FATHER AND SON
A former rock band frontman and a chemical engineer merge art and science in creating innovative spirits in their craft distillery
Unleashing a whole new side of his creativity, Andre Pienaar, former frontman for Ashtray Electric rock band, collaborated with his father, a chemical engineer with over 40 years’ experience in the distilling industry, in the formation of Pienaar & Son, one of Cape Town’s respected craft distilleries. Their speciality? Bringing together traditional ingredients with a contemporary twist like the limited-edition gin created specially for Trenery Guild, infused with sage, orange and lemon. “I realised that with Pienaar & Son I could be creative with my recipes and scientific with the resulting product,” explained Andre who studied biochemistry before joining forces with his father. “It was important for us that the base of the gin is historically traditional, but there’s a very modern and fresh note that comes through with the surprising and complex sage and orange combination,” he said.
The collaboration will be launched in the Trenery store in Sandton City on June 12 and the gin will be available as a gift with purchase to customers who spend over R1 500.