Parys, Free State
The Helden Distillery, on the rim of the Vredefort Dome
Everyone and everything has a story. The Helden Distillery's begins about twenty years ago — when, at the age of seventeen, our Lead Distiller, Pieter van Helden, was first exposed to the concept of distillation.
After falling in love with what the process can do, Pieter gradually matured from producing hobby-level fruit brandies — locally known as mampoer — to focusing on the art of whisky. With a passion for Africa and innovation, the concept of African Style Whisky was born in 2017, and the Helden Distillery was founded the following year.
With the name Helden meaning heroes, this distillery marries the best of the founders' heritage and their love of South Africa. We don't make whisky to look like Scotland's — we make whisky that could only have come from here.
To artfully establish new styles of whisky, whereby we can bring the joy of the whisky experience to a wider audience.— Our Focus, as written in 2018
This focus shapes everything we do: innovative use of African wood in the maturation of our single malts and single grain spirits; African Style whiskies that combine African malted grains and African wood maturation; and a bespoke whisky co-creation service for collectors and connoisseurs.
It also shapes where we work — which, frankly, is the most extraordinary terroir for spirits in southern Africa.
Our distillery is located in the picturesque Vredefort Dome — a UNESCO World Heritage area, and the world's largest and oldest verified meteor impact structure.
The Dome is on the grounds of our brewing partner, The Dog & Fig Brewery, who assist us in the preparation of our malt washes. This location also gives us access to the unique flora of the Vredefort Dome landscape — some of which is used in our products, especially our Gin.
It is, as far as we know, the only commercial distillery in the world operating from the rim of a confirmed meteor impact site.
Pieter, aged seventeen, is given his first hobby still. He spends the next decade learning fruit brandy distillation in the family kitchen — and reading every textbook on whisky he can find.
After years of experiments with indigenous African woods, Pieter formalises the idea of African Style Whisky — a whisky that uses African grains and African wood maturation to produce a flavour profile that could not exist anywhere else.
Helden Distillery (Pty) Ltd is incorporated in Parys. The first commercial batch of New Make Spirit is laid down to mature on hickory wood. Within twelve months, the distillery is producing its first single malts.
The first commercial release — the Innovate Range — debuts at the Cape Whisky Society. Single malt finished on hickory and cherrywood, alongside the experimental New Make Spirit.
Our flagship Premier whisky — The African Bonfire — releases its first vintage in an edition of 386 numbered bottles. Sells out in nine days.
The Premier Outdoor Venue Restaurant opens on the distillery grounds, overlooking the Vaal River. Open seven days a week, alongside whisky tasting experiences.
Helden launches its bespoke whisky co-creation service: collectors choose the new make, the maturation wood, and the cask. We do everything else — including delivering a numbered bottle, signed and labelled to their specifications.
Between the founding members, the team holds at least five doctorates in chemistry and chemical engineering. We are, as far as we know, the most credentialled distillery staff in South Africa.
Chemical engineer by training. Began distilling at seventeen. Has overseen every cask laid down at Helden since 2018.
Co-founder and communications officer. Oversees the visitor experience, the restaurant, and the Premier allocation programme.
Owner of The Dog & Fig Brewery, our long-time brewing partner. Oversees malt wash preparation for every batch.
Our grains are African. Our wood is African. Our distillery sits on a piece of geology unlike anywhere else on Earth. We do not import character.
We test every new wood, every new mash, every new finish in small batches. Eight out of ten experiments fail. The two that don't, become Premier releases.
Every Premier bottle is labelled by hand, numbered against the cask, and signed by the distiller. Traceable, finite, and ours.
"The most distinctive new whisky to come out of South Africa in a decade. The African Bonfire is genuinely unlike anything else on the shelf."
April 2024"Helden has done something quietly remarkable — built a credible whisky house in a country that doesn't have a whisky tradition. And they've done it on their own terms."
November 2023"Five doctorates, a meteor crater, and a still. If that sounds like the start of a joke, taste their flagship — it isn't."
February 2023