South African brandies won 18 medals at this year’s International Spirit Competition (ISC) held in London with Oude Meester’s 18 year old Souverein scooping a Gold Medal and Van Ryn’s 12 year old Director’s Reserve winning a Gold Best in Class award.

Last year, at the same event, KWV’s 12 year Barrel Select Brandy was named Worldwide Best Brandy.

Now in its 20th year, the ISC is the premier event in promoting outstanding quality spirits from across the globe, setting the standard for excellence and supported by most of the world’s leading spirits producers. More than 1,000 entries were received from 70 countries.

SA The Good News quotes Nick Holdcroft, Distell’s Brandy Ambassador, who says there are a number of factors that explain South Africa’s dominance at the top end of brandy quality. “Our country is blessed with the terroir to produce excellent base wine. The production of brandy stretches back nearly 300 years into South Africa’s history. We take our brandy very seriously here and have strict regulations that govern production to ensure that we can guarantee the best quality.”

Holdcroft said South Africans should be proud of how the country’s brandies are consistently rated among the world’s best at esteemed international competitions.

“Take the three brandies from Van Ryn’s as an example; between themselves they have won the UK-based International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Worldwide Best Brandy title five times, and the International Spirits Challenge Best Brandy Trophy, four times since 2004, helping to establish South Africa’s reputation for exceptional quality on the global stage. Now it is just up to the Springboks to continue with this winning streak and bring back the trophy from London in September,” he said.

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