A Gin Made by Elephants? SA’s Indlovu Gin Takes Innovation to Wild, New Places

There are loads of great gins out there, but how many of those gins have been made my elephants? Just one. Say hello to Indlovu Gin: the world’s very first gin made from elephant dung. By using the dung of the African elephant, Indlovu Gin turns elephants into botanical foraging machines, resulting in a one of a kind, African gin.

Using animal dung to craft food products isn’t exactly new, similar products already on the market include the likes of Kopi Luwak coffee and Panda Dung green tea but this is the first time the African elephant has been thrown into the mix it. Created by ‘ginnovators’ Dr. Les Ansley and Professor Paula Ansley, Indlovu Gin is arguably South Africa’s most unique gin of all time.

In an incredibly crowded craft gin market, Indlovu Gin differentiates itself by using botanicals that have been extracted from the dung of elephants. The idea came to Paula whilst sipping on a G&T on a safari getaway in Kenya. She recalls the game ranger telling them that although elephants graze continuously throughout the day, only a small percentage of what they consume is actually digested. She and her partner, Les, then formulated their craft gin after extensive research, opting to use extracted and cleansed botanicals from the dung of elephants for infusion.

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Elephant dung is known to have remarkable healing properties and is brewed in the form of a tea in some parts of Africa. It’s also used in traditional medicine, which can be ascribed to the wide variety of fruit and plants consumed by elephants throughout the day. This very same vegetation adds woody, earthy flavours to the gin, which is a crystal clear golden colour. Expect aromas of juniper, citrus, grass and earth, and flavours of Angelica, citrus, earth and spice. And, keeping in line with Les and Paula’s passion for wildlife and biodiversity, 15 percent of profits from the sale of the gin will also be donated to the Africa Foundation to support their conservation efforts through the Phinda Wildlife Project.

Indlovu Gin retails for around R615 per bottle and is available to purchase online at Yuppiechef. For more information visit the about Indlovu Gin website.