Porkbush Gin is a Johannesburg Dry Gin meaning that it has followed the classic London Style Dry Gin distillation process. In essence this means that the botanicals in the gin...
Piennar and Son Distilling Company are located at The Cruise Terminal on the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. This bespoke distillery specializes in Vodka and Gin a and thanks to...
This year’s Spirit Tasting was hosted by the wonderful Brickmakers Distilling Company in Gqeberha and was the best tasting to date. What made this event particularly special were the quality...
Distillery 031, named after Durban’s dialling code, has managed to establish itself as South Africa’s most internationally-awarded distillery. When Andrew Rall founded the company in 2008 he wanted to create...
The Deep South Distillery, located in the seaside area of Kommetjie in Cape Town, boasts a great selection of spirits. This small, but well-equipped distillery is able to manufacture and...
Still-Oaky Distillery comes with one of those great stories of trials and tribulations that are overcome through determination and hard work. This distillery is the fruition of a dream and...
Thirsty Travelers Annual Spirit tasting was held at the Brickmakers Distillery in Port Elizabeth in November 2020 and was a roaring success. This was a particularly dry year thanks to...
Premium drinks company, Truman & Orange, have launched a beautifully-made premium Italian gin, Ginato, the very essenza dell’ Italia, with its effortlessly chic, timeless, sunshine-drenched way of life, distilled in...
The world has been making gin and rum for centuries now. While Johannesburg-based craft distillery, Still 33, joined the game relatively recently (in 2016), they have quickly made their mark...
West Coast Distillers is an amazing craft distillery based in the relaxed, windsurfing town Langebaan, on the West Coast. They are the proud producers of the Caspyn West Coast Dry...
Distillery 031, Durban Based in the city of Durban, Distillery 031 is a popular craft distillery that has been producing a variety of spirits since 2008. The distillery is owned...
The third gin launched by Autograph Distillery, Distillery Road Gin draws inspiration from the history of the site (and inserts some cool creative license) on which the brand makes its...
Thirsty Traveler held their annual Winter Spirit Tasting at Brickmakers Distillery on 16 August 2019. Participants included Whistler Rum, Deep South Distillery, Musgrave Gin, Distillery 031, Brickmakers Distillery, Cape Town...
Distilled at Blaauwklippen Triple Three Gin is distilled on the famous Blaauwklippen Wine Estate by Master Distiller, Rolf Zeitvogel in Ulrich Kothe stills. Indeed, class meets skill meets science and...
Gin for the tasting Gin, that erstwhile colonial drink that was claimed to frighten away mosquitos and heal malaria, is making a fashionable comeback worldwide. South Africa currently has over...
Angel Heart Distillery completes the symphony Angel Heart Distillery was born in 2010 in our kitchen in Sandhurst, Johannesburg. A hobby of home distilling and blending turned into an idea....
Perfection pursued The Cape Town Gin and Spirits Company has, according to the three businessmen who launched the company, a vision to be the leading producer of small batch spirits...
Angel Heart Beverages, Tincture Gin I’m a big fan of the Angel Heart Beverages and was very excited to try out their latest gin, Tincture. Angel Heart Beverages is certainly...
The gin revolution As a card-carrying member of the gin revolution, I can tell you that Wawu Tonic mixed with Pretty Poison Gin and rounded off with a slice of...
Musgrave Premium Craft Gin Life is full of mediocrity. We are often not aware of how boring or bad our experiences are until we come across something that is startlingly...
The amazing world of gin small batch distilleries Gin has recently seen a tremendous revival. In fact, the last time gin was this popular was back in the early 1700’s....
Craft distilleries are become more and more popular but, contrary to popular belief, the distillation of spirits is a relatively modern art. It was only at the time of the...
Thirsty Traveler is all about South African gin, vodka, wine, brandy, beer and more.
We love to travel and we love to sample the wares of the craft brewer, distiller and wine maker.
In the mid 1900’s, governments worldwide almost killed off the art of distilling and brewing. The thousands of micro, boutique or craft distilleries and breweries that had been handed down from father to son were banned and destroyed and large corporations obtained the sole rights to distill mediocre, mass produced, but well-marketed spirits.
Craft gin, vodka, wine, brandy, beer and other spirits.
Thankfully laws around the world are being liberalised and craftsmen, with their passion for perfection and their desire to explore are producing amazing gin, vodka, wine, brandy, beer and other spirits.
Winemaking in South Africa had a terrible reputation until the 1980’s when many farmers decided to establish their own brands and produce their own wine. Competition, inspiration and a hard work ensure that today South African wines are some of the best in the world.
For those of you, who enjoy something special and want to pair their spirits, brew or wine with their food, mood and the atmosphere, there are new delightful, well-crafted and very special products appearing on shelves and more importantly, in on-line stores.
At the Thirsty Traveler, we take our food, brews, wine and spirits very seriously and, at times, light-heartedly too. Thus, in the true spirit of investigative journalism, we embarked on some very careful research into South Africa’s wines, brews and spirits.
Tastings
We frequently conduct tastings of gin, vodka, wine, brandy, beer and other well crafted spirits.
Each Heritage Day we invite micro brewers from around the country to send us their wares for a tasting. We and the brewers have had great success with these tastings in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
We also conduct regular tastings of wines, gins and other spirits.
Read on to find out more about what South Africa has to offer those with discerning taste buds.
My mother was a Cordon Bleu chef and insisted that we eat with a near Victorian array of cutlery and crockery every night. As a young adult, I learned to appreciate the dedication and art of good cooking and as I came of age, I realised how a glass of wine and even more so, good conversation, could make a meal complete.
As a teenager our family took a holiday to the Winelands and I was in awe of the beauty, heritage and sophistication of South Africa’s wine industry. Although not yet 18 I started to collect wines.
Lagers and pilsners where the beer universe for Generation X South Africans. When I traveled through Europe in the ‘90s I was disgusted by warm English beer, revolted by Irish stouts and Belgian sours where the worst thing that my delicate palate had ever encountered.
However, like Copernicus my view has expanded. I have discovered that the beer universe does not rotate around a cold lager. In fact I have since discovered that the beer universe is literally limitless. My Dark Age view on beer progressed into a Renaissance of awaking and then hyper-drived to an unbridled voyage of discovery.
As a student in the ‘90s I thought I was rather chic because I drank J&B rather than Bells and even sampled Campari. It was not until I visited the Oban Distillery in Scotland that I learned about Single Malt Scotch and I entered a whole new world of discovery.
When I first visited the New World I discovered Bourbon and that it too has a proud heritage. On a visit to Cuba I learned that Rum was not just a compliment to Coke, and that, after 12 years of aging, is as sublime as a Scotch.
Today I remain in awe of the craftsman who, with passion, skill and experience, produce such nuanced flavours and aromas in wine, beer and spirts. This website is about my journey of discovery and also of return visits to old favorites.
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© 2021 THIRSTY TRAVELER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED