Hidden in a small alleyway at 1 Fox Street in Ferreirasdorp in the city, Ginologist offers a gin-tasting experience worthy of your Saturday afternoon. We sent one of our favourite bloggers, The Scribs and Nibs Attiya Sayyed to try it out. 

The Ginologist gin label is housed in an intimate venue, and this tasting experience is only available on Saturdays, with reservations a must.

If all gin tastes the same to you, you should rush to make a booking for this tasting experience. It is unlike any other, as the “tasting with your mouth open” method helps you taste almost all the unique flavours highlighted, especially for something that is 43% alcohol!

Tastings start with smelling coffee beans to cleanse the palate, and then it’s time to sip some gin! The Ginologist offers three signature gins for their tasting experience: Orient, Citrus, and Floral. Beginning with the most intense gin, the Orient has 22 unique flavours, including grains of paradise and peppers. The trick to tasting gin is to drop a bit of gin on your inner lip while keeping your mouth open to experience all the flavours. You’ve got to be there to experience it, but it works! Through this method, you’ll taste the peppery zest and... grains of paradise. Next, tonic water is added. Generally, gins are made to be mixed with tonic, and the flavour profiles become enhanced by the bitterness of tonic water. During the tasting, you’ll learn how tonic water affects each gin.

The citrus gin was up next, and it comes with hints of lemon and lime. After first tasting the gin alone, a salt-water mixture is sprayed into your glass, so you can taste how salt interacts with the citrus flavours! Finally, the floral gin had hints of rose geranium and orange blossom.

While visiting Ginologist you can also go on a tour of the gin distillery. Here you’ll explore how production occurs and get a history lesson spanning centuries and geography from the resident gin expert, Chris. Some of the niche trivia we learned was that the alcohol content of South Africa’s gin is the highest in the world, at 43%. The gin will be diluted to 38% before it is exported overseas, mostly to Scandinavian countries. Gin takes just 48 hours to make, and the Ginologist can produce 3,000 to 4,000 bottles a day!

During the tour, you’ll pass fragrant barrels of juniper berries, the main ingredient differentiating gin from vodka, lemon, and orange peels. The behind-the-scenes tour shows you all the flavours that are used to make Ginologist gin.

Besides the gin tasting, you can order cocktails, a classic gin and tonic and a board of local cheese platters to chat over. And if you can’t get enough of gin, be sure to ask to see the Ginologist cookbook (yes, cookbook! Not, cocktail book!) with 150 recipes on how to use gin in everyday cooking.

Ginologist is open Saturdays only by reservation in advance online.