This New African Gin Is Flavored With Botanicals From Throughout the Continent

Spearhead Spirits is a Black-owned brand that has already made a mark on the spirits world with its African gin and vodka. Now the company has released a new expression, a palm and pineapple-flavored gin that is infused with botanicals grown in different countries across Africa.

Spearhead Spirits was founded by Chris Frederick and Damola Timeyin in 2021 with the mission of bringing local African ingredients and spirits distilled on the continent to a wider audience, and in that they have succeeded with their Bayab Gin and Vusa Vodka. The gin, which has a classic dry expression and two flavored expressions already in its lineup, is distilled in a copper pot still in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The core botanical is Ghanian baobab fruit, which is complemented by Kenyan juniper berries; coriander, rosemary, and cinnamon from South Africa; and coarse salt from Botswana. The key ingredients for this new expression are palm sap from Nigeria and Ghana and South African pineapple. These botanicals are steeped in the base spirit for two weeks two infuse it with flavor.

The result, according to the brand, is a sweet, tropical, and tangy gin with notes of citrus that make it a good choice for using in cocktails like a Gimlet. Spearhead Spirits is focused on sustainability as much as it is on making spirits, so the distillery is 100 percent solar powered and actually makes enough energy to send back to local townships to help power homes and businesses. The company is also funding a baobab research center in Ghana with the stated goal of planting a million new baobab trees in Africa.

You can find the new Bayab Palm and Pineapple Gin available to purchase now from ReserveBar, along with other expressions in the lineup.