It‘s rare that you’ll meet a South African who has not at one stage of their lives indulged in a Don Pedro. This boozy delicious drink from the 70’s is the ultimate nostalgic dessert, but over the year the Don Pedro has become a little stale, overly stickly sweet and much due for a revamp.
Luckily for us, Mugrave has completely revolutionize the Don Pedro with their two brand new Copper Pot Still Brandies - Don Pedros have officially made a come back.
About the Brandy
Musgrave Crafted Spirits, famous for their craft gins, are now reaching new heights with two new luxurious pot-still brandy infusions that have caught the attention of the 2021 Platter’s Wine Guide judges. The Musgrave Copper Vanilla has been awarded 4 stars and the Black Honey 4 ½ stars.
This ingenious flavour compilation is that of founder, Simone Musgrave. She says, “This is a huge honour to have received such high ratings for our brandies after launching just last year. The Black Honey, one of the two infusions in my Copper Pot Still brandies is sourced directly from Zambia where I was born and raised. The bees are kept on an organic forested family property in Zambia, while the vanilla is grown on Indian Ocean Islands where I spent many holidays with my family.”
The Platter’s Wine Guide refers to Simone Musgrave as someone who intends on disrupting the traditional brandy market. Which is what she intends to do. “For far too long, brandy has had a bad reputation and I want to change that, plus I want to appeal more to women. Building Musgrave crafted Spirits means not only disrupting traditional categories, but also aligning with the best in the business. We were approached by the SA Brandy Foundation who are driving innovation and transformation in the premium Brandy sector. This particular category has been struggling for some time now with relevance and needed re-energising. After delving into trend research, this felt like the right move.”
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… melts in your mouth. Unique honey character, one of a kind.
VANILLA COPPER MANGO CHAI DON PEDRO
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS
100ml coconut cream 2 chai tea bags 2.5ml ground cinnamon 150g frozen mango pieces 100ml Musgrave Vanilla Copper 500g vanilla ice cream
To garnish: Ground cinnamon
METHOD
Heat the coconut cream, chai tea bags and cinnamon in a saucepan over a gentle heat.
Once the coconut cream starts to simmer, remove from the heat and allow it to infuse for 15-20 minutes. Strain and discard the tea bags.
Chill the coconut cream in the fridge and allow to cool completely.
Once chilled, blender with the mango, Musgrave Vanilla Copper and ice cream. Blender on high until smooth.
Pour into two glasses, and top with a dusting of cinnamon powder.
VANILLA COPPER HAZELNUT PRALINE DON PEDRO
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS
500g vanilla ice cream 50ml cream 50ml hazelnut praline paste or hazelnut syrup 100ml Musgrave Vanilla Copper
To garnish: 50g hazelnut praline, roughly chopped
METHOD
Blend the ice cream, cream, hazelnut praline paste (or syrup) and Musgrave Vanilla Copper on high until smooth and creamy.
Divide into two glasses and garnish with the chopped hazelnut praline.
BLACK HONEY COPPER BURNT HONEY AND ORANGE DON PEDRO
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS
1 orange, segmented 40ml honey Pinch of salt 80ml cream 500g vanilla ice cream 100ml Musgrave Black Honey Copper
To garnish: 2 halved dehydrated orange slices
METHOD
Place the orange segments into a pot with the honey and a small pinch of salt. Place the pot over a low-medium heat. Stir the oranges through the honey so everything is coated and sticky. Allow this to cook slowly until the honey turns a dark caramel colour, then deglaze with the cream and stir through thoroughly.
Remove the pot from the heat and put the contents into a bowl and into the fridge to chill completely.
Once the mixture is fully chilled, put it into a blender and blend until completely smooth. Then add the ice cream and Musgrave Black Honey Copper, blend quickly to combine well.
Divide into two glasses and top with your garnish.
BLACK HONEY COPPER HONEY LAVENDER DON PEDRO
Serves: 2
INGREDIENTS
100ml cream 6 sprigs of lavender leaves 1000ml Musgrave Black Honey Copper 500g vanilla ice cream
To garnish: Lavender flowers
METHOD
Heat the cream and 4 lavender sprigs in a pot over a medium heat. As the cream is about to simmer, remove from the heat and set aside and allow to infuse for 30 minutes to an hour, until the cream has a strong lavender taste.
Strain and discard the lavender sprigs. Refrigerate the infused cream in the fridge until completely chilled.
In a shaker, shake the Musgrave Black Honey Copper and remaining 2 sprigs of lavender to allow the lavender flavour to infuse into the alcohol. Strain and discard the lavender.
Once the cream is cold, pour into a blender, add the ice cream with and infused Musgrave Black Honey Copper. Blend until well combined.
Pour into two glasses and garnish with picked lavender flowers.