Wilderer »Fynbos« Gin, 500 ml, ABV 43 %

When you think of gin, South Africa probably isn’t the first country of production that comes to mind. But that would be doing the Wilderer gin wrong, because this product is the very picture of a gin. This Cape Gin comes from Paarl, a town of around 100 000 inhabitants, about 60 kilometres north-east of Cape Town. In South Africa's Western Cape Province lies the world's smallest floristic region, the Cape Floral Kingdom, a declared World Heritage Site. It features around 9500 plant species, 70 percent of which grow nowhere else in the world. The plant diversity there is therefore greater than that of the Brazilian rainforest. The botanicals for Wilderer Fynbos Gin were personally selected by master distiller Helmut Wilderer. »Fynbos« is an Afrikaans term derived from the Dutch »fijn bosch«, which can easily be translated as »fine bush«. A full 27 botanicals – including Wild Dagga, Honeybush, Devil's Claw, Bushman's Ecstacy, Renosterbos, Cancer Bush, African Wormwood, African Potato and Buchu – are hand-harvested in the region and transferred to the spirit along with juniper berries. The bucco or buchu plant (Agathosma betulina) is a shrub of the rue family (Rutaceae) native to the Cape Mountains of South Africa. Its leaves have numerous glands that contain up to 2.5 percent essential oil. The essential oils have a characteristic minty-fruity scent reminiscent of blackcurrants. Another special feature of the Wilderer Distillery is that grappa is used as the basic ingredient for the distillation of the gin. The result: a gentle and neutral basic alcohol of incomparable quality. The plant components are macerated in the grappa before distillation. In order to optimally integrate the herbal aromas, vapour path extraction is used. The botanicals are introduced into the still from above in a muslin bag. There, the hot vapours gently extract the botanical’s aromas. The distillation is followed by a resting period and finally the gin is diluted to the drinking strength of ABV 45 % with crystal clear spring water from Franschhoek and bottled by hand. This gradual blending, combined with pure mountain spring water from the Franschhoek Mountains, results in an outstanding gin of the highest quality.

Very herbal notes, some liquorice, but also fresh fruit. A full-bodied gin in which fruity sweetness and a nuance of pink pepper stand out on the palate. Floral finish, hay flowers elegantly balanced with a fruity note and a fine herbal end note.

The Wilderer Fynbos Gin is a tribute to the flora of South Africa and an absolute connoisseur's tip. The extraordinary botanicals and grappa as a base give it its special South African character and enchant with a beguilingly multifaceted carpet of aromas that spreads out in the nose as colourfully as the Fynbos area over the almost endless landscapes of its homeland.

We recommend tasting the gin neat first to get to know its remarkably different flavours. Enjoy this fine gin with tonic water and fresh mint leaves as a garnish, so the fine herbaceous note is expressed particularly well.