Indlovu Original Gin – Indlovu Gin

Copyright 2024

Gins Made in Africa...

Inspired by Elephants

‘Indlovu’ is the word for elephant in several African languages and we use the foraging habits of the world’s largest land animals to select the botanicals used in the ginning process.

The essential ingredients in Indlovu gin are derived from elephant dung that is washed and dried. The extracted botanicals are then infused into the gin, which provides unique African flavours.

An innovative premium gin for the adventurous spirit and the discerning gin collector.

UNCOVER THE TRUE TASTE OF AFRICA IN EVERY GLASS.

The gin is smooth, complex with earthy flavours and so good all you need is a glass and ice.

Tasting Notes

Appearance Colour: Crystal clear golden

Smell / Nose Aroma: Juniper, grass, earthy, citrus

Flavour Taste Palate: Classic, Juniper, Angelica, citrus, earth, and spice from the elephants’ favourite foraged botanicals

Finish: Balanced, elegant, smooth, creamy

This is an exclusive gin for the person who loves the spirit of Africa – the freedom, the sunsets, the textures and the flavours of the African bush.

PROVENANCE

Indlovu gin will have vintages (similar to wine). Depending on the locale where and season during which the dung is collected the botanicals will vary, which will infuse different flavours. The provenance of each bottle of our gin can be traced by the lot number:

* Coordinates where the dung was collected which is Botlierskop Game Reserve

** The date on which the dung was collected

Giving Back

We feel that it is important to contribute to wildlife conservation. So 15% of the profits from the sale of Indlovu gin is donated to HERD (Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development Trust) to support their work in setting up and running South Africa’s first elephant orphanage.

Recommendations

(Not so) Old Fashioned Cocktail

60ml Indlovu Original Gin
3 dashes Angostura bitters
1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon sugar
Garnish with orange peel

Indlovu egumbini
(Elephant in the room)

60 ml Indlovu Original gin
15 ml Cointreau
4 coffee beans
Splash of fresh orange juice
100 ml light tonic water

Breakfast Martini
(Elephant’s Tomorrow)

60 ml Indlovu gin
1 tsp orange marmalade
Splash of fresh orange juice
200 ml red grapefruit juice

Testimonials

Been a G'nT person for a long time and was starting to wonder what all the fuss was about with these craft guns in SA ... then I tasted Ibhu from Indlovu Gin. Awesome flavour, rich and complex, love it! And the conservation angle is the bonus on top!

As a whisky lover I was particularly surprised and impressed by the richness of flavour. It can easily be drunk with ice only. Beautiful unusual colour. Have tried it with tonic as well and mixes great - just added lemon. I can recommend it to gin and whisky lovers out there 🙂

By far my favourite gin. What I love about this gin is its unique taste, batch to batch. Unlike the usual mass produced churn out gins, there's a subtle difference in every bottle I've tasted so far. It had such subtle flavours but they still stand up to a more robust tonic. My recommendation is a double Indlovu with half and half Schweppes and Fever Tree Clementine.

It is a full-bodied highly aromatic gin with grassy earthy notes. It is good with Indian Tonic, but it is even better sipped neat with chocolate or coffee on the side ... one of my top 3 South African gin discoveries in 2018.

A match made in Safari-heaven! We at Indlovu River Lodge were very fortunate to meet Les and Paula from Indlovu Gin. They presented us with a beautiful Gin tasting and chocolate pairing, on a gorgeous evening at Strand Beach Lodge. We loved Indlovu Gin so much, and the story behind it even more. So, that we have decided to partner up with them, and present a gin tasting on our game drives at Indlovu River Lodge. We can not wait for this journey to start, and cheers to many more adventures to follow!

Frequently Asked Questions

Could you have sourced the fresh botanicals instead of getting it from the elephant dung?

What we are very excited about, and what we would not achieve if we sourced the fresh botanicals, is Indlovu gin vintages. Because botanicals available for the elephants to forage are going to change according to the season, climate and geographical location, we expect very distinct flavours depending on when and where the elephant dung used in the gin is harvested. The provenance of each run is captured on the bottle. For example, 34.03S 22.14E 221019, where 34.03S 22.14E are the coordinates of the reserve where the elephants’ dung was collected (in this example Botlierskop Private Game Reserve) and 221019 is the date on which the dung was collected.

What botanicals are in the gin?

Aside from the usual suspects (Juniper, Angelica, Orris Root, Coriander and citrus) the botanicals may include Buccu (Agathosma crenulata), Acacia (Acacia mearnsii), Guarii (Euclea undulata) and Erica (Erica coccinea) (which are the elephants’ favourite foods). Of course the botanicals are going to depend on the flora available to the elephants.