Oude Molen Distillery

Oude Molen Distillery is situated in the Elgin Valley near the town of Grabouw in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

The fashionable couple became prominent figures in Stellenbosch and Cape society.At Oude Molen, Santhagens started production of his brandies in 1910 and became the first distiller in South Africa to use the cognac-method exclusively.

His French motto read Touchant Toujours le But ("Always hitting the mark") and his emblem was a shield depicting a parrot pierced by an arrow.

Both the emblem and the motto still grace the original manor house in Stellenbosch and also the Oude Molen Distillery in Elgin.

Santhagens died in 1937, but his legacy of remains firmly established in the South African brandy industry, which is subject to some of the most stringent production legislation in the world.

In 2003, Oude Molen relocated to its present site in the Elgin Valley, where legendary distiller Dave Acker had established a distillery a number of years before.

The high humidity in the Elgin Valley makes it particularly suitable for this purpose, as the amount of alcohol lost to evaporation is limited.