Style & Law

Most gins from the Cape West don't follow any of the old, fixed styles like London Dry. They're sold as Contemporary Gin, an open framework in which local botanicals like fynbos are allowed to set the tone. Under EU law, important for exports, a gin must be at least 37.5 percent ABV and may only derive its flavor through flavoring with juniper.

'Distilled Gin' under EU Spirits Regulation 2019/787 requires that botanicals actually be distilled together with the spirit or passed through in vapor form, rather than simply added as an extract. 'London Gin' goes even further: all flavor must come from distillation itself. After that, only water, ethanol of equivalent quality, and at most 0.1 grams of sugar per liter may be added. Many distilleries at the Cape work to this stricter standard without using the name London Gin.

In the US, 27 CFR 5 sets a different threshold, requiring gin to reach at least 40 percent ABV. Most bottles from the region exceed this anyway. South Africa itself does not enshrine any of the European style names in its own spirits law. Terms like 'Cape Gin' or 'Fynbos Gin' are therefore brand names, not protected designations of origin.

In 2015, Musgrave says it launched South Africa's first pink gin, a fruit-flavored variation. Legally, it still counts as a flavored gin as long as the basic rules are followed. The success of this style shows just how much room the open Contemporary framework actually gives distilleries at the Cape.

Anyone buying a bottle from Stellenbosch or Cape Town will therefore rarely find one of the classic style names on the label, but rather a description of the botanicals. That's no accident. It reflects a scene deliberately breaking away from old European conventions.