A craft distillery in Bronkhorstspruit, in Gauteng, has come up with a novel use for the damaging water hyacinth which is plaguing the Bronkhorstspruit Dam — turning the invasive superweed into gin.
The hand-crafted Green Monster gin is infused with water hyacinth, while the Purple Devil is distilled using the aquatic floating weed and has a purple tinge, like the hyacinth flower. Bottles of it carry the slogan, "Drink our dam clean."
The products are the brainchild of Bronkhorstspruit resident Phillip Peach, who lives on the edge of the dam, and who started making the gin at his small home distillery to raise awareness about the water hyacinth infestation.
The fast-growing plant is described as the world's worst aquatic weed because of its invasive potential, its destructive effect on biodiversity, and the heavy cost of trying to control it.
Peach started out by making normal gin and infusing it with water hyacinth and a bit of cucumber.
"It turns green and we call it the Green Monster. That came off quite nicely. The colour is green, which I was worried about in the beginning, that the people are going to feel a bit offended because it feels like the dam, but it also brings them closer to the problem because they can see it.
"But it doesn't taste 'dammy', you know. It actually tastes damn good," he laughed. "This gin," he said, has "quite a mellow taste."
For the Purple Devil, he fermented the water hyacinth from the start.