The Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company’s latest offering brings rhino conservation to the fore with the release of Cape Town Black Rhino Gin.

With its brilliant olive-green colour and slightly sweeter taste, which it inherits from the local botanicals infused, the Cape Town Black Rhino Gin is now available at all leading liquor stores, as well as online. “Like the rhino, our new gin truly captures what it is to be South African in every sip,” says director, Jaco Boonzaaier, “an authentic nod to local heritage and a salute to all things African.”

To find a unique addition to their already successful range, Craig and Jaco, of the Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company, worked tirelessly until the perfect balance between the infusion of rhino bush and buchu was struck and the Cape Town Black Rhino Gin hit all the right notes. The pressure was there – they had a lot to express with this new gin.

The successful combination of two endangered species, the rhino and the rhino bush, is the underlying driving force behind this new varietal. The Black Rhino Gin supports the ongoing fight to save the rhino by donating a portion of proceeds from every bottle sold to the Boucher Legacy. The NPO has set out to protect not only the endangered rhino but also the pangolin and other dwindling species from extinction at the hands of humans with the hope of ending poaching for good across the country.

“It’s been called a war, a crisis of epic proportions, but what most accurately describes the mass slaughter of rhinos that we are witnessing is ‘genocide’,” says Craig van der Venter, founder and managing director of Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company. Only a century ago, more than half a million rhinos roamed the earth, but today, only less than 6% of that figure are alive. That’s why Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company has made its protection their mandate this year.

Since South Africa is home to most of the world’s rhino population it’s natural that this made us a target for poachers. Their methods are cruel, with speed prioritised over the animals’ lives. If rhinos are lucky, poachers will tranquilise them first before their horns are removed, leaving the creature behind defenseless and fighting for its life, but with hope of being rescued.

“If conservation is a war, then organisations like the Boucher Legacy are our foot soldiers,” “They are the first defense rhinos and other endangered wildlife have against stopping poaching for good, so we need to do everything in our power to support them,” says van der Venter.

But to say Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company is passionate about Cape Town, and South Africa at large, would be an understatement. It’s in the very name of the brand, after all. In fact, their varietals are even inspired by the city with their Pink Lady Gin named after the famous Cape Town landmark, the Mount Nelson Hotel, and their Rooibos Red Gin honouring our world-class South African brew from the Cedarberg region. But it has always gone beyond that when it comes to the values of the organisation.

“It’s so important for us to do what we can do to celebrate our beautiful country, as well as its diverse people,” explains van der Venter. “All the while continuing to preserve our heritage, honour our diversity, cultures and pay homage to South Africa as a whole. From the beginning, we aspired to create with heart, bottle with passion, and continue to hope that we can make some small contribution towards a legacy.”

Be sure to like and follow the Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date on all their latest news and offerings and book your tasting at the new Cape Town Gin & Spirits Emporium at the V&A Waterfront on their website. 

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Issued by:
Paul Reynell
Paddington Station PR
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021 447 0564

On behalf of: 
Jaco Boonzaaier
Cape Town Spirits Co. (Pty) Ltd
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072 402 2051 

About the Cape Town Gin:
The Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company (est. 2015) launched the super-premium Cape Town Gin brand as a truly South African gin. Distilled and bottled locally, our gins have a distinctly South African flavour and celebrate the vibrant diversity and inspiring creative energy of Cape Town. The award-winning range of Cape Town Classic Dry Gin, The Pink Lady Gin and Rooibos Red Gin have captivated the palates of South Africa

High-end premium rums such as those from the House of ANGOSTURA® are taking the spirit to a new level. In South Africa the SA Rum Awards bring local craft and international rum brands into the limelight with Tiki bars, rum cocktails, and rum style occasions.

August is rum month and there’s lots to celebrate! The spirit often associated with tropical islands, flamboyant cocktails, caricature pirates and fun times in the sun is all grown up now. And there’s a growing crowd of connoisseurs worldwide taking it seriously.

A GLOBAL RUM TREND

While high-end premium rums still account for a smaller percentage of total rum sales compared to equivalent gins, tequilas or whiskies, that percentage is steadily growing. The diversity of premium aged rums available internationally is also on the rise.What elevates a rum to high-end premium status is the skill of the master blender, together with long aging of the rums in barrels.

Blending rums of different ages brings out particular characteristics, and is a rare art that lends distinction and refinement to the finished product.House of ANGOSTURA®, known worldwide for its iconic bitters, an essential ingredient in cocktails such as the sophisticated Old Fashioned, has been making rum in its state-of-the-art distillery in Trinidad since 1949.

Master Blender Carol Homer-Caesar is expanding Angostura’s international rum range and taking their premium rums to new markets all around the world.An essential ingredient, second only in secrecy to the House of Angostura’s legendary bitters recipe, she says, is the indigenous Trinidadian yeast strain used in the fermentation. Which, together with the terroir of the sugar cane and the ex-bourbon barrels used for aging, gives their rum brand its distinct personality.Geographically rum production is linked to the cultivation of sugar cane. Fermented then distilled either from raw cane juice (rhum agricole), or more often from the molasses that is the by-product of sugar-making.

Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century and while it’s still centred around the Caribbean and the Americas, rum-making has now spread worldwide wherever sugarcane is grown. And the recent emergence of specialised craft distilleries is testament to its growing popularity.

RUM IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa, as a sugar producing country, is a natural home to the new breed of craft rum-maker with many new local brands emerging since 2013. In 2020 the first SA Rum Awards took place, with Leah Van Deventer, judge and convenor of the awards, saying, “The rum category has been creeping up on gin over the years. It’s not yet in the same ballpark, but in the premium market it’s steadily growing. Especially as an interest for a loyal bunch of spirits geeks.

