Brought to you by Mahala Botanical

The next time you’re planning a booze-free dinner out, don’t opt for bland water or a non-alcoholic wine that tastes more like grape juice. Mahala Botanical is a delicious alcohol-free botanical spirit that would pair well with any dish, from sushi to pizza. It’s light and refreshing, with an herbaceous and citrus finish – really the perfect accompaniment on a warm summer’s evening. It’s crafted from nine hand-sourced botanical ingredients (some of them foraged from co-creator master distiller Danielle Schoeman’s family farm) and triple distilled, resulting in a depth of flavour and complexity of finish that is usually tough to achieve with an alcohol-free spirit.

Danielle shares: “We believe that consumers shouldn’t have to compromise on taste or quality when choosing an alcohol-free drink, and we are fortunate to own and oversee our entire production process from ‘Farm to Glass’, ensuring the highest possible standard every step of the journey.”

Launched in 2022, Mahala Botanical was created by Danielle and ex-Pernod Ricard SA managing director Paul Scanlon and is distilled at Danielle’s Dona Distillery in Cape Town. The name comes from the Zulu slang word for “free” and reminds consumers that Mahala Botanical is not only alcohol-free, but also free of sugar, gluten, and artificial flavours and colourings.

Paul explains: “As predicted, the Low-and-No category continued to thrive in 2022, driven by an increasing number of sober curious consumers who are keen to discover fresh, original, new and inventive alternatives to alcohol.” And Mahala Botanical is clearly top of the pack in this category, having won the Best Low/No-alcohol Drink category at the prestigious Michelangelo International Wine & Spirit Awards.

The brand is also a staunch supporter of women in the industry as Danielle is one of the few female master distillers in Africa and they carefully consider partnerships, supporting the Sparrow Society, a local female sewing co-operative who designs and crafts reusable cotton bottle bags, as one such example. 

For more information about Mahala Botanical, go to mahalabotanical.com and follow their story on Instagram and Facebook. You can also contact their South African distributor at info@trumanandorange.com.