By Kim Maxwell
Photography from Fire Water: South African Brandy & Alex Bozas 

If your brandy associations are only about swirling balloons and cigars, or casual sessions with blocks of ice and Coke, listen up. South Africans consume around 50 million litres of brandy each year. In sipping specifics, pricier potstill and vintage styles are moving. Hip young drinkers are lapping up blended brandies with cranberry juice or orange mixers in cocktails. And new culinary heights are being reached with 10-year-olds partnering smoked duck breast, macadamia nuts and creamy sauce, or elegant potstills pairing bittersweet chocolate.

Brandy drinkers typically live in urban areas; one third of them are between 35 and 50 years old. Younger drinkers from 25 to 35 grab a 29 per cent market share, and consumers aged 18 to 24 hold 27 per cent. Brandy is poured prolifically in shebeens and taverns, but also sipped at home. A quarter of drinkers are women, where cocktails with mixers seem particularly appealing.

When the South African Brandy Foundation recently commissioned a brandy book Fire Water: South African Brandy, five chefs were asked to partner vintage or potstill brandies with food. Most found it challenging.

Chef Margot Janse of The Tasting Room in Franschhoek has often applied her skills to brandy and food. It’s been such a learning curve that the restaurant now pairs a scallop dish on their set menu with brandy. “I have a new appreciation. When you start matching brandy, you notice different flavours. I find extreme flavours work best—salty cheese and salted meats,” says Margot. There are also elements to avoid. “You shouldn’t have too many complex mixes of flavour—keep the dishes simple without too many deviations. It’s about the nose and palate, and they’re often quite different. The high alcohol is a challenge, so take little sips and really taste.”

“The challenge is not to associate brandy with everyday drinking and to apply your mind to the flavours,” says Chef Nic van Wyk of Kleine Zalze Lodge in Stellenbosch. “We cook a lot with brandy, especially in winter,” he says. Nic recommends brandy in savoury sauces, and in desserts with dark chocolate and cream. When pairing brandies in a meal, work from young to old—if you’re serving a few. Older ones may show slightly sweeter characters, so try these with desserts.

Chef Peter Goffe-Wood of Cassia restaurant says brandy requires careful thought. “I’ve found some great combinations. But these should be in isolation; not part of a three or four-course meal,” he warns. “Brandy is a heady alcoholic beverage which means only very robust food can accompany it—rich, smoky and quite salty—so cured or smoked meat and fish work well, as do sauces laden with cream and spice. But eating a number of these dishes back-to-back would be heavy-going and rather unbalanced.”

If alcohol levels are a health concern, Dr Caroline Snyman of Distell’s spirits division suggests diluting the 43 per cent volume blended brandies with an orange juice or ginger beer mixer.
Brandy cocktails are catching on in fashionable watering holes. Innovative mixologists concoct new cocktails regularly and Liquidchefs trainer Craig Shapiro says brandy cocktails are growing in popularity. “I wouldn’t say brandy is huge in cocktails. But there is definitely a trend of mixing brandy with other drinks,” he says. “Brandy in cocktails has been around for years. And we are drinking more cocktails.”

Customers in township-style bars and Jozi bar-lounges are now requesting brandy and lemonade, and to a lesser extent, brandy and tonic or cranberry juice. Brandy cocktails can be cream-based too, such as Kahlua, cream and milk-based Brandy Alexander.

The cocktail principle: the more specialised (read pricier) a brandy, say a Sydney Back vintage, the less mixer to use. The brandy flavour shouldn’t be hidden in a cocktail. The same applies to older brandies. “For matches with vintage or potstill brandies, you want a tiny splash of Angostura bitters, a bit of fresh mint, cinnamon and vanilla, or caramel syrup. They’re complementary because they are elements you can pick up in brandy. Perhaps fresh peaches or apricots, but only a touch to enhance flavour,” says Craig. “You could make a brandy cobbler by crushing some pineapple or orange slices. I generally go for yellow fruit with brandy.”

The last word on brandy and food goes to Chef Franck Dangereux of The Foodbarn in Noordhoek. He dutifully provides a dessert recipe for Fire Water. But in his private time Franck is a traditionalist. Classic food matches with wine are his preference. “Food pairings with brandy are a challenge because brandy is too powerful. It’s difficult to sip when you can’t swallow because of high alcohol,” he complains. “For pairing with food, I find it best to dilute the brandy in your glass with a little water. If you do, smoky foods work best, such as cold-smoked sea bass.” For this chef, brandy works best in a glass for contemplative sipping at the end of the meal.

Photographs by Craig Fraser, from Fire Water: South African Brandy published by Quivertree Publications. For more information go to www.quivertree.co.za.

Chocolate and Brandy
If you think you’ve got brandy all figured out, bring it out at your next dinner party with a chocolate dessert, or serve a selection of chocolate pieces for nibbling on casually. Van Ryn’s brandy master Johan Venter says potstill or vintage brandies produce fruity, spicy flavours from their barrel time, so it’s worth playing around. “Not all brandy flavours go with chocolate, but finding out which ones do is part of the fun,” he says.

I’ve tried chocolate with wine previously and milk chocolate was a difficult match with reds. Dark chocolate was good with dry red or fortified port styles—the higher cocoa-solid percentage, the better. Similar principles apply with brandies: bittersweet flavours of dark chocolate generally work better. The age and level of oaking obviously affects flavours too. Chef Peter Goffe-Wood says brandy is a perfect dessert accompaniment when chocolate is an ingredient. “The richness of quality chocolate—at least a 40 per cent cocoa content—stands up beautifully to a serious brandy,” he says.

A good place to start is at Van Ryn’s Distillery outside Stellenbosch. The Van Ryn Collection Reserve brandies are offered with Belgian chocolate styles. Staff at Van Ryn’s report that fewer guests sign up for their standard brandy tastings, opting for brandy and chocolate tastings although they cost double. Espresso is served in between for neutralising the palate. Monday to Friday until 4.30pm; Sat until 2pm. R50 per person. Tel. (021) 881-3875.

At KWV Wine Emporium in Paarl, visitors can sample Belgian chocolates with four vintage or potstill brandies. “We discuss why we think each chocolate works. Customers can decide on their own brandy matches afterwards,” says manager Maya Friederich. Monday to Saturday until 4.30pm; Sun 11 – 4pm. R30 per person. Tel. (021) 807-3007/8.