Our Story

First certified mention of the Blomendahl family farm in Germany, run by the family to this day. Nine centuries of agricultural tradition begin.

As the Thirty Years' War ends with the Peace of Westphalia, the recipe of over 200 herbs that becomes Alter Schwede is sealed away at the site of the peace treaty, left behind for later generations. Only centuries later is it found again, and Kohlhoff begins distilling it once more.

Carl Kohlhoff founds the Weinkellerei Kohlhoff at the medieval Rolandsmauer in Osnabrück, the heritage house at the root of our German tradition.

Kohlhoff moves into historic premises on the Schwedenstraße, beside the old Curia of the Osnabrück cathedral canons.

Using centuries-old recipes from the era of the Peace of Westphalia, found within the old Curia walls, Kohlhoff begins producing exclusive brandies and liqueurs.

Franz-Josef (FJ) Blomendahl is born. As a child he watches his grandfather distill, the spark that becomes a life's work.

At 18, FJ starts trading wine as his first business.

FJ graduates as winemaker at the University of Geisenheim.

FJ qualifies as Master Distiller in Berlin. His career takes him across France, Germany, Spain and Italy, whisky, cognac, calvados, grappa, liqueurs, and even vodka produced for the Russian market. He lectures at hotel & beverage schools for 9 years, trains sommeliers across Europe, and builds a wine & spirits trade with multiple outlets in Germany.

FJ acquires a 100-year-old distillery and the family takes over Kohlhoff, Weine und Liköre (est. 1882), expanding within a few years to five franchise retail outlets, and building Alter Schwede to more than 30,000 bottles a year.

FJ operates a high-capacity contract bottling plant in Germany, filling up to 24,000 bottles of vodka a day for the Russian market alongside bottling for major German spirit brands, while Alter Schwede grows its market across northern Germany.

Benedikt Blomendahl is born. By 2001 the cellar and distillery are his favourite playground; by 2002 he's 'helping' by screwing the caps onto bottles.

The family moves to South Africa, German tradition meets Cape terroir. Five-year-old Benedikt does his first foot-stomping soon after.

Blomendahl Vineyards is established in Elgin and scales at breathtaking speed: from 5 barrels of wine in 2005 to 1,000 barrels and multiple tanks by 2008.

The winery reaches peak production of 1 million bottles of wine a year.

Nine-year-old Benedikt bottles his first own wine: T-Rex. (Baronyx follows in 2011, and at 13 he's blending wines by smell.)

A 1000L still is installed on the farm, FJ starts distilling grappa-style husk spirit and brandy in South Africa.

The distillery relocates to Cape Town. In Germany, FJ designs and installs a premium single malt whisky distillery (2500L copper potstill and gin still) for partner Lübbehusen Malt Destill in Emstek, which today fills two 200L barrels of single malt every day.

Benedikt job-shadows at a Cape distillery (distilling pears), then makes his own barrels of Shiraz at a Stellenbosch estate, the apprenticeship years begin in earnest.

Father and son distill premium brandy and whisky from their own wine, batch the first Alter Schwede Botanical in SA, and the Blomendahl Gin recipe is developed.

The Blomendahl Apple Liqueur is perfected, the brand identity and first website are built (by Benedikt), limoncello and liqueurs join the range, and the Smiths Gin recipes (the range later reborn as Ntu) are created, followed by the Roxi's Gin recipes.

The breakthrough year: 800-bottle production runs; the Michelangelo Best Vodka Trophy for Blomendahl Vodka; Platinum for Roxi's Botanical Gin; Double Gold for the Smiths Spice and Elderflower gins (the range later reborn as Ntu); Benedikt fills his first 55L whisky barrel.

Benedikt formally graduates as a distiller. Double Gold and Gold medals across the range at Michelangelo and the SA Craft Gin Awards.

The award streak continues, Best Spice Gin in South Africa (Roxi's Spice) and more Double Golds. The brands we craft under contract keep winning too, as Roxi's had from the very start with its 2019 Platinum.

Benedikt becomes the youngest Master Distiller in the world through the Chartered Institute of Brewers and Distillers (CIBD), and designs, builds and installs a complete craft distillery for Bella Afrik in Accra, Ghana, including custom still components, gin recipes with local botanicals, and on-site training.

Benedikt completes his Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation through CIMA. KFM Best of the Cape Silver Award for Best Local Craft Spirit.

Benedikt vinifies his first Chardonnay, La Griffe, honouring the heritage of his boyhood Baronyx wine with a stylised claw as its mark. Two distilleries, Cape Town (SA) and Vechta (DE), a growing family of brands, partners across Ireland, Scotland and the USA, exporting rum to New Zealand and brandy to Nigeria, and expanding to the rest of the world. Operating globally.