Real Cape brandy is tops

South Africans once again excelled at this year’s Intercontinental Spirits Challenge, a showcase of the best spirits made in Europe and Africa.

When the African entries were judged in Stellenbosch in May, Oude Molen’s XO Cape Brandy was named one of four Trophy Award winners.

The XO, which stands for “extra old” , is an elegant example of a Cape brandy. The flavour profile is not the result of any additives or fancy tricks – all it took was good wine, expertise and time, says Danie Pretorius, commercial manager at Oude Molen Distillers.

It’s believed brandy was first distilled from Cape wine on board a Dutch ship in 1672. But the Belgian

René Santhagens was the first man to distil brandy at the Cape according to the traditional Cognac method, in 1910. It earned him the moniker of “the father of South African brandy”.

These days, brandy distillers have to meet strict requirements for their product to be classified as a Cape brandy. It must be produced from grapes grown in the Cape Wine Regions, must be double pot still distilled, must contain at least 38% alcohol by volume, and 100% of the brandy must be aged in oak casks of less than 340 litres for at least three years.

Oude Molen has a singular place in the Cape brandy world as the distillery that René Santhagens set up himself and where he made his first Cape brandy in 1910 – on his farm Oude Molen at the foot of Papegaaiberg in Stellenbosch. Since 2003, the distillery has been based at Grabouw in the Elgin Valley.

• Visit the distillery in Worcester Street, Grabouw, but phone ahead to schedule your visit.

Contact oudemolen.co.za info@ oudemolen.co.za 021 859 2517 @oudemolen.brandy @OudeMolenCapeBrandy @oudemolencapebrandy3178