Boplaas is renowned as a producer of award-winning wines and brandy. Consistent international recognition for its gins and whiskies are, however, increasingly giving these categories equal prominence with connoisseurs of fine drinks.
Among its accolades, the Boplaas distillery most recently received the award for Best South African Grain Whisky and title of Best South African Grain Whisky Producer at the 2025 World Whisky Awards in London. It was on the shortlist to be named World’s Best Grain Whisky.
This follows the Gold rating Boplaas whisky received last year at the IWSC, one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious spirit competitions.
“These achievements showcase how excellence – a combination of ideal conditions, the best ingredients, know-how and passion – permeate the Boplaas portfolio,” says Daniel Nel, six-generation distiller at Boplaas. “It was a 2010s trip to the US that first inspired our whisky venture, plus the wealth of outstanding maize and barley produced by local farmers to which we as South Africans have.”
The heart of Boplaas excellence lies in its environment. The farm is situated in Klein Karoo town of Calitzdorp. Its arid climate is as well-suited to growing Portuguese grape varieties as it is for aging spirits. The variation in day/night temperature, together with a low humidity, spurs evaporation and maturation, concentrating aromas and flavours.
This rare characteristic led one of the world’s most famous contemporary whisky pioneers, Compass Box founder John Glaser, to exclaim: “If Scotland could make whiskies like this, more people would be drinking Scotch!”
Glaser reviewed the Boplaas 6YO Tawny Cask whisky at the time. “The Boplaas is so good and such good value. So creamy on the palate, so delicious. It has a lovely creamy character that I think is delicious and moreish. It must come from the combination of American Oak and the Tawny Port finishing barrels. It gives this whisky and appealing rich, sweet character. And only 6 years old?!… How on earth to they make such sweet, soft, appealing whisky in just six years?”
Adding to Boplaas whiskies’ reputation, the distillery was approached by international bottling company Cask World to participate in an exclusive program. The South African whisky is to represent Africa in a Continental Series Whisky Box, which will be an exclusive release of the top New World whiskies on every continent.
Dictador, a Columbian rum producer, has also included Boplaas in an exclusive series titled Two Masters. The project was launched some seven years ago as a bold collaboration. Dictador their aged rums—often 30–45 years old—are made available to master blenders of wines and spirits around the world for finishing in their casks. The cross-disciplinary mashup of craftsmanship blends Colombian rum heritage with global expertise.
“Dictador Rum is being finished in Boplaas whisky and tawny barrels,” says Daniel Nel. “The collaboration is a de-facto acknowledgement of the exceptional quality our products achieve in a climate sometimes considered as unconventional for aging spirits.”
Boplaas’s current lineup core range of whiskies:
Boplaas Single Grain Whisky (Bourbon Cask) is a five-year-old whisky that was aged in 2nd and 3rd fill bourbon casks. It’s a well-balanced and enjoyable whisky priced at R360 from the distillery.
Boplaas 6YO Tawny Cask is a six-year-old single grain whisky aged in bourbon barrels. It was further aged in the Boplaas tawny barrels. These are ideal for adding a complex array of flavours that complement those of the whisky. A former winner as Best South African Whisky at the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards, it sells for R600 at the distillery.
Boplaas 8YO Tawny Cask (Cask Strength) is an 8YO single grain whisky aged for five years in bourbon casks then finished for three years in a tawny cask. The latter are super seasoned having held port for almost two decades prior to receiving the whisky. It is priced at R1 000/bottle.
Boplaas 10YO Rum Cask Single Cask is part of Boplaas’s experimental series. The 10YO currently available, was the winner as Best South African Grain Whisky at the World Whisky Awards. Boplaas rates it as one of the best it has released to date. Only 700 bottles were made available, with the first opportunities for purchase given to members of Boplaas’s wine and whisky club.
The experimental series will soon see further exciting releases, including finishes using chardonnay casks from champion producers De Wetshof and Paul Cluver; the rum cask from Dictador; casks that held straw wine and Grand Constance wine from Groot Constantia; as well as whisky finished in a cask of Colheita tawny, American virgin oak, sherry, vintage port-style wine and Pinot noir.
Releases are planned for at least two per year or when ready. The current 10YO Rum Cask Single Cask sells for R800/bottle.
For more information, email admin@boplaas.co.za, call 044 213 3326 or visit www.boplaas.co.za. Boplaas is also on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Boplaas1880/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/boplaaswines).