Sponsored: a toast to rhino conservation efforts

ADVERTISING PROMOTION

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 of Operations, 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, founders 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 defenceless and fighting for its life, but with the hope of being rescued.

“If conservation is a war, then organisations like the Boucher Legacy are our foot soldiers,” “They are the first defence 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.”

Enjoy Cape Town Black Rhino Gin in a signature cocktail called the Cape Horn:

Pour 25 ml Cape Town Black Rhino Gin into a glass of your choice and top up with ice. Add 75 ml Indian tonic, 25 ml ginger ale and garnish with 1 orange slice, 1/2 t of mixed peppercorns. Top off with a sprig of mint.

Together we can stop poaching and habitat loss, and save rhinos from extinction. Make a difference by buying a bottle of Cape Town Black Rhino Gin at your nearest leading liquor store and share it with your friends and family.

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