At the 2024 World Drinks Awards Van Ryn’s 15-Year-Old Potsill Brandy was awarded World’s Best Wine Brandy, for the second consecutive year, beating fierce competition from France, Spain, Australia and other South African prominent brandy producers within the 2024 World Brandy Awards category.
This marks the 4th time within 5 years that Van Ryn’s brandy has been awarded this title. In 2020 Van Ryn’s 12-Year-Old Potstill Brandy achieved the same title, followed by Van Ryn’s 20-Year-Old Potstill Brandy in 2022, and most recently Van Ryn’s 15-Year-Old Potsill Brandy award in 2023 and 2024.
Wine Brandy is made from distilled wine and matured in French Oak Barrels. The Van Ryn’s Potstill Brandy range is made in the same specialised production methods used for the production of Cognac – the name Cognac, however, is reserved only for brandies made in southwest France.
Each year, the World Drinks Awards aims to celebrate the very best in the global drinks industry, with the World Brandy Awards category recognising the finest brandies from around the world, tasting each entry blind and scoring the brandies according to nose, palate and finish, balance, character, complexity, and overall quality.
The panel of international judges praised the Van Ryn’s 15-Year-Old Potstill Brandy as “A graceful liquid with notes of liquorice and toffee and the thick creaminess of clotted cream. Stone fruit on the palate, as well as a drizzle of golden syrup and some residual tannic fruit.”
Marlene Bester, Master Blender, says achieving the World’s Best title twice in a row for the Van Ryn’s 15-Year-Old Postill Brandy is definitely a highlight for the team. “Year-on-year our brandies receive the World’s Best accolades, showcasing our commitment to innovation, quality and the art of crafting exceptional brandy, building on our reputation as one of the world’s leading fine brandy houses.”
Bester says that at Van Ryn’s they understand the importance of time. “We allow our brandies the luxury of maturation for several years, quietly developing their complex layers of flavours during their slumber. Although we lose approximately 3% of volume per year to the Angel’s Share, the result is an incredibly smooth brandy that rewards in character and quality.”
Enjoying brandy is not a secret society! Although master blenders around the world always recommend aged brandies with a dash of water or on the rocks, they lend themselves to several refreshing and innovative cocktails. The enjoyment after all lies within the exploration.
Add the range of Van Ryn’s brandies to your collection by ordering from their online store or visit the Van Ryn’s Distillery in Stellenbosch with its atmospheric Provencal-style buildings, for brandy tastings, brandy cocktails, special events and sundowners with live music sessions. For more information visit them online or for event and tasting bookings.
