It's a tooth-and-claw battle to protect endangered wildlife, so it's appropriate that Karu Distillery's new gin - which funds cheetah conservation - comes with a bit of bite to it.
Wilding: Jubatus gin is a collaboration between Karu and the Wild Cat Conservation Centre, the only place in Sydney that has established breeding programs for the cheetah.
The gin, inspired by the story of the cheetah, uses African botanicals such as honeybush, pelagonium root, diosma and macadamia to drive home a traditional-style experience of bitter, sweet, and citrus flavours.
It is the first in an "Origins" series which distiller Ally Ayres hopes to expand on in future.
"We'd love to do more gins based on the other species of smaller wild cats there with botanicals that relate to their origins," Ms Ayres said.
"The cheetah was a 'purrrfect' cat to springboard the origin series from, given their recent success story with [Australia's] first captive bred cheetah [sent] to the wilds of Africa to be self-sustainable."
More than just a way to explore new ingredients, though, sales from Wilding: Jubatus will also help protect the endangered animal, with $15 from every bottle sold going to cheetah conservation efforts.
"It feels incredible. Making the gin is the easy part compared to the constant work the Wild Cat Conservation Centre do everyday, not to sell ourselves short," Ms Ayres said.
"To have the proceeds for this gin go towards something we also care very much for makes the gin taste even better."
The collaboration was made in partnership with Ben Britton, Director of the Wild Cat Conservation Centre, who has a strong expertise in wild cat conservation and has appeared in numerous nature documentaries.
Ms Ayres said that it was a motivating experience to work with Mr Britton - and she was lucky enough to meet some cheetahs in the process.
"Sometimes we suffer from creative burnout but it goes away when it's a project that excites us and the other party is also very into it, that was this gin for us," she said.
"It was surreal chatting to Ben about the project and just looking to your right and seeing these magnificent cats... I was like 'can you repeat the last part' as I was so in awe of them."
The International Union for Conservation of Nature's 'Red List', which catalogues endangered species, estimated as few as 6,517 cheetahs remained in the wild in 2021.
Wildling: Jubatus released on April 18. To order a bottle and contribute to cheetah conservation, visit Karu Distillery's website at: https://karudistillery.com.au/collections/australian-craft-spirits/products/wilding-jubatus
