Ginifer Sober.

Ginifer Sober. Two variants, Dry and Hibiscus. These bottles are botanical mixes which include juniper berries, coriander seeds, orris root, angelica root, black peppercorns, and garden mint. The final product is enhanced with either lime leaves or hibiscus tea.

Ginifer Sober is a product under the Angel Heart Distillery which houses other spirit brands and a bitters and syrups range. The Angel Heart Distillery is a unique Joburg brand created through a powerful fusion of passion and palate! The brainchild of Jacqueline Grobler, supported by her partner Jaco, the business had its beginnings in the garage of their family home. A fascination for the magic of distilling, coupled with a clear intention, gave impetus to the dream and the dynamism of this double act is unstoppable.

Now, back to the gin. Let's start with Ginifer Sober Dry, I had a shot of this so that I could see how different it is from normal alcoholic gin, GUYS! Lol, You know that face you make when you drink herbal medication that helps your system..? yes, that face.

I am not sure what I expected to be honest, but it is VERY botanical. So I decided to have a couple of drinks. I first mixed it with mango and orange juice (Because, SIPPING ON GIN AND JUICE 🎵😁) to try and mask the potent botanical flavour, which I assume comes from the lime leaves that are used to enhance the flavour. I was impressed that the taste still came through, so I give it a point for that. I then went on to mix it with Sprite and the flavour was still strong.

The reason why I didn't mix it with tonic first is that I wanted to see how far the flavour would go. Personally, Indian tonic is the best thing for gin, but I wanted to save that moment for last and see how it would compete with a classic GnT (Alcoholic). I tried it... aaaaaaaand I still prefer the alcoholic version, but it tastes nice. Refreshing. Not too shabby I thought..Every time I took a sip, I just kept nodding.. like mhhm, I see how this could work. The good people at Ginifer have given us the best serving suggestion; Ginifer Sober Dry with Ginifer Naartjie syrup, Indian tonic water, and fresh mint. Because I'm basic, Lol; I mixed mine with a slice of lemon, tonic, and some ice. Not bad.

Ginifer Hibiscus is probably my favourite out of the two. The botanical flavours are not as potent as the Dry and this flavour has a taste that I prefer and could drink. For some odd reason, the hibiscus flavour gave me a somehow almost spice sensation, when I took a "shot" (I think my taste buds are WEIRD, lmao). Bear in mind that I have never had Hibiscus before so maybe those who have will be able to explain the flavour better.

I went through the same process of mixing as I did with the Dry. I went in with the juice and the taste faded away totally...you can still smell it; but not taste it, If that makes sense. I was kinda bumped at that because I wasn't shy with the Ginifer, I mean its non-alcoholic. So I went on to my second round of mixing, this time I went half Ginifer Hibiscus, half sprite. Okay, the flavour comes out a bit, I can deal with that. But if this type of drinking was a regular, then I would finish a bottle real quick mos?

Finally got to my last round of mixing; Ginifer Sober with tonic. Because the Hibiscus has a colour to it..mixing it with the tonic made it look like a beautiful glass of blush wine 😍. Took my first sip and...cranberry? is that you I taste? Lol. I read somewhere that Hibiscus has a tart taste similar to that of cranberries and I absolutely agree. This is nice. I'm not a mixologist okay?! so, lemon and tonic will do for me, Thanks!

A recommended serving is Ginifer Hibiscus with Ginifer Honeybush & Cranberry craft syrup, ½ pink tonic water, and ½ soda water and fresh fennel. I bet if I actually made this type of cocktail, I would enjoy it even more.

So, what do I think about Ginifer Sober? I see the vision and I think it would help if I was a dope ass mixologist 😅 I am still unsure about the price I paid though, one bottle of Ginifer Sober is about R100 cheaper than the price of a Ginifer bottle that has alcoholic content (Which, at the time of writing this; retailed at R380 at Makro?) but taking into consideration that the process of distilling such unique flavours is probably very intense, I guess the price is justified somehow.

If you want to order a bottle, you can browse the usual online stores like Takealot. I ordered these on WellbeingGoodness.co.za (They were even on special 😄). Or you can simply order directly from Ginifer.

Shout out to whoever at Angel Heart is responsible for the visual detail of the bottles though, they are so beautifully packaged and speak to the botanical life of the drink. They definately deserve a place on the gin trolley.

One thing I take out of this experience going forward is that these flavours need you to build them up and play with them. My amateur mixing skills do not do these bottles justice. I think that is how they work best, when someone who knows flavours well can create cocktails and really have them compete strongly with normal alcoholic drinks. I wonder though if this trend will stay consistent with the other non-alcoholic brands too.

If you have ever tasted Ginifer Sober or any other non-alcoholic bottle, let me know your experience!

I will be back soon with another addition to the collection. Cheers!

This article was written with help from Ginifer.co.za and Sipping Slowly Youtube Channel.

Ginifer Sober 0% Alcohol Gin Review: Sipping Slowly