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KWV plans export sales for Cruxland premium gin made from Kalahari truffles

Published:  10 August, 2015

South African wine and spirit producer KWV is planning an assault on export markets for a new craft London dry gin made with truffles.

Cruxland is made from 100% grape spirit infused with nine botanicals, including Kalahari N'abbas truffles.

The product has been in development for nearly three years.

Master distiller Pieter de Bod said: "We wanted to create a special gin with botanicals typical to South Africa and knew we needed a special ingredient to complement the flavours of the other botanicals.

"Kalahari truffles only grow in the Kalahari after the first rains so we had to wait for that to happen and then we got the volumes we needed.

"The Kalahari truffle forms a distinctive crack in the earth in the form of a cross when the truffle swells after the rain."

This mark was the inspiration for the Cruxland name. Crux is the Latin word for cross.

The other botanicals are juniper, honey bush tea, coriander, rooibos, aniseed, cardamom, almonds and lemon.

KWV specialises in premium brandy and wine. Anneke Mackenzie, KWV's global portfolio manager for spirits, said: "It was a natural progression to produce a 100% grape-based gin.

"It is a great time to launch as the premium and super-premium segment is experiencing substantial growth in South Africa as well as globally.

"We plan to sell the brand internationally as we believe the brand is world class and has the potential to satisfy the global palate."

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