Boutique distillery turning the gin revolution on its head

Alexandra Chappatte, founder of Kenyan Originals, a craft beverages maker. [Standard]

At a godown in Nairobi’s Baba Dogo, neatly sits a large shiny copper pot where ethanol is infused with botanicals – notably juniper berries – in a distillation process that creates gin.

This gin distillery is the newest of the frontiers sustaining Kenya’s increased appetite for the potent spirit but with a twist – flavouring it with everyday treats such as mabuyu (baobab fruit) and groundnuts to adapt it to the Kenyan palate.