Bain’s Cape Mountain Single Grain Whisky

We managed to get away for a few days to the beautiful Kruger National Park. The whisky I packed from this trip is the Proudly South African Bain’s Cape Mountain single grain whisky.  An award-winning singe grain whisky from the James Sedgwick distillery in Wellington, South Africa.

There is very little as beautiful as an African sunset over the Kruger National Park.  And with a bit of the Bains single grain whisky in my glass, what is better?

Bain’s Cape Mountain whisky is a single grain produced in column stills and double-matured. The whisky spends 3 years in ex-Bourbon casks and is then re-vatted for a further two years in a fresh set of casks. This whisky is inspired by the Bain’s Kloof Pass and its natural beauty.

The whisky from the distillery pays tribute to Andrew Geddes Bain. He was the pioneering pass builder who planned and built Bain’s Kloof Pass. The Pass connected Wellington to the inland Cape areas and is one of the most scenic routes in the Cape.

It flows past pine forests and areas rich in fynbos and Protea species. Bainskloof, situated in the Cape’s Floral Kingdom, is unique in that it has the highest ratio of plant species per land area in the world – a total of 8 600 species, of which 5 800 is endemic to the area.

The Bains Kloof’s fauna includes a selection of 182 bird species as well as jackals, leopards, honey badgers, endangered frogs and some unique fish swimming in the streams. Bain’s Cape Mountain whisky, has been announced as the World’s Best Grain Whisky at the 2013 Whisky Magazine’s World Whisky Awards.

Related Article: Toor Whisky

Bain’s Cape Mountain Single Grain Whisky Review

COUNTRY: South Africa

ABV: 43%.

COLOUR: Golden-yellow wheat, and here in the Kruger National Park, it is the colour of the setting sun.

NOSE: Sweet and rich with hints of toffee, banana and vanilla. There are faint hints of florals in the background.

PALATE: Spicy with bits of oak intermingling with the sweetness and treacle notes. After adding water, more winter spices come through. There are cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg on the palate. The oak is also more pronounced. It is not a ‘big mouthful’ whisky but is smooth and easy drinking.

FINISH: The finish is relatively short, but that might be because it is a grain whisky. The Bain’s ends in notes of warming spice and bitter citrus.  It remains one of our favourite easy-drinking whiskies.

RATING: EXCELLENT

This is a whisky with character and one of our preferred gifts for overseas visitors. And it is affordable. In South Africa, Bain’s Cape Mountain single grain whisky retails for around R 250.

I have also blogged about the Three Ships Bourbon Cask and the Three Ships single malt from the James Sedgwick Distillery. If you live in the UK, you can also try this great release. I see that Master of Malt also stock it.

It is the perfect dram to cook with. I used Bain’s whisky to make a boozy apple pie. Infusing the apples with Bain’s for a few days gave the pie a grown-up kick. I made a marinade for Chicken using Bain’s whisky and it came delicious.

I was fortunate to taste the Chita Suntory single grain whisky and it was good to compare it to Bain’s single grain whisky. You can see what I thought of the Chita and if it lives up to the hype around Japanese whisky in my Chita blogpost.

Other Bain’s whisky releases

During 2021, Distell released a Bain’s Symphony 7 yo grain whisky. Only 6 000 bottles were released and it was easily the best dram I tasted during 2021.

The James Sedgwick distillery also released a Bain’s Shiraz Cask Finish whisky in 2021 and I have captured my tasting notes for the Bain’s 15 yo whisky.