This sustainable gin is the bees knees ... and their keeper

Centuries before first lady of twerking Beyoncé and Miss BNG, Bonang, claimed the Queen B title, real queen bees were pollinating more than a third of the world’s crops, including fynbos, a critical ingredient in locally produced Inverroche craft gin.

And if you think all bees are black and yellow, are subservient to a queen, make honey and live in large colonies, you're wrong. Nearly 90% of all bees aren't honeybees and are solitary, doing things for themselves.

These single ladies don't need anyone to put a ring on it: they build small nests in burrows or cavities, inhabiting them alone in chambers filled with nectar and pollen collected from surrounding vegetation. After laying eggs in the chambers, the royals seal the nest and the larvae feed on the nectar and pollen until they reach adulthood, when they press repeat elsewhere.

The problem is, mankind’s unsustainability is rapidly ensuring these queen bees don't have enough homes in which to nest. Pesticides, destruction of their habitats and climate change are rendering them unable to reproduce. Bees are essential to biodiversity and the survival of most species. In short, we could die without them.

For local craft gins, including those produced by Inverroche, solitary bees are vital as they pollinate fynbos, a key ingredient.

Gin combines botanicals, flowers, roots, fruits and nuts to create a unique palate and most are pollinated by solitary bees. So if you like the spirit, it’s in your best interests to do all you can to preserve their habitat or you could be facing a bleak, and the very least, thirsty future.

Imagine not being able to complement the floral notes of gin with smoked salmon or use it as a palate cleanser before sushi. Imagine a world without gin's herbal flavours cutting the richness of dishes like duck prosciutto or hot wings. Without bees this could become a reality.

To preserve our ecosystem, Inverroche is presenting a limited-edition Classic Gin in packaging designed to give solitary bees much-needed homes.

Named Inverroche Bee&Bee,  the boxes in which the gin is packaged can be repurposed as bee hotels to give these vital pollinators a place to nest and rest in gardens or on balconies. 

The initiative is a partnership with Chevonne Reynolds, biodiversity researcher and founder of the Jozi Bee Hotel Project, and Phillip Hollander and Stephen Wilson from sustainable furniture company Houtlander.

Each box is made with invasive alien trees and has multiple-sized holes which mimic those bees would use in nature.

Gin connoisseurs have every reason to purchase Inverroche Bee&Bee to help save South Africa's rapidly dwindling bee population.

Find more information here.  Learn more about the Jozi Bee Hotel Project here.