- A South African couple located in Paarl have crafted gin by infusing elephant dung into alcohol since November 2018, after relocating back to SA from the UK.
- They now have three different spirit flavours listed in major retailers locally selling for approximately R545,00 and distributed internationally.
- 15% of the proceeds go towards HERD elephant orphanage. "People buy into it [the elephant dung infused gin] and that they are contributing towards elephant conservation," says the owner.
In November 2018 Les and Paula Ansley launched their first bottle of gin infused elephant's dung, Ndlovu Gin Original. Ibhugane short for dung beetle is their distillery located in the Cape Winelands' town of Paarl.
After relocating back to South Africa from the United Kingdom, the couple took their family on a safari drive and were amazed by what the safari ranger had to say about elephants' dung.
An uncommon fact is that elephant dung can be a source for healing water, painkillers, and insect repellent. The mammals consume approximately 200 - 250 kilograms of plants a day.
On their drive, the family discovered that elephants digest only 30% of what they eat and the remaining 70% is left on the field floor as waste.
This fact seems to have stayed with Paula for quite some time. Les Ansley tells Business Insider South Africa that he was awakened by a sharp jab in the back by his wife who one morning tossed him the most peculiar question- what if they made gin from elephant's dung?
Under the mentorship and guidance of Roger Jorgensen the couple crafted their spirit. Jorgensen is commonly known as the 'the father of spirits' with his own spirit distillery located in the Cape Winelands established in 1994.
Making the gin is not a long process the owner explained. Their spirit has base of the traditional London Dry Gin which is one of the predominant flavours with ingredients like Juniper, Angelica, Orris Root, Coriander, and bits of citrus that make up the gin.
"Gin is a popular drink that adapts to changes and trends," says Ansley, and because of this the process to make the perfect Indlovu gin is not long
Making the perfect bottle of Indlovu Gin begins by first collecting the dung; wash off the sand and mud; cleansing it then leaving it to dry till they get a fluffy botanical which is then immersed into the alcohol.
Here are images of Les Ansley collecting the elephant dung...
Infusing the elephant dung is similar to making a cup of tea, "sort of think of the dung like a teabag," Ansley said, it is immersed in the base alcohol like a teabag in hot water and then left alone to "brew" this allows the alcohol to extract all the flavours from the dung.
All the dung is explained to have its own unique flavours, because of the plants the elephants eat which may vary from season to season. In the winter the elephants can eat prickly pears and other shrubs whereas in the summer they may eat more citrus fruits. What they eat contributes significantly to the flavours extracted by the alcohol. Take the Indlovu Original Gin it has the elephants' favourite flora like Acacia, Guarri, and Erica fynbos.
Working in partnership with the country's first elephant orphanage, Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development (HERD) which is built alongside the home of the Jabulani herd, Ibhungane gives 15% of the proceeds to HERD at Jabulani Safari. Their partnership is described as a "perfect fit" by Ansley because of the conservancy's particular focus on elephants opposed to their former partner Africa Foundation which focused on all wildlife.
Dung referred to as "botanical" is collected from elephants in Hoedspruit or the Botlierskop Game Reserve.
They have since also crafted a specific spirit, Jabu Gin for the luxury game lodge with botanicals collected specifically from the Hoedspruit elephants at Jabulani Safari.
The company does not intend on releasing any new gin as yet, however, you can select from their three existing gin bottles that are already available in major retailers such as Tops Spar, Makro, and Online on Takealot. The price for an Original bottle varies according to retailer but can be found on Takealot for R545,00.
Indlovu Gin Original, Pink Prickly Pear and Vanilla and Citrus and Orange are all tailored around what the elephants enjoy eating. The Pink is infused with prickly pears and vanilla and the Citrus with marula fruit and oranges. "We wanted to keep the original idea, if we made a strawberry gin there would be no continuity or feel of the product," said Ansley.
Gin forged from elephant botanical never looked so good...
You'd think people would hesitate to buy the gin but, "people love it, a lot of people are buying into it and love that they are contributing to wildlife conservation," said the owner. The Indlovu Gin Original was made with dung from elephants from the Botlierskop Game Reserve. Clear gold in colour it is said to have a smooth creamy taste with notes of citrus, Angelica, earth, spice and more according to their official site.
The gins are exported duty free to multiple European countries among them the likes of the Netherlands and Sweden, and more recently to the United States of America.
With no particular popular favourite locally, according to the owner the Pink does well in Durban and the Citrus in Gauteng and the Cape.
