Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky

The Bain's brand was created in 2009, with the iconic Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky... Read more

The Bain's brand was created in 2009, with an iconic reference: Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky. Its name is a tribute to Andrew Geddes Bain, a Scottish engineer... Read more

The Bain's brand was created in 2009, with an iconic reference: Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky. Its name is a tribute to Andrew Geddes Bain, a Scottish engineer. In 1853, he built the Bainskloof pass road over a mountain pass that linked the city of Wellington (Western Cape) to the rest of the country.

The distillery, called James Sedgwick, has been in existence since 1886. Today, Andy Watts, a former English professional cricketer, is its master distiller. After working at Bowmore in the 1980s, he went on to create South Africa's first 100% single grain whisky.

Between bourbon and Irish whiskey, Bain's has created its own style. South African corn has the particularity of containing a lot of starch, which provides a very good alcohol yield. In this hot country, where temperatures regularly approach 40°C, fermentation is a particular challenge. This is why the distillery has chosen to use cooling blankets to keep the vats at 28-30°C. Fermentation is carried out using yeasts specially adapted to the climate, and lasts between 72 and 78 hours.

After column distillation, the whisky is placed in first-fill bourbon casks. After 3 years, it is transferred to new bourbon casks, for a further 18 to 30 months. Climate also has a definite effect on ageing. It ensures maximum wood extraction, as well as a 5% annual angels' share.

An award-winning whisky and distillery

Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky was voted best grain whisky at the World Whiskies Awards in 2013 and 2018.

The distillery has implemented a whole series of measures to limit its impact on the environment:

  • Spent grain (the residue of crushed grain) is recycled and transformed into animal feed.
  • The resulting methane is recovered and used as fuel.
  • The vinasse is treated by reverse osmosis, on site at the distillery. The recovered water is returned to the production circuit.
  • Finally, the Co2 captured during fermentation is sold to soft drink producers.

All these measures earned the James Sedgwick distillery the Sustainable Distillery of the Year award at the 2020 Icons of Whisky Awards. Read less

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