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The winter of 2023 is one of the coldest that I can remember. I know this because my hearth has seen more fires than in past years. A hearty glass...

Dr. Ernst Thompson of Cape Town Meadery has been making mead, the world’s oldest fermented beverage, since 2018. The origins of mead can be traced back to the African bush...

Micro distilleries, also known as boutique or craft distilleries for marketing purposes, became viable in South Africa in 2003 and the consequence has been fantastic on so many levels including...

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...

Liqueur, Distillery 031, Durban Among many of the spirits crafted at Distillery 031, their new ‘Heart of’ Liqueurs have made the biggest impact, not only at our Heritage Day Spirit...

If you are searching for an alcoholic beverage that is sweet and full of different types of flavour, then the drink you are looking for is liqueur! Not to be...

about us

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.

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