Some rules are meant to be questioned

The start

Verboten started with one stubborn idea: brandy does not have to taste the way brandy has always tasted.

It is still a Pretoria house, and the idea has not changed. Make it properly, pour it for people we are glad to see, and let what is in the glass do the talking.

The name

Verboten is German for forbidden, which suits a house that likes to ask why things are done the way they are. The house line is Afrikaans: vir dié wat weet, for those who know.

What we make

The flagship is a three year brandy, matured in oak and finished in French casks. Made to a standard, not to a schedule.

Brandy & Cola is the same spirit with its collar loosened. Pre-mixed, canned, and served colder than strictly necessary at the markets and events where we pour.

Alongside the brandy there is NYX, liquorice and anise in the Greek style, and a blood orange gin that travels with the bar. Both come in 750ml bottles, and a canned NYX & cola and a canned gin & tonic are on the way.

A beer is in development. It will announce itself when it is ready.

Where to find us

• At your door: order from the shop and we deliver anywhere in South Africa.
• At your event: we bring the bar to your wedding, birthday, corporate day or market, anywhere in Gauteng.
• Out and about: when we are pouring in public, the Find Us page says where and when.

Where this goes

Born in Pretoria. Made for the world. However far it goes, the welcome goes with it.

Thanks for stopping by. Gesondheid, which is how Pretoria says cheers.