I’ve long considered myself a gin lover. That said, I — like so many people I know — have a newfound appreciation for the juniper-infused spirit after months of anguished separation.
What I did have as a measure of comfort during those long weeks of prohibition was a bottle of my own handcrafted gin: a lovely one loaded with pungent, spicy notes, without being overbearing. I called it “Crown Gin”, having distilled it for my crown birthday last year at the Indaba Gin School.
The class, which is again being held at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways, Johannesburg, after operations ceased during lockdown, is supported by Inverroche gin. It’s a two-hour journey with one simple goal: distilling a bottle of gin using your own recipe of botanical combinations.
To do this, we started the afternoon with a welcome drink, a glass of beautiful Inverroche gin, of course, and an easy introduction to the class by our master distiller, who shared some interesting insights with us. Did you know we’re now in the second gin wave worldwide? The first one happened between the 1500 and 1600s and today there are about 6,500 distilleries worldwide.
To kick off the distilling process, we started with a cane spirit wash made with fermented sugar cane. On the table before me, I found a range of botanicals: five jars, which can each form the base of your gin, and a tray of additional flavour notes. Picking between the spice, citrus, floral, cool and herbal bases, I opted for the spice base.
This jar is poured into a cloth and pounded ever so slightly with a pestle and mortar, along with the additional flavour notes you choose to add. I opted for cocoa, coconut, citrus peel and dried sour fig. After bruising the ingredients to release the oils, the smell coming from my magical bag of ingredients was heavenly.
This bag gets added to the mini pot still in front of you and, while the team gets the burners going, students are invited to indulge on canapés and another glass of gin on the sunny patio outside.
The class doubles as an entertaining mini history lesson in gin as your master distiller explains the reasoning behind the distilling process. It’s very important to distil the gin to separate the toxic alcohols, methanol and acetone from the safer-to-consume alcohol, ethanol, which gets infused with those delicious flavours you’ve handpicked.
The class is the perfect combination of scientific information, fun educational snippets and hands-on distilling. While I didn’t leave as a master distiller by a long shot, I did gain a new appreciation for the excellent local craft gins on the market. There is plenty of dedication, scientific finesse and painstaking detail that goes into distilling a flavoursome bottle of gin.
I was quick to snap a picture of the final product — complete with handwritten label and a description of the botanicals and flavour notes I selected for my gin recipe — and send this to jealous family and friends. Apart from inspiring me to finally join forces with my brother-in-law to start distilling our own juniper juice, the best part is that my gin actually tastes damn good.
TRY IT YOURSELF
Where: Indaba Hotel.
When: Classes are limited to 16 people and will run twice a month, with strict Covid-19 protocols in place. Spaces are still available for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Visit www.ginschoolindaba.co.za or @ginschoolindaba on Facebook for more information and upcoming dates.
How much: R895 per person, which includes a welcome drink, snacks and your take-home bottle of gin. Because the classes are smaller, they are offering the option to distil an additional bottle of gin for R300.
Bookings: E-mail ginschool@indabahotel.co.za or phone 011 840 6600.
Tip: The Indaba Hotel offers a package deal for a perfect spoil after your gin class. This includes overnight accommodation and breakfast the next day for R1,050 per person or R1,200 per couple.
- The writer was a guest of the Indaba Hotel.
