TREND
LIQUID MADNESS Gin’s had a rocky past. It’s been
pauperised and gentrified, associated with the ruin of families and gloriously reinstated. Experts say its earliest mention -century natural
was in the 13th
history work, Jacob van Maerlant’s Der Naturen Bloeme. According to
www.belgiangenever.com, genever (known as the “grandfather of gin”) has been Belgium’s traditional drink for over 500 years. In London in 1714, William III’s
relaxation of the distillation laws, industrialisation, overcrowding and an increase in labourers’ wages, among other factors, led to the poor working class seeking refuge in cheap, crude gin. Its infamy as “mother’s ruin” was brutally captured by William Hogarth in Gin Lane, an illustration featuring a drunken mother whose baby is falling to its death. This “Gin Craze”, as the trend was known, came to an abrupt end with the grain shortage in 1757 and a subsequent ban on distillation.
THE GINAISSANCE Today gin is a refined spirit
handcrafted by perennially cool trend-setters around the world. There are over 50 independent gin distillers producing 75 – and counting! – South African gin brands. “I don’t think there’s ever been
another drink that’s been so unexpectedly reinvented,” says Leibbrandt. “Whereas Gordon’s used to be the only game in town (my gran drank it!), we’ve seen an explosion of interesting gins.” “Gin’s experiencing a global
renaissance, with sales growing worldwide at around 15%, year on year,” adds Lorna Scott, who’s credited with being at the forefront of the craft gin revolution in SA. Together with her son Rohan and daughter Lauren, she launched Inverroche Gin in Still Bay in 2012. She was the first to infuse gin with fynbos. “What sets Inverroche apart,” she says, “is the fact that we’ve launched a set of three gins – Classic, Amber and Verdant – which have a strong sense of place and history. Collectively, these variants represent the diversity of this unique biome.” The Inverroche gin-making process
involves weighing the botanicals and hand-peeling fresh zests. “This is all then placed in bags which are put into a gin basket suspended above the neutral alcohol base spirit, in a 1 000-litre copper potstill called Meg. The aromatic flavour components and delicate oils are captured and infused into the alcohol as it heats up,” explains Scott. The spirit that’s collected rests in stainless steel tanks and a secondary
37
infusion process takes place for the Amber and Verdant, adding more fynbos botanicals to the concentrated gin base to enhance the aromatic profile. Scott calls gin-making “alchemy
in action”. “It turns the distiller into an artist, as they’re using their palate and skills to paint with flavours,” she says. “Extracting a myriad of delicious, aromatic components and then concentrating and merging them into a sensory delight of ever-changing flavours and aromas is unique to gin.”
CRAFT LOVE Pienaar & Son is a tiny operation that
produces small-batch artisanal gin. “Our family’s definitely had a multi- generational love affair with gin. As far back as I can remember, G&Ts on fold-out chairs have been a Pienaar pastime, from my grandparents all the way down to me,” says André Pienaar, the son of a chemical engineer who designed and built stills. In 2013, he bought a 20-litre copper
still with the intention of making whisky or gin as a hobby. “When I started making gin, I loved the creativity it allowed. Many spirits are governed by strict rules of what to use, how and for how long to age it, etc. Gin has far fewer rules, so there’s a lot more room to represent your personality through the spirit,” he says.
“I DON’T THINK THERE’S EVER BEEN ANOTHER DRINK
THAT’S BEEN SO UNEXPECTEDLY REINVENTED.”
Below: Inverroche Gins. Opposite: The rockstar queen mural at Tonic.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101
