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.