Kwande Craft Gin: A gin that is far from ordinary

Black-owned London Style Gin makes its first debut at the 2021 Thirsty Traveler Annual Spirit Tasting.

Kwande Craft Gin Range. [Image via Kwandecraftgin Instagram page]

By Esihle Faltein

When I first heard about Kwande Craft Gin, it was in a conversation over a chill glass of wine. What came out from this conversation was not how great the gin tastes, (besides it was not yet out for sale at that time) but how incredible the story behind the making of this new gin was. Amazed and inspired by what my friend had to say about this gin, I knew I had to have a conversation with the man who created it himself. Lunga Tukani is one person who has a schedule that keeps him busy. In my attempts to get in touch with him, I anticipated many delays along the way. But to my surprise, he was more than willing to hear what I had to say. When I finally had a conversation with Lunga, the first thing I wanted to know was where the name Kwande came from.

When giving something a name, it is usually an intentional and purposeful act. The word "Kwande" is an isiXhosa verb that means "to expand" or "to grow". The word Kwande can also describe something that bears abundance, particularly when it comes to giving birth. I asked Lunga what were his intentions when naming his gin "Kwande"? He responded by saying, "Kwande Craft Gin is a seed conceptualized pre-COVID (March 2019), during a school trip to Mexico”. “It was inspired by Huichol (indigenous people of Mexico),” he added. “The symbol of the brand is common to both Xhosa and Huichol people,” he said. “Although the concept was born pre-COVID, it was during the hard lockdowns that it was born,” said Lunga. “Besides the virus scare, COVID could also be likened to the times of famine in the book of Genesis,” Lunga uses this biblical reference to give an understanding of how the name Kwande came from a prayer.

"In biblical times, people had a choice of movement illustrated by Abraham moving to Egypt, Isaac to the land of the Philistines and Jacob to Egypt with his family," Lunga makes a comparison between the famine and COVID-19. "All these moves were driven by famine," he said. "Sadly, with COVID-19, we did not have the choice of movement; hopelessly watching the economies shrink and only hearing of death and rising numbers in the media," he continued. "Kwande, as you say, means to expand or grow," defined Lunga. "It was in the context of these difficult times that my prayer was that may our economy expand, not lose hope so we may rise again," said Lunga. "My prayer is that we may grow and life returns and supersede even the high unemployment rates we were used to," he concluded.

Gin is more than just a juniper-flavoured alcoholic beverage infused or distilled with botanicals. This spirit has a rich and fascinating cultural background and has changed its character significantly over the centuries. Initially, its uses were for medical treatment only. And as it rose to popularity, the spirit became a part of contemporary drinking culture. When I asked Lunga why he decided to make gin, he replied and said, "Spirits (white and red) are used in most cultural activities as a connection to the ancestors". "The white spirit is ordinarily seen as an offering to the motherly ancestors, while the red to men," he said. "This was the reason we decided to make spirits," he added. "We started with gin, as indicated with the link to mothers and every human being on earth; their first home is a mother's womb," he continued. "Watch as the story unfolds, and see our offering grow too," said Lunga.

The process of making gin is dependent on what type of gin you are making. There are two kinds, distilled gin and redistilled gin. Redistilled gin is a fermented or mashed alcohol base. While distilled is lower-ABV fermented alcohol, extracted from grains, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets and cane. When adding flavour, the juniper and botanical ingredients are infused or boiled into the spirit, using one of two methods. “What type of gin is the Kwande Craft Gin?" I asked. "It's a Distilled gin," Lunga replied. "Various botanicals are added after the distillation, which are all-natural botanicals. We have three product offerings as yet, all with different characters," he added.

Kwande Craft Gin distillery is at the Brickmakers Distilling Company on Brickmakers Kloof Road in Gqeberha. In a recent interview with the Thirsty Traveler, Master Distiller Eugene Coetzee spoke about the ingredients used in the making of Kwande Craft Gin. "The base spirit is distilled from molasses as this is my specialty," said Eugene. "And in addition to the juniper, I have added Coriander and Angelica and Liquorice root to add a few more subtle flavours," he described. Kwande Craft Gin has a range of gins. There is the classic, witty and rooibos. I asked Lunga why he decided to have the different flavoured gins. "People are not the same, and also change over time. With the change, preferences also change. It is on this understanding that we would not make one product for all," said Lunga.

The packaging of the Kwande Craft Gin range is appealing and quite enticing. I asked Lunga how he would describe the taste of his gin to someone who has never had it. "Over time, we have offered one variant to different people and they have all had different descriptions of the product(s). To answer this question, I would rather challenge each person to try our gin by arranging a tasting session at a nominal fee," he answered. "To do so, you can contact us on our website. Alternatively, you can purchase on the website and have the tasting at the comfort of your home. We deliver across South Africa,” said Lunga.

Not everyone drinks alcohol and for various reasons but, some would still like to have a taste. I remember exploring different kinds of non-alcoholic beverages and found that there isn't a wide selection to choose from. I asked Lunga, "Do you plan on having a non-alcoholic gin in the future?'' "We cannot rule that out", he responded. "Those who identify with the brand and would like to be involved but don't drink," he continued. "They can make enquiries on the website on purchasing merchandise," he added. "To know if you identify with the brand, I challenge you to read the Kwande story on our website," he said.

For every occasion, there is a Kwande Craft Gin. I asked Lunga how we could best enjoy the Kwande Craft Gin range. "The Rooibos variant – with ice or as some would say "on the rocks," he suggested. "I have recently had customers who say they enjoy it with ginger ale too," he continued. "The Classic variant- Ice, Tonic water and add grapefruit as a garnish," he added. "Some customers have enjoyed it with blue tonic and grapefruit tonic, thus removing the garnish in that instance," said Lunga. And the final gin from the range, "The Witty- Rosemary herb as a garnish, Ice and Tonic water," he said. "Once you purchase the bottle, you can enjoy it in any way that satisfies your pallet," he added. "Just let us know, however on our social media pages, we really would like to know how you found the product to be," said Lunga.

Kwande Craft Gin Range [Image via Kwandecraftgin Instagram page]

To purchase your own Kwande Craft Gin visit the website https://kwandecraftgin.co.za/