Indlovu Original Gin
An innovative premium gin for the adventurous spirit and the discerning gin collector.
The only gin designed by the African elephant from foraged botanicals, 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.
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.
The Ibhu brand is founded in the spirit of innovation, and Indlovu is our gin under that brand. Indlovu gin is made using multiple flavouring runs.
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.
Provenance
With help from the elephants of Botlierskop Game Reserve, we produced our first batch of Africa’s Original Elephant Dung Gin – Indlovu Gin.
Being able to trace provenance is important because 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 and is printed, in two parts, on the back of the bottle. The first part is the coordinates of the game reserve where the dung was collected e.g. 34.03S 22.14E, which is Botlierskop Game Reserve. The second part is the date on which the dung collected e.g. 260618, which is 2018-06-26.
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 |
Recommendations
(Not so) Old Fashioned Cocktail
()
- 60ml Indlovu Original Gin
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 teaspoon water
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- Garnish with orange peel
Breakfast Martini
(Elephant's Tomorrow)
- 60 ml Indlovu gin
- 1 tsp orange marmalade
- Splash of fresh orange juice
- 200 ml red grapefruit juice
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
- Twist of orange peel
- Ice
Testamonials
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!
Fiona P.
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 :)
Ronelle L.
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.
Chris H.
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.
Surita @ Ginned Up
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!
Indlovu River Lodge
FAQsFrequently Asked Questions
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.
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.