FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 67 OF 80
PROCERA GIN, Kenya
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
Juniper! This is at the heart of every gin, but Procera is rather special because it uses fresh African juniper, harvested from tall trees growing in the highland forests of Kenya.
Juniperus procera is indigenous to the Kenyan highlands and can grow to around 20 metres tall. Procera's berries are hand-picked from wild trees growing at altitudes above 2,200 metres, across several regions of Kenya, and are used fresh rather than dried. This is the tree that gives the gin its name and its point of difference.
The story began with Guy Brennan, an Australian who had fallen in love with Africa after working in the Congo and Uganda. He eventually settled in Nairobi and, over a few sundowners with friends, started wondering why African botanicals were being shipped to Europe to make gin, only for the finished bottles to be shipped back to Africa.
Why not make the gin in Africa?
Guy didn't know how to make gin, so he took some of the precious African juniper to Cape Town to see what an experienced distiller could do with it. That distiller was Roger Jorgensen, already a legend in South African distilling and someone who had spent decades championing small-scale spirits production.
Roger distilled the berries and immediately recognised that they were something special. He subsequently moved to Kenya and became Procera's first master distiller, helping Guy and the team turn that original idea into a working distillery.
Roger has since passed away, leaving Procera without the man who helped define its distilling method. The brand says the original process he developed — including his unusual "pillowcase" technique — continues to be used today.
The bottle deserves a mention too, because Procera has carried the African story right through to the packaging. Each bottle is hand-blown in Kenya by Kitengela Hot Glass, using recycled glass, so no two are quite the same. The stopper is hand-carved from African doum palm wood, with leatherwork completing the bottle. Even the packaging therefore feels connected to the place where the gin is made, rather than being something designed elsewhere and simply put around it.
The original idea was to create something genuinely African rather than simply putting a few African botanicals into a conventional gin. That philosophy remains at the heart of Procera.
Blue Dot combines the fresh African juniper with botanicals sourced from across the continent, including Kenyan citrus and pink pepper, Moroccan coriander, Zanzibar spices, Somali acacia honey and African pepper. The exact recipe has evolved since I first wrote about it, but the principle remains the same: African juniper at the heart, African botanicals surrounding it.
The range has grown too. Blue Dot remains the original expression, while Red Dot offers a more substantial botanical profile and Green Dot takes the African juniper story to another level, using berries, foliage and wood from the tree. Green Dot was inspired by Guy's ambition to create a sort of "grand cru" gin — a celebration of the tree and its terroir rather than simply another botanical recipe.
The little pot of botanical salt that accompanies each bottle is another nice touch. It is made with botanicals from the corresponding gin and sea salt from Zanzibar, giving you another way of bringing the ingredients back into the glass.
I was excited when I first heard about plans for an African 55 Gin, which was intended to feature a botanical from each of Africa's 55 countries. I can't find evidence that it was ever released, and it isn't part of the current range, so I'm guessing that particular idea remains on the drawing board.
The important thing is that Procera is still very much moving forward. Guy Brennan remains involved and UK-based spirits specialist Ivan Dixon also remains associated with Procera as a co-owner and European brand manager. The business has also built a wider team in Kenya as it continues to expand internationally.
Roger may no longer be there to guide the still, but the idea he helped turn into reality is very much alive: fresh African juniper, African botanicals and a gin made in Africa, for the world.
"A pioneer, a tree, and a gin born from Africa."
Cocktail: African Direct Martini
Maisha marefu! — Swahili for cheers.
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."