The South African flag flew high at the seventh annual New York International Spirits Challenge with several accolades for local potstill brandies.

Stellenbosch brandy distillery Van Ryn’s clinched two international awards at the seventh annual edition of the global competition, which takes place in the heart of New York City. The South Africa 12-Year Brandy of the Year was awarded to the Van Ryn’s Distillers Reserve 12-Year-Old, while the South Africa 15-Year Brandy of the Year went to older sibling the Van Ryn’s Fine Cask Reserve 15-Year-Old. The two brandies also won a Silver and Gold award respectively.

Distell stablemate, the 18-year-old Oude Meester Souverein was awarded Gold. “This mature potstill brandy has lingering flavours reminiscent of almonds with nuances of ginger and chocolate following through onto a warm, mouth-filling palate,” said Distell brandy ambassador Nick Holdcroft.

“These fine products were judged along with almost 600 other spirits from around the world in a blind tasting, where top spirits buyers from around New York City judged the spirits by their category and price. We are proud to have once again shown that South African potstills can compete on an international stage.”

The New York International Spirits Competition is the first major international spirits competition which uses judges from the trade only – buyers from retail stores, restaurant owners, hotel beverage directors, distributors and importers.