Ginning with Stillhouse

Traditionally it has been referred to as an “old ladies’ drink”, but in recent years gin has exploded into the trendiest drink to order at the bar. With the countless craft gin distilleries that have sprung up to capitalise on this gin-boom, and therefore also a lot of subpar gins entering the market, it can be quite hard to find the tasty ones. The good news is that you have to look no further than the sleepy coastal town of Swakopmund, the home of Stillhouse Atlantic.

Established in 2017, Stillhouse is a boutique distillery owned by Sandy and Pierre le Roux. It all began as a hobby for Sandy who is responsible for distilling these delicious juniper infused spirits. Starting at home with a 20-litre pot still, she experimented with various spirits, but mainly gin. She decided to increase her knowledge of the process by doing a course on gin making in South Africa. This was the catalyst that ignited her passion for distilling and soon afterwards she completed the master distillers course. When she upgraded to a 100 litre still she realised that her hobby was taking up too much space in her house: the seed for starting a small distillery was planted. An opportunity for this dream to become true presented itself soon enough and Sandy decided to leave the world of graphic design and focus on producing spirits.

The next step was deciding on a name. A stillhouse is an old-fashioned term for a distillery that originated in the United States and it means exactly what it says: a place of distilling. Living at the coast and being a family of surfers and therefore very close to the ocean, Atlantic was added.

The distillery’s flagship product is the Stillhouse Gin. When developing this gin the focus was on blending traditional botanicals with Namibian botanicals like the !Nara melon, hand-picked sea lettuce and plants endemic to the world’s oldest desert. Of the 14 botanicals contained in the gin,

10 are found locally. While the other botanicals produce the floral and citrus notes, the !Nara has a cucumber and earthy flavour that brings the gin together nicely. With Namibia’s shores known as the coastline where dunes meet the sea, the pairing of the !Nara, growing on the dunes, with sea lettuce is not only symbolic but each of them also adds its own unique characteristics that give Stillhouse Gin its distinct flavour.

The Stillhouse Wild, launched recently, is softer in flavour and not as robust as Stillhouse Gin. Its distinct light pink colour is the result of wild hibiscus being one of the ingredients. Pink-coloured gins are usually infused with rose petals and somewhat overdone, whereas the Stillhouse Wild is thankfully unpretentious and offers a much wider flavour profile than those gins. Other ingredients that add to the complexity of this particular Stillhouse include pink pepper, African rosemary and cascara coffee cherries.

The third member of the Stillhouse range is not a gin, but a liqueur and the recent recipient of a gold medal at the Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards. The Umber Coffee Liqueur is a cold brew liqueur, made by infusing the spirit of Stillhouse Atlantic with rich freshly roasted coffee from fellow Swakopmunders, Two Beards Coffee Roasters. The result is a liqueur with earthy, chocolatey flavours complemented by notes of summer fruit. It is an excellent choice for Dom Pedros or even an addition to milkshakes.

Stillhouse Atlantic is situated in Unit 5, Kornblum Eastern Concepts, Einstein Street, Swakopmund.

To book a tasting or for more information email Sandy at info@stillhouseatlantic.com.

Le Roux van Schalkwyk