Conservation of Cayman’s blue iguana is getting help through sales of a specially crafted local gin named in its honour.
Blue Iguana Gin, recently launched by the newly founded Grand Cayman Distillery, will be helping the Blue Iguana Conservation programme through partial proceeds from sales of the gin.
Moises Sevilla, creative director, distiller and CEO at Grand Cayman Distillery, said he was excited to be part of such an important effort to conserve Cayman’s iconic and indigenous blue iguana.
Through a partnership with the programme, the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park and the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, the idea for the gin was born, he said.
“When they asked me to do it, I jumped at the chance. I thought it was a really cool way to showcase what we do and actually help do something meaningful. I was honoured that they approached me to do it,” he said in a recent Cayman Compass interview.
Crafted with a Cayman touch
Sevilla, who created and distilled the gin, said he wanted the taste to reflect the beauty found here.
The gin, he said, is a smooth and subtle citrus on the nose that gives way to a floral and berry note followed by a hint of mint on the back end.
“While developing Blue Iguana we emulated the flavours from locally grown fruit like sea grapes and June plums, guinep as well as local hibiscus. Hibiscus and sea grapes are among the favourite food for the blue iguana,” he said.
Sevilla, who has eight years experience in distilling, said the gin was created using botanicals found in the Botanic Park.
“We wanted to do something tropical, something Caymanian, and because the Blue Iguana Conservation is affiliated with the Botanic Park they gave me the opportunity to go in and just play around [with the different botanicals],” he said.
He said Stuart Mailer, specialist volunteer at the park, helped identify the various plants.
While a portion of sales for every bottle will go directly to Blue Iguana Conservation to help with feeding and caring for the endemic species, Sevilla hopes others in the community will get behind similar initiatives for conservation.
He said the programme is set to commence its national survey to count the number of wild blue iguanas on Grand Cayman and the proceeds from sales will also help to fund this.
Grand Cayman Distillery, he said, just recently signed a distribution deal with Tortuga which will supply the gin to local retailers.
“The main focus is to get this everywhere, get it in people’s hands so that we can create awareness so that we can give back to the programme,” he said.
The local distillery recently launched Zeus, its first gin, and following on from Blue Iguana, Sevilla said he will be looking to create a line of unique Cayman liqueurs.
He said it has been really awesome to be able to work so closely with the three organisations which protect and preserve Cayman’s heritage.
He thanked Luke Harding, operations manager of the Blue Iguana Conservation Programme, and John Lawrus, Botanic Park manager, for their support, saying, “It’s great to be a part of something like that… it’s special.”
Harding praised partnerships with local companies in conservation efforts.
He pointed to the collaboration with Blue Iguana Gin as “outside-the-box thinking that helps us raise vital funds for our important conservation work. This partnership with the Grand Cayman Distillery is a great example of local companies giving something back to the island and helping to protect one of its most valued natural treasures, the iconic Blue Iguana!”
He called on others to assist, saying the National Trust is “always keen to hear from anyone who might have an interest in working with [us] to help us achieve our goals. So, we would always encourage conversations with our dedicated team about how individuals and companies can support our work and events and help us make a difference.”
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