A selection of canapés was served to
show us how each was improved by a spritz of a particular eau de vie or grappa:
Smoked salmon with an orange flavoured
cream cheese and a sprig of dill was sprayed just before eating with an Orange
Eau de Vie
A delicious duck parfait with candied
beetroot and a miniature plum half was sprayed with Pear William Eau de Vie
Venison Carpaccio was spritzed with a
Zinfandel grappa.
One of the spotless stainless steel
column stills. The ‘mash’ of fruit is cooked in the bottom copper’ and the
spirits are distilled up the column and into the cooling chambers.
After several hours in the column
still, being refined and refined, we see the final product of undiluted spirit.
Rolf Zeitvogel, Blaauwklippen’s
MD and winemaker, is also one of the 3 Gentlemen partners in the Gentleman Spirits
distillery
Urs Gmür, Duimpie Bayly, Sales Manager Billy Martin and Master Distiller Hubertus Vallendar listening to Rolf’s description of the distillation process
Multi-award winning and acknowledged
master distiller Hubertus Vallendar explains his philosophy and how it and his
process differ from others to produce really fine Eau de Vie and Grappa
The media makes notes while we listen
to the presentation and sip on Graham Beck Brut laced with the Orange Eau de
Vie
Now-retired industrialist Urs Gmür tells
us what he brings to the business
Rolf translates some of the finer
points of Hubertus' talk on distillation from the German
The tasting table set up in the new
distillery on Blaauwklippen
A metal mural which shows the
distilling process graces a wall in the distillery
A display of the range we are about to
taste
Natalie Campbell, Events organiser and Rolf's PA, with the range of spirits
Six small glasses that pack an
enormous punch
Tweeting, writing and tasting take
place at the same time while we listen to the presentation
The
small correct tulip-shaped tasting glass of powerfully aromatic and warm
liquor made from Pear William (Actually
local Bon Cretien pears from Elgin are used)
The glass is capped to keep in the
volatile aromas and alcohols
We tasted six Spirits; Pear William
Spirit, Lemon Eau de Vie and an Orange Liqueur and 3 Grappa’s made from Zinfandel, Malbec and Shiraz. The intensity of the flavours from the fruit
were remarkable and the different grape varieties are also very notable in each
Grappa. They intend to produce many more
flavours, but will use only ripe, pure local organic fruit for distilling. At the moment most of the fruit comes from
Elgin.
Rolf tells us about the aromas and shows
us how to taste the spirits
This still was cooking up a mash of
Malbec grapes to make grappa and we then discovered that it was at the
perfect temperature of 65°C – to cook the main dish ‘sous vide’ for our lunch after the presentation. A very clever way to do two things at once.
And when they released the mash, out
came four wrapped parcels of slowly braised pork neck
We then proceeded to the Blaauwklippen
restaurant
to enjoy a three course menu paired
with some of the Gentleman Spirits
First course was a rather leafy green garden salad with a few baby squid spritzed with the Lemon Eau de Vie, one of
our favourite spirits. We drank Blaauwklippen’s new vintages with the lunch and
with this course we really enjoyed the 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, full of green figs
and tropical notes, crisp and dry; it went well with the dish. And we tasted the
Cultivar Selection 2013 Chenin Blanc
These are the Spritzer bottles for the
spirits to add aroma and a little extra taste to the dishes.
The main course was the extremely
tender Malbec braised Pork Neck. This was in quite a sweet sauce of peach and
Malbec Grappa, sauerkraut, and potatoes three ways: Potato salad, potato wedges and a rather
undercooked butternut and potato dauphinoise. A very Teutonic styled dish. This was served with the Cultivar Selection
2010 Malbec and its savoury flavours
completely matched the rich sauce and the spirit in flavour profile.
Dessert was a perfectly made crème brûlée. (Photo courtesy of Nicolette Waterford). We have had some horrible curdled versions
recently; this was silky and creamy with a good crack of caramel on the top and
a dollop of vanilla ice cream and finely chopped Pistachio nuts. Spritzed with the (soon to be released)
Hazelnut Eau de Vie, it went into another dimension. Wicked
This is a very clever pourer they use
to make sure everyone gets the same quantity. We all finished the meal with
some of the best coffee we have tasted in a long time from the Roastery on
Blaauwklippen. This is what to have with your grappa digestif at the end of a
meal.
The restaurant floor is a parquet of oak barrel staves
They were most generous and we were
given several sample bottles of the spirits and the wines to take home with us,
plus sample packets of ground coffee.
Lynne cannot wait to use the Pear William and Lemon in and on future
desserts.
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