A new South African gin has just dropped and it’s made from botanicals that have been eaten – and excreted – by elephants.

Despite a varied diet, elephants only digest around 50% of their food, which leaves a variety of plant life, including roots, bark, fruit, flowers and seeds, behind for reuse.

To make Indlovu gin, the elephant waste is collected by hand, then dried and washed to remove the excess waste. The leftover botanicals are then sterilised and dried, before being added to the gin.

And no, it doesn’t taste like crap. The spirit is said to be smooth and complex, with earthy, grassy, woody flavours that change subtly with the seasons.

The drink is designed to be sipped on ice, or topped with Cointreau, orange juice and tonic water to create a concoction called the “Elephant in the Room”.

If you’re the kind of person that likes to know where your food comes from, each bottle is marked with the GPS coordinates of where the dung was discovered and the date it was collected.

The gin is priced at around $55 with a full list of stockists available from the Indlovu website. 15% of profits are donated to the Africa Foundation to support wildlife conservation.

Related food news: Skip the Benadryl, you can now self-medicate with echinacea gin

Fancy a cuppa? This Japanese green tea gin is your perfect afternoon pick-me-up