Witblits White Dog South African Moonshine

Witblits white dog moonshine the famous high-octane spirit.

Witblits Moonshine from South Africa. Whatever you call it; firewater, n dop brandewyn, moonshine, witblits, donkey dop, white dog this powerful sundowner (alcoholic drink) made from grapes will surely cause anyone a babalas, that means hangover in Afrikaans. 

 

Philippolis is the oldest settlement in the Free State province of South Africa and is quiet most of the year. However, in April it’s time to celebrate a local tradition of distilling Afrikaans "white lightning" at the Philippolis Witblits Festival.

Witblits is made from grapes and is an undiluted homemade brew that does not involve any “calming down” therefore Witblits is not the smoothest brew and the alcohol content of the clear brandy can reach up to 70-80%.

Distinctive family recipes and small-batch manufacturing of Witblits means there is great variety in the manufacturing of white dog. In most homemade brews, a “still” is used to create the product. Fire heats up the brew mixture in the tank, the steam rises through the copper head before the liquid slowly flows down coiled tubes dripping out of the tap, into a bucket.

In 1924 there became a  monopoly on brandy production, however, small farmers were allowed to create their own homebrew usually from the leftover fruit on farms. Some museums in South Africa have special liquor licenses to distill Witblits as a working exhibit to collect money for the museum.

Prince Albert Cocktail

Did you know? A popular Witblits drink is the Prince Albert Cocktail made of a shot of Witblits and pomegranate juice over crushed ice.