Big Cat Botanicals: Karu Distillery Launches Limited Edition Gin to Support Endangered Cheetahs

(Photo: Karu Distillery)

Australia’s Karu Distillery is teaming up with the Wild Cat Conservation Centre for a one-of-a-kind tribute to Africa’s cheetah population.

The distillery’s new Wilding: Jubatus Gin (playfully subtitled “A gin with paws, claws and a cause”) celebrates the conservation center’s first bred in captivity and released into the wild cheetah. As Africa’s cheetah population — currently estimated at under 7,000 — inches closer to extinction, efforts to introduce more wildcats have become crucial for the species’ continued survival.

A portion of proceeds from Karu’s new Origin Gin, available now for $85, will be contributed toward the program. According to Karu, it’s the first in a series of limited edition releases that’ll support endangered wild cat populations.

Paying homage to its roots, the gin’s botanicals are inspired by the fauna of eastern and southern Africa, home to the vast majority of the world’s cheetahs.

“Traditional in style, incorporating bitter, sweet, citrus, and spice to create a gin that is worthy of accompanying you as the sun goes down on a warm afternoon. Juniper forward, bursting citrus, bitter pelargonium root, herbaceous floral of diosma, depth of thyme, and warm cassia bark,” Wild Cat Centre wrote in a post announcing the gin.

Over the years, animal-oriented gin releases have established themselves as a mainstay within the spirits category.

Germany’s Elephant Gin contributes 15% of bottle profits to critically endangered African forest elephants, while White Rhino Gin pays it forward to the world’s first baby rhino orphanage. Elsewhere, Bar Hill Gin supports bees in the American Northeast, Stray Dog Gin donates to animal shelters in Greece, and Gray Whale Gin supports ocean conservation efforts. Pangolin Gin donates a portion of proceeds to — you guessed it — pangolins.

Gin’s origin in foraged botanicals lends itself well to conservation efforts, though the phenomenon is certainly not unique to the spirit. In a similar vein to Karu’s new Wilding Gin, Mexico’s Alma del Jaguar Tequila donates to the Northern Jaguar Project along the U.S.-Mexico border in Sonora.

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