What a great invitation and they promised that a special canapé menu had
been created to pair with the four award winning potstill brandies, while Van
Ryn’s Master Distiller, Marlene Bester, would be on hand to guide us through
the tasting
The tasting was held at The Bar
Keeper Liquor Store at the top of Strand Street, so of course we took the bus,
no driving after sampling five brandies. This was always a liquor store and has
been recently refurbished when The Bar Keeper took over the premises. In fact, it was originally the place where Johan Van Ryn sold his brandy in the 19th Century,
so the wheel has turned full circle. His name is still above the door.
These are the four potstill brandies
we were there to taste. Van Ryn's, 12, 15 and 20 year old and the Oude Meester Souverein 18 year. All won 5 stars in this year’s John Platter Guide
The table laid out with the four
tasting glasses with the canapés in the centre which would be paired with the
brandy
We began with something our parents
used to drink in the 1950s, Brandy and Ginger Ale. Rather too sweet for us, it
was enjoyed by others
Brandy Ambassador and Account
Director at Corporate Image, Dayne Stern got us started on the tasting
Then it was the turn of Marlene
Bester, Master Distiller at Van Ryn. She told us that the first brandy produced
in South Africa was made from local grapes in 1672, but on a ship in the
harbour. Van Ryn’s distillery was built in Stellenbosch in 1905. They win many
international awards each year, but they do not compete in these competitions
with Cognac. South African brandy is different from French, as we have the sun
and good weather. They also do not concentrate on wood maturation. The brandy
must speak from the glass. There are strict regulations for making brandy. Brandy
must be made from grapes in South Africa, in other parts of the world it is
made with other things like fruit, maize and corn, even potatoes! All our
brandies are matured for a minimum of three years in oak barrels. Good brandy
needs a long time to mature well
Some beef rolls
We began with the Van Ryn 12 year old,
retailing at R699 to R800. Coffee, cocoa and herbs on the nose, with some
apricots and vanilla on the palate, and a coffee toffee aftertaste. World’s Best
Brandy in the IOC and IWC competitions. This was paired with onion and cheese
tarts, where the onion overwhelmed, and tarts with mushrooms and rocket, which
we found added a musty taste to the brandy. On the right hand side are some
beetroot rostis. We find that tasting food with brandy is a very subjective
thing
Some spicy chicken topped with Salsa was
paired with the Van Ryn 20 year old, which has vanilla, floral notes, Christmas
fruit and prunes. Soft as silk on the palate, with some spice, R1500 to R1800
Then to taste the Van Ryn 15 year
old, R1100. It has the best nose, full of chocolate, toffee, nuts apricots and
ripe peaches. Lovely spicy flavours, warmth too, caramel and nuts. This was
paired with sushi, a nori wrapped tuna maki and this glass of seared tuna in a
5 spice soy
Then with this selection of dessert
items it was time to taste the Oude Meester 18 year Old. R1300 to R1500. It has
a nose of Vanilla ice cream with toffee, how pretty. Hot on the palate, herbal
buchu and walnuts, and not as smooth and forthcoming as the Van Ryn’s. The
pairing of the Almond butter slice was inspired, the macaron went well
The Richelieu 10
year old was used in the brandy and ginger ale at the start of the tasting. The sticky chocolate cake topped with pomegranate rather overwhelmed
some guests
Lots of tweets, Facebook entries and
photos from the attending bloggers. Winnie Bowman and Mel Minnaar
enjoying the brandy, as did we, very much
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
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