Leisure Collective
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Kenya is one of the most exciting gin countries in the world right now — and most Kenyans don't know it yet. Here's the full story behind Procera, Kenyan Originals and the craft spirits revolution.
It started with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire and a moment of clarity.
Somewhere in Nairobi, in 2017, Australian entrepreneur Guy Brennan was enjoying a gin and tonic when he began reading the list of botanicals on the label. Grains of paradise from West Africa. Cubeb berries from Indonesia. Coriander from Morocco. And juniper — the defining botanical of all gin — from the very continent he was sitting on. "We marvelled at how many were grown in Africa — then sent to England to be distilled and eventually sold back to Africa as gin."
The question that followed was so obvious it was almost embarrassing: "It's crazy. We send African botanicals to London for these guys to make gin, only to send it back to us to drink every weekend. Why isn't there a craft distillery in a country of 55 million people?"
That question became Procera Gin. And Procera became the beginning of something Kenya is only now starting to understand the scale of.
The African juniper — Juniperus procera — grows across the highlands of Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, reaching heights of up to 40 metres in the forests around Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range. It has been growing here for thousands of years, used in traditional medicine, burned as incense in religious ceremonies and harvested for its fragrant, durable timber. What nobody had done, until Procera, was ask what it tasted like as a gin.
Brennan, his co-founder Charles Murito and Kenyan chef Alan Murungi took the fresh berries to South Africa, to experienced distiller Roger Jorgensen. After distilling the berries alone, Jorgensen turned to Brennan and said: "What you've brought here could change the course of a 300-year-old category." Jorgensen moved to Kenya not long afterward, and Procera was officially launched.
Setting Procera apart is its use of fresh African juniper. "The choice to distil with fresh juniper is the backbone of the brand and integral to everything we do," says co-founder Guy Brennan. "Its fresh, green, nutty flavour profile is the star of the front palate, while selim pepper from Nigeria creates the structure and length on the finish."
The distinction between fresh and dried juniper is the same distinction between fresh and dried herbs in cooking — it changes everything. Most gins globally are made with dried juniper berries, which produce the familiar sharp, piney character associated with the spirit. Fresh African juniper produces something altogether different: greener, more complex, more alive — a flavour profile that experienced distillers had simply never encountered before.
What happened next is the part of the story that most Kenyans do not know.
Procera Gin can now be found at some of the world's best bars — Dukes in London, Atlas in Singapore, and Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel in New York. The Carlyle's bar manager was unambiguous about why:
"Procera Gin is one of those rare finds that feels right at home here. It has an assertiveness that pairs beautifully with classic cocktails, but also offers new layers to the palate. Every bottle tells a story of place and craft, and that's what we love about it."
Procera is now the top-selling alcohol brand in Nairobi airport's duty free — outselling every international whisky, vodka and gin brand in the building. It is the bottle that Kenyans are choosing to carry out of the country, and the bottle that international visitors are choosing to take home. That is not a marketing achievement. That is a product that has earned its reputation in the most competitive retail environment in the country.
Procera's top expression, Green Dot, is described as the most terroir-driven gin on the market — a one-tree, single-vintage expression of fresh African juniper with no additional botanicals. In a category defined by complexity and layering, making a gin from a single ingredient, from a single tree, in a single vintage is an act of profound confidence. It is the gin equivalent of a premier cru Burgundy — the expression of one specific place, in one specific year, with nothing added and nothing hidden.
Procera was not the end of the story. It was the beginning of one.
Nairobi Distillers, the nation's first craft-spirits operation, was founded in 2017 by Brennan and chef Alan Murungi. In the years since, Kenya's craft spirits ecosystem has grown meaningfully. Leleshwa — a winery outside Nairobi — has been producing vodka from its grapes since 2022. Bahari turns molasses from Kwale, near Kenya's coast, into rum. And Kenyan Originals has built an entirely locally-sourced botanical gin range that reads like a tour of Kenya's agricultural landscape.
Kenyan Originals Craft Blush Gin sources bitter oranges directly from Kilifi, where orange trees flourish in fertile, well-drained soils. Lemongrass comes from Kabati. Bay leaves from Kinangop. The roses are handpicked from the foothills of Mount Kenya, where the crisp air and mineral-rich soil give them a powerful scent. Real cucumber from Murang'a and hibiscus from Meru complete the botanical profile.
That is six Kenyan counties in a single bottle. It is a flavour safari, as the brand itself describes it — and it is a more genuine expression of Kenya's agricultural diversity than almost any other product on the market.
Before Procera and Kenyan Originals, there was Mombasa Club — a gin with a history that runs parallel to Kenya's colonial past and has outlasted it significantly. Originally intended for British settlers in Mombasa, Mombasa Club Gin was made for the mythical Mombasa Club — an exclusive establishment where only members had the privilege of enjoying this gin. Today, it is crafted from carefully selected aromatic herbs and plants that revive the exclusive recipe and authentic taste.
In 2025, Mombasa Club continued to score high with gin aficionados globally — appearing in rankings of the world's most popular gins and demonstrating that the brand has successfully transitioned from colonial curiosity to globally competitive premium product. Its Strawberry Edition, which adds a sweeter flavour dimension to the classic recipe, has been a particular success with newer gin consumers.
World Gin Day falls on the second Saturday of June — and this year it lands with more local material to celebrate than ever before.
The Procera serve: Procera Blue Dot (the accessible entry expression) or Red Dot (the flagship) over a large ice sphere, with premium tonic water, a slice of grapefruit and a single sprig of fresh rosemary. The goal is to let the African juniper lead — do not add too many garnishes that compete with it.
The Kenyan Originals Blush serve: 50ml Blush Gin over ice, topped with elderflower tonic or light tonic water, garnished with a slice of fresh cucumber and a dried rose petal. The Kilifi bitter orange character comes through beautifully when the drink is allowed to open up over ice.
The Mombasa Club classic: A straightforward classic G&T — 50ml over ice, premium tonic water, a wedge of lime. The botanical profile is complex enough to carry the classic serve without embellishment.
The Kenyan Negroni: 30ml Procera Blue Dot, 30ml Campari, 30ml sweet vermouth, stirred over ice and served with an orange peel expression. The fresh African juniper interacts with Campari in a way that produces a Negroni with more green, herbal character than any European gin equivalent.
Procera Gin is available at its Sameer Business Park distillery on Mombasa Road, at Nairobi airport duty free, and at select premium bars and bottle shops across Nairobi. Kenyan Originals is available online at shop.africanoriginals.com with nationwide delivery. Mombasa Club is widely available across Nairobi's bar and retail network.
For home delivery of international gin brands alongside local options, Oaks & Corks and Drinks Vine both carry strong gin selections with same-day delivery across Nairobi.
Drink responsibly.
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