”The awards are open to any sugar cane-based spirit available commercially in South Africa, from domestic craft rums all the way through to imported international brands. Judged completely blind by industry experts (Van Deventer, Kurt Schlechter, Chantelle Horn and Coco Reinharz) each rum is assessed, just as wine would be, on nose, flavour profile and characteristics on the palate.“We’re looking for complexity and depth of flavour,” says Van Deventer. “Rum has a very wide flavour wheel with characteristics ranging from mint to seaweed to basic molasses.

”One reason why the local craft rum industry is only now emerging from its infancy, compared to the craft gin boom of the past decade, is that the rum-making process takes a lot longer. After fermentation and distillation comes a slow maturation, aging in barrels for a minimum of a year but usually years longer.

“The rum trend is definitely building,” says Van Deventer. For the 2021 SA Rum Awards they’ve had at least fifteen new SA brands entered. “It’s amazing considering the year we’ve had that people are still creating new craft brands.

”The SA Rum Awards are one way of raising the profile and awareness of rum in South Africa. “I would like people to understand that rum can be enjoyed like a whisky,” continues Van Deventer. “However, you drink your whisky, with coke or ginger ale, neat or on the rocks, you can enjoy rum in that way too. We want people to appreciate rum for what it is.”

RUM COCKTAILS AND THE TIKI TREND

Just because you can be serious about rum, doesn’t mean it can’t still be frivolous and fun. The recent boom in Tiki bars attests to this. Impacted recently in South Africa by lockdown alcohol bans but still with us in spirit, the tiki bar celebrates light-hearted rum cocktails with a laid-back tropical vibe – paper umbrellas, straws, maraschino cherries and all. Go for 80s nostalgia with the pina colada, or the grenadine bright Mai Tai, a tiki classic.

Or sip sophistication in a Rum Old Fashioned with its essential dash of ANGOSTURA®  bitters, savour a smooth Daiquiri, minty Mojito, or evocative Dark and Stormy.

CHOOSING A RUM

A good barista will have a number of rums in their spirits repertoire, knowing the characteristics of each and what it brings to the party.White rum is generally the lightest and youngest of the rum family, recommended for vivacious fruity cocktails. An older golden rum has a deeper flavour and suits stronger mixes with spices and or herbs.When you get to rums aged for seven years upwards, their subtle flavours and layered complexity are worth savouring neat or on the rocks – the thought of dousing a 15-year aged rum in fruit juice, cherries and paper umbrellas is just as much a faux pas as pouring cola onto a premium Scotch whisky.

Read the label carefully. The age of the rum listed reflects the youngest rum in the blend, so rum labelled as five years may have a percentage of ten or fifteen year-old rum in the mix adding maturity, complexity and depth.

It’s time to get curious about rum and give your tastebuds a dash of adventure.

We know that underage drinking is a problem, but we’re quick to dismiss it as an issue only in other communities or a result of youthful curiosity or peer pressure. It is time for all adults to consider their role in influencing underage drinking.

Described by Aware.org, the Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education, underage drinking is a silent crisis, and one that is often subconsciously enabled by parents, older siblings, other family members and/or friends. Many kids cite their parents as the biggest influencers of their underage drinking.

On a mission to shed light on early societal influence and drive social change, Aware.org together with their agency, Riverbed, launched a multi-platform campaign that makes a powerful point: Underage drinking starts long before it begins. And you can stop it!

Bridget Johnson, Riverbed ECD, believes that “Change starts with a conscious mind-shift and a campaign like this tackles some hard truths designed to get all of us thinking about the role we play.”

The campaign launched with a stakeholder event, a 60-second film and radio campaign in all languages on 29 August 2019.

Rolling out in the coming weeks, Aware.org will intensify awareness and engagement through social media and PR, calling on all South Africans to share stories of their earliest exposure to alcohol via the #myfirstdrinkstory movement. “We hope to get the nation talking about the real-life ways we all normalise or even glamorise alcohol consumption,” comments Mpumi Ngwenya-Tshabangu, creative lead on the campaign. Adding his voice will be Kabelo Mabalane, campaign ambassador and vocal advocate of underage drinking reform. 

Growing up, kids are often around adults who drink to relax, celebrate, cope with stress or process just about any emotion. “In many instances, children are asked by adults to get them another beer or pour a glass of wine. These questionable social norms are what informed the creative campaign,” explains Johnson.

The campaign’s 60” TVC, shot by Kim Geldenhuys of 0307 Films, explores some of these scenarios with each ‘story’ expanded in four 30” spots. “Kim has a way of telling stories that cannot be ignored. His gritty realism helped to ‘hold up a mirror’ for people to feel uncomfortable, to make people think,” comments Johnson. A set of daring radio spots were carefully considered to articulate that underage drinking impacts all sectors of society, regardless of race or economic standing. These spots dramatise children’s first drink stories set in an AA group meeting, produced by Tlotleho Mohlahlane (Clu) at The Audio Guys. “Radio needed to add to the discomfort created in other media. It’s a simple idea, but we had to balance impact with the authenticity and honesty of the kids,” explains Ngwengya-Tshabangu.  There’s also an out of home media element, and all channels push to the microsite (www.myfirstdrinkstory.co.za).

The campaign is another chapter in the agency’s social impact work portfolio. Johnson praised the client and agency partners for their courage, passion and commitment to producing a provocative campaign that is intended to create debate and really gets South Africans to collectively consider their power to affect child enablement through their own actions.