Craft Gin From Walvis Bay

Based on a recipe that includes a balance of seven selected botanicals to create a light, yet intricate easy-drinking gin.

Having shed its well known grimy industrial look to grow a beard and sport a pipe, Walvis Bay is now rolling with the cool kids on their fixies and wearing ironic T-shirts. The change in appearance is thanks to the harbour town’s very own distillerythat places it firmly on the bandwagon of the worldwide gin craze. Copper andCoal Distillery, founded in 2017, has quickly become the best-known of Namibia’s (three) gin distilleries.

While gin, humble in origin, started as a spirit with juniper, its main ingredient, perfectly complemented by botanicals such as nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and cardamom, it has recently evolved into a melting pot for experimentation. It is no wonder that gin has become the most diverse liquor found on the market. Juniper is the only ingredient required for the spirit to be called a gin, after which distillers are free to add any botanicals or nonbotanicals they please. All in the name of crafting the perfect gin, right? But as any hipster, i.e. non-conforming conformist knows: you constantly need to overstep the boundaries of what is considered the norm in order to be respected by your peers. The same peers who, just like you, tread on the wrong side of the “normal” barrier. Thanks to these absolute visionaries we are blessed with gins that contain ants, asparagus, cannabis (damn hippies), beef, oysters, elephant dung, and thanks to some Australian genius - Vegemite gin.

With that said, Copper and Coal doesn’t subscribe to the above-mentioned methodology but rather aims to create well-rounded gins devoid of gimmicks. Crafted to be enjoyed for what it is, namely gin. Recipes fine-tuned and lovingly brought to life.

Desolate Classic 7 was the first to be released. Based on a recipe that includes a balance of seven selected botanicals to create a light, yet intricate easy-drinking gin. The Desolate Devil’s Claw Crystal Clear gin,as the name indicates, is centred around the Namibian devil’s claw plant. Mustard, walnut leaves, black pepper and star anise add to the distillery’s Namibian interpretation of gin. Lastly, the Desolate Devil’s Claw Oak Rested gin is the Crystal Clear matured in French oak casks to somewhat soften the harsher character of the devil’s claw. Newest to the range is the Marula gin. Potstilled and infused with marula fruit hand-harvested from the Outjo region which gives tangysweet and sour flavours to this refreshing gin.

Husband and wife team, Andries and Marizaan van Schalkwyk are the driving force behind Copper and Coal. With a focus on quality over quantity, every step of the production process - from fermenting and distilling down to bottling and labelling - is lovingly completed at the distillery in Walvis Bay. The Copper and Coal range of gins can be found at most liquor outlets throughout Namibia.

Le Roux van Schalkwyk