salifemag
- Mar 6, 2021
- 3 min read

PESKY HOBBIT GIN – A drink you won't FORGET!

Distilled and bottled in Woodstock, Cape Town, this gin brings a proudly South African flair to the beverage industry with its local roots, it’s local ingredients, and it’s local founders.

New to hit our shelves, this drink is making waves in only a short period of time for its zesty flavour which is sure to get those tastebuds talking…

Brought to you by Ryan Louw and Blaine Smith, it’s a local drink that any connoisseur would be proud of; which is exactly why we have listed it as our Number #1 “March Must-Have”.

This product is the brain-child of a couple of individuals with a love for fine spirits and good times who describe themselves as “longtime friends and recent business partners with big, but patient ambitions”.

Pesky Hobbit Craft Gin was born as the result of surviving a difficult COVID-19 shutdown period, not only for themselves but for South Africa as a whole – which is testament to their business ethic and brand image. They define the roots of their brand, as being crafted during a time when we as a nation longed for togetherness and the spirit of Ubuntu was needed more than ever.

“Producing a gin together was an idea we had back in 2018 already, at the same time we launched our sister company Reveler Tours. The intention was to create a brand that could be a compliment to the tours and experiences on offer. A brand that transcends seamlessly across different industries. We fulfilled our own wishes and grew the Reveler brand to one that gained the praise and approval of over 1000 travelers who were treated to our shores in the most enthusiastic of ways. But the gin itself was put on hold.” says Ryan.

Whilst Covid-19 set many back, and put a devastating pause on the travel industry, Ryan and Blaine used the time to define and nurture their “sister company” whereby their real plans for expansion were met by March 2020.

“Refusing to accept our circumstances we revisited our desire to produce a small batch gin, this time with a clear idea of what we wanted it to represent. It’s a show of love, empathy and defiance that forms a part of the fabric of who we strive to be. Calling it Pesky Hobbit Craft Gin is an idea that came about while dealing with a series difficult obstacles & (pesky) individuals during the time of our launch. Prohibition regulations enforced by South African lawmakers during one of the world’s most rigid lock-downs meant we were really up against it early on.” Says Blaine.

So what goes in to making the perfect gin? Their idea for a “flavour profile” was derived from the want to use locally sourced botanicals that they could so cleverly combine to create both a sense of scent and taste like nothing that had have ever come before = proving to a big competitor from the get-go!

They describe their vision as follows: “To create a world-class product that disrupts the norm and delights the people, we can only hope that Pesky Hobbit Craft Gin does that for you.”

So let’s get down to the gin itself…

NAME:

NOT ANOTHER LONDON DRY”

FLAVOUR PROFILE:

A celebration of 15 locally sourced botanicals each contributing to an unrivalled and memorable taste. The flavour profile presents strong evidence of rose geranium, passion fruit and zesty citrus particular lemon and orange. The herbaceous contributions come from a delicate amount of wild rosemary, buchu and cinnamon sticks.

NOSE:

Pure excitement - a strong scent of rose geranium, fresh orange citrus and a generous amount of juniper.

PALATE:

Pure joy - a burst of fresh zesty citrus and passion fruit combined with clear evidence of super herbs; wild rosemary and buchu.

FINISH:

Pure satisfaction - a long juniper finish with a subtle sweetness from the rose geranium and hints of fynbos.

COSTING:

Their ‘NOT ANOTHER LONDON DRY’ gin is their launch product and the very first one available at R349.00 per a bottle.

When it comes to the quality of their gin, their product receives a straight 10/10 from us, and trust us, we’ve tried and tested many gin brands before ;) But, this is proper gin, distilled the proper way!

“We’re extremely proud to be working with one of the pioneers of the South African craft-gin industry. Simon Von der Witt is an award-winning small batch master distiller with a commitment to what we like to call ‘the purity of process’. Using state of the art copper multi-column stills PH CRAFT GIN is one of a small handful of local gins that are produced using the most traditional of methods. Our ‘Not Another London Dry’ gin is made in small batches of between 100 - 200 bottles at a time, these smaller production numbers allows us to focus on the consistency of both taste and quality.” Ryan explains.