Remaining true to her entrepreneurial spirit, and in honour of her grandfather the adventurer and explorer, Simone spotted a gap in the market to revamp South Africa’s brandy market. In 2018 Musgrave partnered with South Africa’s largest brandy producers, Distell and Van Rhyns, to create two innovative, infused pot-still brandy blends – Musgrave Copper Vanilla and Musgrave Copper Black Honey.
Crafted to be the “Bourbon” of Brandy. A new genre that remixes the brandy category to play where cognac has feared to tread. Copper is luxurious, disruptive, infused and made to mix. It’s a flavour-infused brandy with subtle flavours and a distinctly African palate. Musgrave Copper is more aligned to
the Cognac drinker than to a traditional Brandy drinker using the finest pot-still brandy with added excitement of flavour-infusion. It attracts a consumer who exists beyond the preconceptions of their gender, age or race; they seek out the new.
Musgrave Copper embraces a “remixing tradition” bringing together some of the African continents most celebrated ingredients. With access to a winter honey, collected by local communities within the national parks of Zambia and vanilla from the Indian Islands around the coast of Africa, the blend makes for a sumptuous infusion that has elevated Musgrave Copper to the next level. Appealing to a more female market, who are both daring, and sophisticated, Musgrave Copper is hitting the mark while other brands trail behind. The 2021 Platter’s Wine Guide awarded Musgrave Copper Vanilla with 4 stars while the Musgrave Black Honey 4 ½ stars – a massive feat for a product that just launched. Simone like to describe Musgrave Copper as the brand that aims to “Act like cognac, talk like whisky, drink like brandy, spend like champagne, boom like gin, sell like vodka.”
If only Maurice Boon Musgrave could know the impact his fortitude and sense of adventure would have on the legacy he’s left behind and how his passion for the unusual would shape his family’s future. As the inspiration for Musgrave Crafted Spirits, his patrimony continues to push the boundaries as a premium artisanal brand.
The desire for authenticity and for interesting alternatives to mainstream brands feeds South Africa’s growing craft-culture. An explosion of craft Gins, Whiskeys and Rums are pushing boundaries on flavour and creating their own brand stories. Much the same way that Musgrave Crafted Spirits boldly encouraged a celebration of Gin several years ago as one of the first award-winning local brands on the market, the brand extension into dark spirits is all about creating new occasions and ways to drink Brandy, in hopes of banishing traditional misconceptions and associations to brandy-drinking.
The growth of food experimentation, experiences and events has overflowed into spirits and consumers are looking for creative alcoholic options. The blending of various styles and exploration of different flavours is blurring category lines. This, coupled with the popularity of brandy among new markets, continues to grow, especially within female and black urban consumers.
Musgrave Copper Black Honey
Musgrave Black Honey Copper is deep caramel in colour and boasts complex savoury flavours. We use a winter African Honey which allows a very subtle sweetness to shine. The finish lingers long, and aromas are distinctly bold. Double distilled and matured in oak barrels. The oldest component in this blend is 20 years old and the youngest 5 years. The older component was re-vatted after three years to older barrels to ensure that the product mellows over time. It forms a complex base where the wood is balanced and well-integrated which serves as a carrier for the sweet prune, honey, liquorice, light molasses, and savoury notes to develop. It has a very soft/velvety savoury finish and melts in your mouth. The unique honey character is one of a kind.
The perfect serve:
Pour a luxurious double shot over ice, top up with Schweppes Ginger Ale and garnish with a wedge of lime to allow honey flavours to sing in harmony with Musgrave Copper. Heighten the experience of this serve by adding a shot of Pale-Dry Sherry so the nutty bouquet of almonds play with Ginger and Honey flavours for added complexity.
Musgrave Copper Vanilla
A new way to engage the senses, our Musgrave Vanilla Copper is made to mix. An easy drinking brandy flavoured with fragrant vanilla, enjoy neat or garnished as a perfect serve. Double distilled in copper pot-stills and matured for 3 years in oak barrels, smaller than 340L. The oak barrels were selected based on age to ensure a very light coloured product with a limited oak contribution. The blend was infused with natural vanilla to yield a product with creamy vanilla and tangerine notes on the nose. It has a very delicate palate (velvety soft) and the promise of creamy vanilla carries through from the nose to the pallet where it lingers with soft subtle hints of figs and dried fruit.
The perfect serve:
Serve double shot of meticulously blended Musgrave Vanilla Copper over ice, with a dash of Schweppes Soda and a slice of fresh orange. For the discerning drinker, elevate this serve by adding a shot of pale and sweet Bianco Vermouth and take this drink to new heights where citrus peel flavours brighten the vanilla notes.
Categories: Brandy
