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...
Win With FB.BD: Klipdrift
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...
Re-Branding Brandy
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...