Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Try the urbane way to sip fine brandy
BRANDY is among the most popular spirits in South Africa and there are many ways to drink it. It even has its very own campaign, Urban Brandy, which has compiled a menu of divine brandy-based cocktails served at various locations around Cape Town.
“It is very gratifying to see our brandies being the hero in the very region many of them are produced,” says Christelle Reade-Jahn of the South African Brandy Foundation.
Radisson Blu Waterfront Cape Town is one of the latest hotels to come on board this three-year-old campaign, so my dear friend Cookie and I went along there one balmy evening this week to try them out.
I must say the staff at this hotel is wonderful. Every time I arrive someone greets me with a smile and says “Welcome back, lovely to see you again!” Natasha, who works at Tobago’s (the restaurant) did this and showed us to our table outside where we could enjoy the last little bit of ocean view as dusk fell and a sailboat made its way to the harbour. Everyone loves to be made to feel special. Natasha gave us the brandy cocktail menu, delivered some bar snack and offered her recommendations.
Her favourite, she said, is the Golden Passion – Klipdrift brandy with muddled lime wedges, fresh passion fruit, vanilla syrup and a splash of ginger ale; so we ordered one.
I cannot resist anything smoky or with bacon so the Smoked Oak seems as if it has been created especially for me.
It’s made with Amarena cherries (a small, bitter dark-coloured Italian cherry grown in Bologna and Modena) muddled with bitters, orange, sugar and smoked bacon-washed brandy, served in an oak-smoked glass with bacon biltong.
Cookie and I shared the pleasure and I think by the end of the round we had agreed we liked the Golden Passion, but loved the Smoked Oak.
Next we had a Cape Brandy Cobbler – Oude Molen pot still brandy muddled with aromatic bitters and peach puree, topped off with sparkling rosemary water. It’s garnished with a big sprig of fresh rosemary and is very sweet and peachy. I decided to finish with a dessert cocktail, the Afropolitan. Look at these ingredients and tell me I’m wrong – KWV brandy, peanut butter, Amarula, a hint of chocolate syrup and cream.
It was the winner of the night for me and I sucked it up greedily. Natasha said she had told me it was her favourite. “No, you said the Golden Passion,” I argued. Yes she countered, but the Afropolitan is her favourite favourite. “I did tell you you had to try it, didn’t I?” she reasoned. Well, you just can’t argue with that.
The selection of 10 cocktails range in price from R40 to R85 and those who prefer to avoid the high sugar content in most drinks of this nature are accommodated with The Skinny which is local and lo-cal. It’s KWV brandy, muddled mint leaves and naartjie segments, with low GI agave syrup and Diet Sprite, served on ice.
For more information on how to expand your journey into the world of brandy cocktails go to www.facebook.com/urbanbrandy