Kimberley - Rare Kalahari N’abbas (truffles), endemic to the Green Kalahari region, have made their way into a newly launched, locally produced boutique gin.
Cruxland gin, launched by KWV recently, is being described as a super-premium London dry boutique gin, hand-crafted for a “new world” gin drinking experience and is made from 100 percent grape spirits infused with nine exotic signature botanicals, including the rare Kalahari N’abbas.
The Cruxland product development process took almost three years, according to Master Distiller Pieter de Bod.
“We wanted to create a special gin with botanicals typical to South Africa and knew we needed a special ingredient to complement the flavours of the other botanicals. Kalahari truffles only grow in the Kalahari after the first rains so we had to wait for that to happen and then we got the volumes we needed. The Kalahari truffle forms a distinctive crack in the earth in the form of a cross when the truffle swells after the rain. Having said this, only the very experienced truffle hunter can spot where to start digging,” De Bod explained.
This cross in the ground was the inspiration for the Cruxland name, as Crux means cross in Latin.
He added that the highest quality neutral grape spirit was used and it was distilled with spices and the best quality botanicals from South Africa and abroad – namely juniper berries, honey bush tea, coriander, rooibos, aniseed, cardamom, almonds, lemon, and Kalahari truffles.
“Cruxland unlocks these original flavours resulting in an excellent gin that is complex in taste and extra smooth in finish, giving a soft-mouth feel and contains no esters and fatty acids that can influence the taste of the botanicals used. We wanted something really special and we knew, with a 100 percent grape-based gin and the beautiful botanicals added, we could create a unique and truly South African gin, not only perfect for mixing but also as a sipping gin – not readily available,” he added.
According to De Bod, 2015 has been dubbed the “year of gin”, with premium global sales rocketing. In the UK alone CGA Strategy research reveals that sales of premium gin are up 49 percent over the last two years with boutique gin making up more than a quarter of the market. Experts say the gin revival has been sparked by unusual flavours and launches of small batches, which are adding vitality to the category and the re-emergence of a cocktail culture.
Known as !N’abbas in the Nama language, the truffles appear erratically, once every four years or more, between April and May.
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