In 1672, the Dutch ship De Pijl (The Arrow) lay at anchor in Table Bay beneath the shadow of Table Mountain. On board were sailors, officers, merchants and a young assistant cook whose name history would forget.
On 19 May 1672, deep within the working quarters of De Pijl, this unknown cook took wine made from grapes grown at the Cape and began an experiment in distillation. It worked. The Cape wine was transformed into brandy, creating what is recognised as the first recorded brandy distilled at the Cape.
From that small experiment aboard a ship in Table Bay would grow one of South Africa’s great distilling traditions. The man responsible disappeared quietly from the pages of history, but the legacy he helped create endured.
More than 350 years later, Cape Wine Company pays tribute to that forgotten pioneer with De Pijl 5 Year Old Potstill Brandy.
Crafted in small batches and matured for five years in American oak casks, De Pijl celebrates the curiosity, experimentation and pioneering spirit that defined that remarkable moment in Cape history – qualities that remain central to our own philosophy today.
Perhaps the unknown assistant cook aboard De Pijl could never have imagined what his experiment would become. We like to think he would have enjoyed a glass.
De Pijl 5 Year Old Potstill Brandy
A forgotten name. An unforgettable legacy.
De Pijl 5 Year old Potstill Brandy
