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Indlovu 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.

Indlovu 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 by the lot number, which is made up of 2 parts.

Lot No.:	34.03S 22.14E
	43277

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 and the second is the date on which the dung collected e.g. 43277, which is number of days since 1899-12-30. In the case of the first batch, this translates to 2018-06-26.

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 was 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, which is made up of 2 parts.

Lot No.:	34.03S 22.14E
	43277

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 and the second is the date on which the dung collected e.g. 43277, which is number of days since 1899-12-30. In the case of the first batch, this translates to 2018-06-26.

Why drink Indlovu gin?

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
Private Game Lodge in Karongwe Game Reserve
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
Gin blogger
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.
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.
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

Our Story

We have crafted an exclusive gin that encapsulates the essence of Africa

My name is Les Ansley and, together with my wife Paula have jumped into the world of gin.

We recently moved the family back to South Africa after spending 15 years in the UK. We felt South Africa offered both in terms of enterprise and also being able to make a difference.

My name is Les Ansley and, together with my wife Paula have jumped into the world of gin.

We recently moved the family back to South Africa after spending 15 years in the UK. We felt South Africa offered both in terms of enterprise and also being able to make a difference.

Shortly after we arrived Paula had an opportunity to go to Kenya on safari with Gamewatchers Safaris and it was while she was sipping a G&T while watching a herd of elephants listening to the guide explain how particular elephants are in their browsing habits and yet how little of the plant material they actually digest that she had this crazy idea …

… would it be possible to make elephant dung gin?

Shortly after we arrived Paula had an opportunity to go to Kenya on safari and it was while she was sipping a G&T while watching a herd of elephants listening to the guide explain how particular elephants are in their browsing habits and yet how little of the plant material they actually digest that she had this crazy idea …

So we did

That is how Indlovu gin was born – a gin made in Africa … designed 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.

So we did

That is how Indlovu gin was born – a gin made in Africa … designed 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.

As part of our commitment to South Africa we are also very excited that we have been awarded Proudly South African status.

Giving Back

We felt that it was important that the brand is underpinned by a strong conservation message. So 15% of the profits from the sale of Indlovu gin will be donated to the Africa Foundation to support their work in wildlife conservation at Phinda Game Reserve.

Ibhu provides the cooking gas to Langrug Soup Kitchen at Batho’s Place, Franschhoek, which provides the children on the informal settlement with a nutritious meal every weekend.

Stockists

Retailers

Makro, Online
Norman Goodfellows, Online
Yuppie Chef, Online
Bar Keeper, Cape Town
Big Five Duty-Free Cape Town International Airport
Big Five Duty-Free OR Thambo Airport, Johannesburg
Grande Provence, Franschhoek
Klipfontein Blue Bottle Liquors, Witbank
Knysna Elephant Park, Knysna
Roeland Wine & Spirits, Cape Town
Tap & Cork, Franschhoek
Tops Kensington, Durban
Tops Prince Albert, South Coast

Restaurants and Wine Bars

Classic Cats Gin Bar, Vredenheim Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
Le Petit Manoir, Franschhoek
The Gin Bar, Cape Town
The Werf, Boschendal Wine Estate, Franschhoek

Wine Estates

Boschendal Wine Estate, Franschhoek
Grande Provence, Franschhoek
Lanzerac Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
Leeu Estates, Franschhoek

Guest Lodges & Hotels

Avondrood Guest House, Franschhoek
La Fontaine Boutique Hotel, Franschhoek
Lanzerac Hotel, Stellenbosch
Leeu House, Franschhoek
Whalesong Hotel & Spa, Plettenberg Bay

Game Lodges

&Beyond Private Game Lodges
Bellevue Forest Reserve, Eastern Cape
Botlierskop Private Game Reserve, Garden Route
Gondwana Game Reserve, Garden Route
Indlovu River Lodge, Mpumalanga
Knysna Elephant Park, Knysna
Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge, Pilansberg National Park
Maditlo River Lodge, Mpumalanga
Mhondhoro Safari Lodge and Villa, Limpopo
Singita Private Game Lodges

Distributors

South Africa
Ross Shepherd
Firebrand Africa
sales@firebrand.africa

Namibia
Dieter Jentsch
The House of Wines
jentsch@mweb.com.na
+264 81 127 7709

Agents

Alexandre Barrière Izard
Epicurean Collection
alexandreb@epicurean-collection.com
+27 81 858 3858

Get in Touch!

Email: info@ibhu.co.za
Phone: +27 66 216 9667

Frequently asked questions

Why the botanicals from the dung? Does the digestive process contribute anything to the taste of the gin? Could you not rather have sourced the fresh botanicals instead of getting it from the dung?

The original idea for elephant dung gin came from marrying the love of Africa and its wildlife with the love of gin. We are both scientists—and therefore inclined towards novel ideas and problem solving—so when Paula had the idea we really wanted to see whether it would actually be possible. The more we explored the concept the more it opened up and the more excited we became. It is possible that the digestive process does contribute to the flavouring (similar to the elephant dung coffee) but it would be difficult to say conclusively. However, 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 depending on the season, climate and 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 it captured in its Lot No. Currently 34^S22^E43277. To break this down, 34^S22^E are the coordinates of the reserve where the elephants’ dung was collected (Botlierskop Private Game Reserve) and 43277 is the date (in days from 1899-12-31) that the dung was collected. Regarding the botanicals, aside from the usual suspects (Juniper, Angelica, Orris Root, Coriander and citrus) the botanicals include Buccu (Agathosma crenulata), Aloe (Aloe ferox), Acacia (Acacia mearnsii), Guarii (Euclea undulata) and Erica (Erica coccinea) (which are the elephants’ favourite foods).
Another very inspiring aspect of using elephant dung is our tie-in with Africa Foundation. This creates an amazing virtuous circle by which the elephants ‘contribute’ to funding conservation projects that impact the welfare of the elephants.

How is the dung cleaned?

We take the cleansing process very seriously. There are six steps involved in the preparation process:

Collecting
Washing
Sterilising
Rinsing
Drying
Storing

How do you suggest Indlovu gin is enjoyed?

Our gin can be enjoyed in the usual G&T manner but we think that the taste and mouth texture of the gin lends itself towards a cognac-type experience. The earthy flavours complement coffee and dark chocolate. So a neat gin sipped with espresso and enjoyed with dark after-dinner chocolate perfectly rounds off a meal. Of course, the gin can be enjoyed in the more traditional sense of mixers at sundown. But again here we would be hesitant to recommend a flavoured or sugary tonic as this detracts from the rounded flavour of the gin.

Where is the gin produced?

The creation of Indlovu Gin from conception to consumption has been under the tutelage of the internationally renowned craft gin master—RogerJorgensen—in Stellenbosch.