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MAMPOER
The distilling of Mampoer or peach brandy is an age old tradition
brought into the hinterland by the Voortrekkers.
Very strict laws and regulations almost caused the end of this. Fortunately,
these laws were recently adapted and the distilling tradition is once
again alive and well. After a seemingly endless struggle for some years
to acquire a licence, the museum started producing Mampoer in 1991.
The late Mr. Koos Immelman of the historical farm Buisfontein in the
district and Mr. Piet Ernst, one of the well - known distillers in
the country, were kind enough to show us the ropes and give a few must
- needed hints when we first started out.
Mampoer (parch or home distilled brandy) or witblits (moonshine).
Which should it be?. It is actually quite simple: liquor distilled
from grapes is called witblits and the product derived from all other
fruits is called mampoer.
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DIE OU BOTTELARY
(Museum shop)
Our little shop started out with a very modest
stock, and a lot of enthusiasm on our part, during December 1991.
Since then, the public has become aware of our really competitive
prices and the demand for our merchandise is ever increasing,
with our shop rapidly expanding. We boast a large variety of
gifts and articles in daily use, including home made soap, jam
and our special "stick pencils", glass, ceramics, brass
ornaments and many more. We try to accommodate every taste while
keeping the standard high.
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The distilling process:
Fruit is crushed in rust-free containers and, depending on the
temperature, is left for two to three weeks to ferment. The pulp is
then poured into the copper kettle (ours can take 150 litres), the
lid sealed and the pulp boiled. The alcohol evaporating is the condensed
while running through a spiral pipe in water can. It trickles steadily
from the end of the pipe into a container. The alcohol percentage depends
on the type of fruit used as well as the quantity of sugar in the fruit.
It generally starts at about 35% and we keep the process going until
it reaches about 10%. Each batch yields approximately 18 litres, but
this is not yet the real thing. It is again put though the process
and starts trickling with an alcohol percentage of about 75% and is
collected until the content diminishes to 30%. A mixture of this product
contains 55% alcohol. (It might be a good idea to bear in mind that
this is 12% higher than the percentage of alcohol in brandy and whisky).
This second distilling process reduces the Mampoer from about 100 litres
to 30 litres of genuine Mampoer. By now it is clear that it takes quite
a lot of fruit to procure one bottle of Mampoer.
Our Mampoer is mainly sold in 50ml, 200ml, and 375ml bottles which
can also be bought in handsome wooden boxes to make the ideal gift
for someone.
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