Five exciting new gins — and what we love about them

MIRARI SNOW GLOBE CHRISTMAS GINS

The newest additions to Time Anchor Distillery’s Mirari range of shimmering and glittering gins comes with a festive flair: 23ct gold and silver flakes swirl around a light-up bottle to create the idea of a snow globe in two different gin styles.

The Mirari snow globe zesty citrus gin is fruity, lighter and true to its name, with hints of soft Christmas spice.

The Mirari snow globe Christmas barrel gin, on the other hand, has a rich, dark colour owing to the two years it spent ageing in American oak barrels. Instead of Indian tonic, this gin can be enjoyed with ginger beer or ale or neat over ice.

• Both gins are only available from Time Anchor Distillery’s website. The zesty citrus gin sells for R300 and the barrel aged gin, of which only 500 bottles have been made, for R400.

INVERROCHE COCO CAPENSIS LIMITED EDITION GIN

The third and final gin in Inverroche’s Creative Collection Series, Inverroche Coco Capensis, is a limited edition gin, with only 13,200 bottles available in SA.

True to its name — “Capensis” referring to what originates from the Cape — the gin is infused with Cape May bush and rose pelargonium. A sexy third ingredient, ruby chocolate, gives it an added touch of luxury.

The result is a delicate floral flavour, well-balanced and, as gin aficionados have come to expect from the brand, a pleasure to drink.

For an added touch of elegance, the gin comes with a natural rose malva essence that gives a pink tint to your G&T by adding a few drops without changing the taste or having to drink a beautifully crafted spirit with a ghastly cucumber flavoured pink tonic.

Inverroche founder, Lorna Scott, recommends serving Coco Capensis with Indian tonic and ice and garnishing with rose petals, a sprig of orange buchu, and pomegranate seeds.

• Inverroche Coco Capensis is available on Takealot for R439.

BOMBAY BRAMBLE

The newest addition to the Bombay Sapphire gin range is Bombay Bramble, the brand’s first flavoured gin with a deep crimson colour and berry flavour — both natural and derived by infusing the gin with ripe berries.  

The name is a clever reference not only to a berry-bearing shrub, but to the 1980s cocktail made with gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and blackberry liqueur.

Bombay Bramble can be served with Indian tonic, but don't expect a traditional G&T. I find it a touch too sweet when served with tonic, but this is easily remedied by serving it with equal parts tonic and soda water or just soda water — a good sugar-free alternative that allows the bright fruitiness of the spirit to shine through as a perfect drink for our hot summer days.

Alternatively, use Bombay Bramble to inspire the mixologist in you to create your own The Bramble cocktail or to put a spin on the classy raspberry forward Clover Club cocktail.

• Bombay Bramble is available on Takealot for the recommended selling price of R299.

CAPE TOWN GIN BLACK RHINO GIN

With its Pink Lady Gin the Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company supports PinkDrive’s breast cancer awareness work and its Rooibos Red Gin contributes to the empowerment of local Khoi and San farming communities. With their latest offering of Black Rhino Gin, they’ve chosen to focus on rhino conservation.

A portion of the proceeds from every bottle sold is donated to the Boucher Legacy, a non-profit organisation to protect endangered animal species from extinction, including rhino and pangolins.

Made in the style of its classic dry gin, Black Rhino Gin is infused with indigenous buchu and — very poetically — rhino bush, which produces a light green coloured gin.

Served with Indian tonic and ice, the Black Rhino Gin is a well-rounded, easy drinking craft gin with subtle sweet notes. It can also be transformed into cocktails with flavours of ginger ale, orange and lime.

• Cape Town Gin’s Black Rhino Gin is available on Takealot for the recommended selling price of R299.

MUSGRAVE INSPIRIT NON-ALCOHOLIC GIN

Musgrave Spirits has added its own iteration to the range of classy non-alcoholic offerings recently made available to a growing market in the form of Musgrave Inspirit.

As the non-alcoholic take on its popular Musgrave Pink rose gin which is infused with 12 botanicals, Inspirit combines similar flavours, including cardamom, African ginger, lime and grains of paradise.

The result is a light pink liquid with a beautifully soft mouthful of flavour, without the sharp bite of spice many non-alcoholic gins tend to have.

You can enjoy Inspirit as you would any good quality craft gin — with Indian tonic and ice — and an added pinch of pink peppercorns or a wedge of lime and sprig of thyme to garnish.

Musgrave Pink is one of the few craft gins that tastes good with both soda water and Indian tonic and I find the same to be true of Inspirit, particularly because it’s on the slightly sweeter side.

• Musgrave Inspirit is available from the Musgrave Spirits website for R249 or from Pick n Pay stores.