Knighted before the Floral Kingdom's Throne. Cuts straight to the bone.
Giant Gin is a project developed by winemaker Donovan Rall, and made with the good people at Hope Distillery in Salt River, Cape Town. If you’ve ever stood next to Donovan, you’ll know why he named it Giant Gin.
GIANT only comes in 1 litre bottles, naturally.
Botanicals
Juniper – Italy
Coriander – South Africa
Angelica Root – Poland
Lemon peel – South Africa
Lime peel – South Africa
Lemon buchu – South Africa
Rooibos – South Africa
Confetti Bush – South Africa
Buchu – South Africa
Cucumber – South Africa
Fennel seeds – South Africa
The distillation process
A blend of 96% abv grape spirit from Oude Molen in Grabouw (most gins use an inferior cane spirit) and water that has been lifted from Devil’s Peak Mountain granite is placed in the copper still with most of the botanicals; this blend sits at about 60% abv before distillation.
The copper still (called Mad Mary, pic above) is heated to between 80-130C and runs for about 16 hours. Heads and tails were cut and only the heart of the distillate was used.
A few of the botanicals are placed in the basket – just before the condenser. These give higher, more aromatic and perfumed notes than the ones placed directly in the still – these give more base notes and the core of the flavours.
After distillation and condensation the abv was 82%. This was then watered down to 43% (bottling strength) with the same Devil’s Peak water and aged for a month before bottling.
The taste
This process has delivered a balanced and elegant gin with a nose that is fresh and herbaceous with hints of cucumber and citrus; the palate is soft and delicate with lemon buchu complementing notes of lime and lemon peel; with the finish being smooth with hints of buchu, fennel and cucumber.
For those that want to know, the best way to assess (not enjoy) gin is to pour a 50ml measure into a tulip shaped glass (you can use a relatively large glass) and add 10-25ml of distilled water to really open up the gin aromatically and on the palate. Taste as per wine, but swallow, do not spit, you need to access the very back of the palate. This will expose any issues and highlight qualities.
Giant Gin – by Donovan Rall
Giant Gin: Juniper Elixir
Knighted before the Floral Kingdom's Throne. Cuts straight to the bone.
Giant Gin is a project developed by winemaker Donovan Rall, and made with the good people at Hope Distillery in Salt River, Cape Town. If you’ve ever stood next to Donovan, you’ll know why he named it Giant Gin.
GIANT only comes in 1 litre bottles, naturally.
Botanicals
Juniper – Italy
Coriander – South Africa
Angelica Root – Poland
Lemon peel – South Africa
Lime peel – South Africa
Lemon buchu – South Africa
Rooibos – South Africa
Confetti Bush – South Africa
Buchu – South Africa
Cucumber – South Africa
Fennel seeds – South Africa
The distillation process
A blend of 96% abv grape spirit from Oude Molen in Grabouw (most gins use an inferior cane spirit) and water that has been lifted from Devil’s Peak Mountain granite is placed in the copper still with most of the botanicals; this blend sits at about 60% abv before distillation.
The copper still (called Mad Mary, pic above) is heated to between 80-130C and runs for about 16 hours. Heads and tails were cut and only the heart of the distillate was used.
A few of the botanicals are placed in the basket – just before the condenser. These give higher, more aromatic and perfumed notes than the ones placed directly in the still – these give more base notes and the core of the flavours.
After distillation and condensation the abv was 82%. This was then watered down to 43% (bottling strength) with the same Devil’s Peak water and aged for a month before bottling.
The taste
This process has delivered a balanced and elegant gin with a nose that is fresh and herbaceous with hints of cucumber and citrus; the palate is soft and delicate with lemon buchu complementing notes of lime and lemon peel; with the finish being smooth with hints of buchu, fennel and cucumber.
For those that want to know, the best way to assess (not enjoy) gin is to pour a 50ml measure into a tulip shaped glass (you can use a relatively large glass) and add 10-25ml of distilled water to really open up the gin aromatically and on the palate. Taste as per wine, but swallow, do not spit, you need to access the very back of the palate. This will expose any issues and highlight qualities.
Giant Gin 1lt
Giant Gin
R700.00Please contact david@exanimo.co.za if you have any queries.