6 Questions with West Coast Distillers.
- What made you decide to create another Gin on an already flooded market?
There are a vast number of gins on the market at present. In the time it took for West Coast Distillers to obtain a Micro Manufacturing liquor license, the ‘gin train’ exploded and since then, the market has grown exponentially. In the face of a busy and highly competitive market, West Coast Distillers has maintained an ethos of making great quality spirits, with an interesting passion and story behind each product. We have produced a very unique gin in the Belladonna Night Shade Gin especially.
- How long did it take for you to come up with the recipe?
The unique recipe for the Belladonna Night Shade Gin took a few months to create. The unique berries needed to be sourced and then the distillation recipe needed to be developed to match. It was a process of trial and error. The process saw many challenges including a hail storm and load shedding but the first vintage – 2019 – was released late last year.
- What makes this Gin different from all the others?
Belladonna Night Shade Gin is distinctly different to other products on the market. The berries (Black Night Shade – Solanum Nigrum) are not used in any other gin and due to its unique taste; this gin is like no other. After distillation berries are infused into the gin and this gives it a slight colouring somewhere between a lilac and a salmon colour when poured from the bottle. When premium Indian tonic is added, a reaction takes place that causes a colour explosion and the gin and tonic evolves into a beautiful deep pink.
- Do you have a unique recipe for a cocktail using this gin?
Belladonna works particularly well as a gin sour. We recommend 50ml Belladonna Night Shade Gin, 25ml fresh lemon juice, 12ml simple syrup, foaming agent (egg white, whey or foaming bitters) shaken well with ice and strained into a margarita, martini or coupe glass and garnished with a blue berries and a lemon wheel. For an added twist, add a few dashes of Mutiny Rooibos Bitters to the foam.
- Do you have any other ideas in the pipeline?
The full West Coast Distillers range includes Caspyn West Coast Dry Gin, Belladonna Night Shade Gin and 3 flavours of Mutiny Bitters, namely Aromatic, Orange and Rooibos. A few ‘distillery exclusive’ products are also available in small batches, but you have to visit to sample them! An exciting project in the future for us includes Karoo Agave (a Tequila-style product) with a unique and proudly South African twist. Customers may also see additional variants of the Mutiny Bitters.
- Where are your products available to purchase?
The full range is available for purchase from West Coast Distillers in Langebaan as well as in select stores, restaurants and bars nationwide. A full list of stockists will be included on the website shortly.
Products are available online via https://theginguy.co.za