Art meets gin in an edgy collaboration between two energetic, travel-deprived entrepreneurs that were ignited during the darkest days of lockdown in 2020. With alcohol banned and travel and socialising restricted many people found very little opportunities to escape the pandemic. For well-known South Africa contemporary artist, Jasmine Jagger, it was her paintbrush. Jasmine found herself daydreaming of the pith helmeted derring-do of Maurice Boon Musgrave, grandfather of the founder of Musgrave Gin, Simone Musgrave, who is the inspiration for the brand. Maurice left Plymouth in 1949 bound for Africa to start a new life exploring, trading and discovering the people and the land.
Jasmine’s distinctive and personal style is reflective in her use of contrasting colours and bold compositions. Imagery that pays homage to the conscious and subconscious thought of the human mind. As a child Jasmine received prizes and awards for her innate talent and with no formal art education, Jasmine is a self-taught painter and has for a large part of her life collected and compounded experience and inspiration from the likes of Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, George Baselitz, A.R Penk, Yayoi Kusama and George Condo. Jasmine’s painting inspired Simone Musgrave to collaborate with Jagger to have her art printed onto just 1000 bottles of the Original Musgrave Eleven.

The artwork is thus a tribute to Maurice Boon Musgrave and features the Gin Pirate – a symbol of adventure and great courage in the face of adversity. Jasmine explains that when she painted this piece, South Africa was in a hard lockdown, alcohol was banned, and she had been fantasising of bootlegging and of swashbuckling rebellion. She explains that art exists in many forms. From the stroke of a brush to the shaping of a bottle. And from the bold use of colour to the balancing of rare botanicals.
The collaboration showcases Jasmine’s vibrant art and celebrates six years since the first bottle of Musgrave was sold in South Africa. It also so vividly captures the essence of both women’s’ journeys over the last 12 months. Musgrave Original Gin is made up of a selection of 11 botanicals, including African Ginger and Grains of Paradise – each reflecting some aspect of the ancient African Spice Route. Cardamom tones and other spices complement a flavour profile that spans a continent.
The collection of Musgrave inspired artwork by Jasmine Jagger was exhibited at the Candice Berman Gallery, at the Riverside Mall in Bryanston in Johannesburg. For more information go to www.musgravespirits.co.za and www.candicebermangallery.co.za