverroche is a family-run business that pioneered craft gin in South Africa, making their gin with rare, hand-harvested wild African fynbos botanicals. Their product tastes as good as it looks. While they have other styles of gin, our favourite is the Inverroche Gin Amber. It’s rich in colour and flavour, perfect to sip neat. And the bittersweet botanical flavours make the perfect Negroni:
Ingredients
35 ml of Inverroche Amber Gin
25 ml of a good quality bitter aperitif
25 ml of a Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes of aromatic bitters
Orange peel (for zest)
Method
Add all the ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice along with the orange zest that is squeezed and dropped into the mix.
Give it a good long stir until perfectly diluted.
Serve in a tumbler over ice.
Bloedlemoen Gin
Price: R415
Flavour profile: Citrus and juniper with a hint of nutmeg, coriander and liquorice root.
Bloedlemoen is a handcrafted, small batch, local gin made from Tarocco Blood Orange (grown and harvested in Western Cape). The award-winning gin is the first blood orange gin in the world and contains ten natural South African botanicals. It’s fresh and flavourful, with an undercurrent of warm spices.
Our favourite way to enjoy it is with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and a splash of tonic. Replace the grapefruit with blood orange if you want something slightly sweeter.
Ingredients
60 ml (2 x shots) Bloedlemoen gin
½ grapefruit (squeeze as much juice as you can from it)
Tonic water
Ice cubes
Method
Drop a couple of ice cubes in a tall glass.
Add your shots of Bloedlemoen Gin.
Add your freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.
Top up with tonic water and a slice of grapefruit.
