OnTap Magazine

O n page 52 of this issue, columnist Rob Cass takes a look at 12 proudly South African beverages. But if you had to shrink that list down to just one, what would it be? Could our home-grown grape be the beverage of choice for South Africans? Not likely - almost every wine drinker I know claims to hate Pinotage. Would you choose Amarula or mampoer to represent SA in a global championship of national drinks? I don’t think so. We are a nation of beer drinkers for sure, but so are most countries, so that doesn’t really set us apart. What most countries can’t claim though, is a fascination with a certain spirit and mixer that, as a non- South African, I’ve never witnessed elsewhere: brandy and Coke. If you google theworld’s biggest brandy- drinking nations, South Africa doesn’t make the top five. But data that’s tough to find is which countries consume the most brandy and coke. A cursory search brings up the question “Where is brandy and coke popular?” and the answer is unsurprising, if not altogether true: “In South Africa, a 'Brandy and Coke' is one of the top drinks that you can get in a bar, pub or club,” the top suggestion claims. EARLY ORIGINS I wondered if its popularity is simply down to availability, but a search of the world’s top brandy producing countries returned little other than that South Africa doesn’t feature in the top 15 exporters of the spirit. But then we knew that, since we keep it all here and mix it all with cola. This of course isn’t true. South Africa produces world class brandies, made in the strict Cognac style – the sort of stuff I hope no-one would consider watering down with Coke. At the 2022 World Brandy Awards, the top spot went to Van Ryn’s 20-year- old and it’s not the first time South African brandy producers have beaten French cognac makers at their own game. And this connection with producing great brandy isn’t at all surprising – there is definitely heritage here. Sure, brandy was first made in medieval France, but it has long ties to South Africa – specifically to Afrikaans culture. Indeed, its very name comes not from France but from the Dutch word brandewijn , meaning burnt wine. The story goes that shrewd Dutch sailors in the 16th century realised a good way to lighten their ships’ loads was to boil barrels of French wine, which gave them the beverage now known as brandy. The plan had been to water it down on arrival in an attempt to return it to its former state, but the sailors found that people liked it fine as it was. Imagine the trade they’d have done if they’d filled the new-found space in their hold with cans of Coke to go with it. THE SWEETEST THING According to the SA Brandy Foundation, the first South African brandy was made way back in 1672 when a nautical chef boiled down 1164 litres of Cape wine into a much more compact 126 litres of brandy. And ever since then, South Africans have guzzled brandy in quantity, but never more so than when it’s mixed with cola. “What vodka is to the Russians or whisky to the Scots, brandy and Coke is to Afrikaans people,” claims the now defunct “Stuff Afrikaans People Like” blog. It goes on to offer a serving suggestion: “Usually served as a double measure in a tall glass, and drunk as if the brandy wasn’t there.” This is a key characteristic of the brandy and Coke. It’s so sweet that while you’re drinking, it largely tastes just like Coke. It’s only when you get up after a few that you realise just how much alcohol you’ve consumed. These days though there’s a whole host of products available to those seeking sweetness without a hearty alcohol kick: the brandy and cola premix. Brannas is launching their popular brandy and cola mix in cans later this year South Africa produces world class brandies Klippies and cola on the move The full Buffelstontein range 34 | Spring 2022 | ontapmag.co.za