Screenshot from the BBC

Home » South Africa’s Unique Fynbos-Infused Gin Explosion

South Africa’s Unique Fynbos-Infused Gin Explosion

South Africa is experiencing an explosion in the sales of craft gins… made exclusively from fynbos, the plant which is unique to the Western Cape. According to a BBC Africa report, sales have increased sharply in recent years as distilleries race to capture South Africa’s burgeoning middle class. Fynbos is one of the key ingredients […]

By SAPeople
22-12-16 23:54
in Fab South African Stuff
Screenshot from the BBC

South Africa is experiencing an explosion in the sales of craft gins… made exclusively from fynbos, the plant which is unique to the Western Cape.

Screenshot from the BBCAccording to a BBC Africa report, sales have increased sharply in recent years as distilleries race to capture South Africa’s burgeoning middle class.

Fynbos is one of the key ingredients in making the new gin flavours. Lorna Scott, who has her own gin label, told the BBC that she was inspired by the plants growing around her home… and never expected the business to take off like it has.

“When we started I was producing maybe 100, 150 bottles a month; and it became a mission for us to try and keep up with the demand. We have literally been doubling our production every six months… and it keeps growing.”

She says the only restriction to growth is the supply of fynbos. Fortunately it’s flourishing, and the success of fynbos-infused craft gins in SA is expected to continue growing as South Africans search for new flavours.

Simon von Witt told the BBC producers that his was about the third micro-distillery to open (in 2012) and since then, at least another 10 or 15 have sprung up.

Other popular craft gins in SA include not only the unique flavour of Rooibos, but also of African ginger, Kalahari truffles (known as N’abbas) and others. And the gins are reportedly of excellent quality making South Africans proud. One local craft gin – infused with 27 indigenous plants including honeybush, wild dagga, buchu and devil’s claw – won Gold at an international spirits award in Germany in May this year.

A local South African consumer told the BBC: “I think the more I’ve been exposed to gin, the more I’m learning that there are so many South African gins, and so many around Cape Town. That is a great surprise… and I’m enjoying it!”