Win with FB.BD: Van Ryn’s

Dec 28, 2012 | ,

This is the final post for the Fine Brandy By Design competition I’ve been running on evolutionary. The winner will be drawn and announced by mid-January 2013. I’m hoping to also travel to the distillery in Cape Town to go through the masterful process involved in the creation of brandy. I’ve been fascinated by the approach Distell – under Fine Brandy By Design - has taken to gradually change the perception of the brandies in its stable. Taking something that has a long and rich history and evolving it into a contemporary setting is not always the easiest. These brandies include: Klipdrift...

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Win With FB.BD: Fish Eagle

Dec 18, 2012 | ,

Part three of the competition to win a 2 days for 2 in Cape Town, including visiting a distellery. This one is about Flight of the Fish Eagle. It draws its inspiration, ethos and branding from the African Fish Eagle … “our proudest symbol and represents everything our naturally superior brandy stands for: stealth, strength and bold confidence.” It is double-distilled in handmade copper pot stills, aged for three years in French air-dried oak barrels and has no additives or preservatives. In keeping with the natural spirit, Fish Eagle is involved in the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Birds of...

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Win With FB.BD: Klipdrift

Dec 9, 2012 | ,

This is part two of the competition to win a weekend for two to Cape Town, courtesy of Fine Brandy.By Design. The prize includes flights (if the winner does not reside in Cape Town), car rental, accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis and a private brandy tasting and distillery tour. This post focuses on another brandy in the FB.BD family – Klipdrift. It was first distilled before 1938 by a JP ‘Kosie’ Marais in his backyard, drawing from Chenin Blanc and Colombar wines which grew well in the Robertson. The current Klipdrift Brandy Master is Johan Venter and, in the last century, beyond...

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Win With Fine Brandy.By Design: Oude Meester

Nov 29, 2012 | ,

In September, I wrote a post on how Distell has brought their different brandies under the banner of Fine Brandy.By Design and are working to change how we perceive and consume brandy. As part of that initiative, and to get consumers to explore the brands more, they have been kind enough to provide me with the prize for evolutionary readers. The prize is a FB.BD Cape Town Experience, which consists of a 2 night stay for 2 people for an exclusive distillery and food pairing experience. I will be doing a series of four posts for the next four weeks on a different brandy cocktail and food...

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Re-Branding Brandy

Sep 28, 2012 |

My father was a brandy man for years. As a result, I always associated it with grown-ups. He would sit with his friends deep in debate around politics, Africa, economics, etc, some Ellington, Miles, Basie and the like playing on the record player with a bottle or two of brandy in the mix. When I started drinking, getting some brandy was a novelty. It felt like I was becoming a man. Truth be told, that was years ago and I shifted off the brandy in my 20s and have never really gone back. I have been following, with interest, how brandy brands have been working to change the stereotypes that...

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