Gin Picks: A Mari Gin

SPIRIT OF THE SEA

OCEAN WATER DISTILLED PREMIUM GIN

AMari, like many good stories, was born over several bottles of wine. Jess Henrich grew up in Kenya and met SA born Niel du Toit at university. The pair went their separate ways for 11 years and lived and worked all over the world, before reuniting in Cape Town, in 2016 and while sitting in a small bar, ordered dinner and wine. Little did they know that this was to be a pivotal moment in both their lives. The conversation turned to work, and while Niel was an architect and Jess a copywriter, both were looking for a new challenge and Jess mentioned she had the idea for a gin brand while living on the magical island of Ibiza and Niel was intrigued. Fast forward to the end of the evening, surrounded by empty wine bottles, the pair buys their first pot-sill on the Internet, and quit their jobs the next day to start A Mari. They decided to create something that the world hadn’t yet seen, an ocean gin. Distilled with ocean water, and coastal botanicals. The pot-still turned out to be a glorified crab boiler designed to turn anything into neat, eyewatering spirit, and the two intrepid distillers spent the next three months distilling every herb, edible shrub and exotic coastal plant they could find to come up with the recipe. This involved long hours sitting manning the temperamental pot-still, with recipe refinement over and over again, endless hours of testing, and tasting, and redoing. Driven largely by passion and determination, and very little cash, they had to learn on the go.

When they were happy with the recipe they headed out to their teacher, the grandmaster of spirits, Roger Jorgensen (who is the genius distiller behind Procera and many other gins) and ran their first batch of A Mari Atlantic Ocean.

This gin features Fynbos (wildflowers) that are indigenous to the coast of Cape Town, several types of citrus, juniper, coriander, allspice and cardamom and is fresh and leafy, juniperforward, with a delicate minerality.

That batch was completely sold out at its first event and went on to win the much-coveted IWSC silver, beating many big name brands in a huge, high calibre global competition (Hendricks Gin received the same award the previous year). Award followed award, and A Mari started taking off on the local market, picking up the Most innovative Spirit Trophy at the Michelangelo Awards Ceremony the same year. In 2018, the second gin in the A Mari portfolio was launched, A Mari Indian Ocean, which is a tribute to the Kenyan coastline and Jess’s Kenyan heritage. This gin features truly Kenyan ingredients like Swahili lime, Kenyan black tea and cardamom, as well as ajwain seed, pink peppercorns, coriander, turmeric and juniper. The gin is infused, post distillation, with a Kenyan chai masala, which is made from ginger, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and Kenyan black tea. The flavours sing of Mombasa evenings. The world liked A Mari Indian Ocean as much, if not more, Than A Mari Atlantic Ocean, with both gins picking up 2018 IWSC Silver Outstanding medals, and Golds in the Michelangelo in 2018, followed by Double Golds in the SA Craft awards 2019.

A Mari is produced in Cape Town and proudly sold in Kenya, South Africa, Taiwan, UK, Germany, Botswana and continues to look for new markets. The aim is to have a bottle of A Mari in every single sea-facing bar in the world, ‘from ocean to ocean’ and we are calling on anyone who wants to help us achieve this challenge. Let’s celebrate where hard work and a belief in our dreams can take us.

To order A Mari contact: Under the Influence Kenya lynette@undertheinfluence.co.za 0743795276

www.amarigin.com instagram @amarioceangin facebook @amarioceangin

TASTING NOTES

With tasting notes of gentle spices such as peppercorn, ginger and cinnamon, Swahili lime and sweet ginger that all come together in a long and mellow finish, A Mari Indian Ocean gin is a true medley of distinct East African flavours. Serving suggestion: Pour over ice and top up with an Indian tonic of your preference. Garnish with a cinnamon quill and slice of orange.

The Making of A Legacy

Mixologist George Hunter was selected as South Africa’s Barcadi Legacy representative so we took some time to talk cocktails, growth and Bacardi.

George Hunter has been a mixologist for years and has local and international (European Bartending School in Barcelona) bartending qualifications so it comes as no surprise that he is the 2021 Bacardi Legacy representative for South Africa. His winning cocktail, the Cazador, which means hunter is Spanish, is made up of Bacardi Reserva, lime juice, maple syrup, crème de cassis and an absinthe rinse. The cocktail has been created to represent triumph and lessons learnt. Hunter’s dedication to his craft is fairly obvious but his path to the Bacardi Legacy was not as straightforward as you would assume. The first time he entered Bacardi Legacy, he didn’t even make it out the first round. 6 years later he entered again, won the national event in South Africa and got to represent his country on the global stage. We caught up with the star bartender to find out more about his work and Bacardi.

42 Yummy. Food. Drink. Life Why did you choose the Bacardi Reserva Ocho? Bacardi Reserva Ocho has complex flavours, boasting burnt vanilla, dark chocolate and apricot. It is also a beautiful balance of aguardiente and redistillado spirits. All the elements combined make for a delicious cocktail.

Was it hard deciding what to work with, what to leave out for the cocktail? It generally is when designing new drinks. The best thing to do is to weigh your options up against each other and get feedback from others. I made the Cazador with a variety of measures and a variety of rinses until I found the perfect combo.

You’ve also been training bartenders on how to make the cocktail. Is it a satisfying activity and how is the experience like educating people as opposed to being on the receiving end? Being able to give back is possibly the most rewarding position to be in. Being someone that can inspire bartenders and change the way people view our industry has always been a goal for me. I am still learning every day but being the trainer is an exciting dynamic.

Have you seen mixologists try to recreate Cazador on their own with different reserves of Bacardi or different amounts of the specified ingredients? What’s your take on that? Yes, to be honest, I LOVE IT! I love that people can take the recipe and alter it slightly because, for me, that is exactly what makes a classic. The fact that a drink is looked at as formula and can be adaptable!

What’s the difference between the cocktail you made 6 years ago and now in terms of flavour, technique etc? Has there been a change in the way you make you cocktails? The basic recipe is very similar to my first entry, I have changed the base to Bacardi Reserva Ocho now (It was Bacardi Carta Oro before). I have also adjusted the ratio of ingredients. It is not only about the drink though; my technique, presentation, understanding and knowledge have all grown and changed. That is what Cazador is about… Growth and learning but most importantly, not giving up on yourself. What do you enjoy most about participating in Bacardi Legacy? Bacardi Legacy is one of the most community and family orientated brands/event that I have been involved in. It is great to be a part of like-minded people who want to see the industry flourish. It is amazing to see a family-owned brand be so successful and still care about “the little guy”. Bacardi Legacy and Bacardi as a brand are truly inspiring!

What’s your advice for someone who wants to create their own homemade Barcadi cocktail? Go crazy and don’t limit your ideas. Everything is possible. Have a basic idea or flavour you want to achieve and give it a bash. It probably won’t be great the first time but its something to work from. Was the drink too sweet? Too sour? Maybe it needs more Rum? (It always needs more rum!) Most importantly is to have fun with it.

Find the recipe for the winning Cazador cocktail on www.yummy. co.ke.

THE beauty OF BLEND