OnTap Magazine

T he picture was taken in 2015, back when Kennan was home-distilling a spirit from agave syrup. She would then bring this garage- made liquor–infused with honey, and other additives–with her to Africa Burn, where she gave it away as gifts. Her recipients were enthralled. “They loved that it [originated] from the Karoo, from the desert where they were partying and having this amazing experience, and that it was a South African-made product.” AN IDEA IS BORN Kennan grew up in Zimbabwe where she says, “people love to celebrate,” adding “I was always the girl who brought a bottle of tequila to the party.” Her enthusiasm for the beverage spilled over into those early garage attempts familiar to many a home brewer or distiller. Kennan then took it a step further, deciding that she really needed to learn directly from the masters. This decision landed her in Mexico. While there, she was able to meet several “maestro” distillers, each of whom had their own unique take on processing the agave plant. Over the course of several months, she absorbed as much as she could from these experts and returned to South Africa. Connecting to ancestors and gods That education included a bit of history. “The origin of the agave spirit comes from the Aztecs, thousands of years ago,” Kennan explains. As the story goes: “A bolt of lightning hit an agave plant. That plant exploded and juices were released… The heat [from the lightning] baked the plant a bit, and over the next couple of days, those juices under the Mexican sun started to ferment. When the Aztecs tasted those juices–which were basically a pulque , or an agave wine or an agave beer–they felt…connected to their ancestors, and connected to the gods.” For Kennan, there is a clear importance to the ritualistic and spiritual aspects of the beverage, beyond its ‘party-time’ connotations. THE AGAVE COMES TO AFRICA The agave plant–which is a kind of succulent, not tobe confusedwith a cactus– originated in the Americas and parts of the Caribbean. How then, did it migrate to Africa? According to Kennan, “The plant came in the hulls of Spanish ships.” They were often used as a food source for the animals on board. These agave-endowed ships would set sail from Mexico, headed for India, and frequently make a stop along the African coastline. Over time, the plant found its way to shore, and took hold. You can now find the agave plant proliferating in the Karoo. “It has a very similar temperature, climate and water supply as areas of Mexico,” Kennan tells me. In fact, on that first visit to Mexico, she says she experienced a strong sense of déjà vu. She had been to places like the town of Graaff-Reinet where the plant grows aplenty. She therefore knew it was available in South Africa; it just needed that bolt of lightning. “FIELDS OF GOLD” In 2016, Leonista–the name meaning “lion energy” or “lion person”–was born. There was once a distillery in Graaff- Reinet–about 20 years ago Kennan thinks– that incentivized farmers in the area to grow agave, with the intention of it then being processed by a distillery. That facility eventually went under. Kennan points to that early effort as evidence that she’s not the first to wonder about or attempt to make an agave-based spirit here–and she obviously benefits from someone else having ensured the existence of the agave (theplant can take anywherebetween 6 and 12 years to grow and become harvestable, depending on the species). Her role then became partnering farmers with a distillery, who built a wood-fired oven, in order for them to produce “100% agave spirits in the traditional Mexican way.” By creating an industry around the abundant agave, Kennan argues that they are supporting the farmers, for whom the plant is otherwise just used as emergency food for animals. She points out that agave grows where other plants may not be able to, for example, in the desert. In that way, it isn't replacing another potentially useful plant. Sarah Kennan with an agave plant in Mexico All images supplied by Sarah Kennan Agave in the Karoo ontapmag.co.za | Autumn 2023 | 29