This World Oceans Day (June 8th 2021) we are able to celebrate in an exciting way with the fabrication of our very own artificial reef for marine habitat.
What does that even mean?
Artificial reefs have been used around the world to promote marine habitat in areas that have been damaged or impacted by over fishing. The reefs provide a surface area for marine growth to attach and hiding places for fish species to live & breed.
This year, through sales of our Blue Ocean Edition Gin we were able to fund the fabrication and installation of our own reef.
Blue Ocean Edition Gin
Last year, on World Oceans Day 2020 we released our Blue Ocean Edition Gin. It’s a naturally dyed blue version of our unique Caribbean style gin.
The blue colour comes from the Butterfly Pea flower that grows on the distillery property. We steep the gin in the blue flowers for 4 days to naturally extract the colour and a slight floral tasting note. It combines with the other 14 botanicals in the gin to produce a different flavour pallet from our original gin.
Why Blue Ocean?
The purpose of the Blue Ocean Edition is to create awareness around the critical state of The Caribbean Sea (which is a living being of constant inspiration). However, is under serious threat.
The Caribbean has lost 80% of its coral life and cover in the last 50 years
The Guardian
This is a huge impact. The major amount of loss is due to:
- Natural Causes
- Global Warming
- Hurricanes
- Invasive Species
- Human Interference
- Overfishing
- Coastal Development
- Pollution
The aim of our Blue Ocean Edition Gin is to positively contribute to ocean protection and enhancement.
Blue Ocean Gin Launched on World Oceans Day 2020
All of our gin products have a two week resting process. In most cases the gin rests in the distillery inside barrels before being bottled.
We wanted to do something different for our Blue Ocean Gin. So, we sunk the barrel & let it rest underwater for two weeks.
The location fit perfectly. Our distillery is located at Le Phare Bleu Resort (translates to The Blue Lighthouse). And, in the marina is a unique “Lightship”. Which was a working, floating lighthouse barge, but has since become a floating bar and music venue (where we released our first “gin on tap”).
Once the gin had ocean rested for two weeks, we pulled out the barrel on June 8th to a live video stream. Luckily for us the colour of the gin was nice and blue and it poured perfectly.
Underwater Barrel Resting vs. Taste
Did the underwater barrel change the flavour of the gin? It’s hard to say exactly. During our normal process the gin sits relatively still for 2 weeks. However, in the underwater barrel it was rocking the waves & under pressure.
So, there might be something to be said about resting spirits under the sea.
Blue Ocean Gin = Beach & Mangrove Cleanups
Over the last year, we’ve participated in and organised our own beach, underwater, and mangrove cleanups. We developed a catchphrase called “Blue Carbon Squared”. It represents one square meter (yard) of marine environment cleaned for every bottle of Blue Ocean Edition Gin that we sell.
The initiative has gained some traction and is encouraging more awareness of marine pollution in mangroves.
Grand Anse Artificial Reef Project
The Grand Anse Artificial Reef Project is a privately funded initiative that was started by Dive Grenada in 2013. A series of block ‘pyramids’ have been built and placed offshore (approx. 100m offshore) over the years.
The results have shown that over the years the ‘pyramids’ have actually developed into a thriving ecosystem with a combination of bright and colourful soft and hard corals.
This year for World Oceans Day we funded our own pyramid with the Blue Ocean Gin sales, so will be able to monitor the progress of the coral growth on our own reef and the reef as a whole.
Stay Tuned
The reef ‘pyramids’ are built on land and require around two weeks to cure, before they can be placed into the ocean. So, stay tuned to watch the installation process and then the ongoing coral growth and habitat development.
With the sale of more Blue Ocean Gin, we’d love to continue to develop this reef and more like it around The Caribbean.
Gin enthusiast and Caribbean Dreamer.
