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Black Bottle
IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY, THOMAS HARDY – THE MAN OFTEN REFERRED TO AS “THE FATHER OF THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN WINE INDUSTRY” – BEGAN A BRANDY LEGACY THAT ENDURES TO THIS DAY.
As he went about building his winemaking empire, he also began the patient and time-honoured undertaking of distilling and maturing barrel upon barrel of brandy. By the mid 1880s, Mr Hardy certainly had brandy on his mind. Contemplating his copper pot stills and considering his precious stores maturing in their oaken berths, he predicted:
“We shall be able to produce a pure brandy equal to the best brands of French cognac.”
A smooth one hundred years later and his creation – Black Bottle Brandy – won gold at a prestigious judging in Melbourne. Up against French Cognacs and brandies from Italy, Germany and the US, a panel of international experts awarded Black Bottle gold for brandies ‘less than five years of age’. Mr Hardy would have been ecstatic.
Thomas Hardy’s bold confidence in his brandy was not misplaced. There may have been name and ownership changes over 150 years, but the driving inspiration behind Black Bottle Brandy hasn’t wavered. This vision and consistency has been recognised many times over, with innumerable trophies, medals and prizes from all over the world. Black Bottle XO, arguably Australia’s finest aged brandy, has received over 120 awards in its lifetime, including 30 trophies and 54 gold medals.
Black Bottle Brandy is now owned by Vok Beverages, sister company to Bickford's and wholly South Australian. We’re a family company dedicated to Black Bottle Brandy’s legacy; so we immediately placed it in the hands of our head distiller. Then we bought and renovated an historic distillery.
Working from our stunningly renovated distillery in Renmark, our head distiller has brandy barrels decades old under his watchful eye. With world-class sophistication, state-of-the-art technology and sensibility steeped in tradition, he continues to create brandy of excellence and consistency.
We’re as loyally confident about the future of Black Bottle Brandy as its creator was, back in the 19th century. We predict many more accolades to come.
