Durban businessmen Clinton Wyness and Wayne Oliver - the brains behind the first South African produced rum- have plenty to celebrate.
They have just heard that their Zulu White Rum has won a gold award from judges in New York, who declared their rum "silky, smooth and satisfying".
Earlier this year, their Zulu White Rum made it on to the Fifty Best Rums in the world list, and last week, 14 of the Fifty Best were evaluated during a blind testing by judges.
"We are thrilled to bits with the gold medal," Wyness said.
For Wyness and Oliver, the new accolade is a boost to their 33-month business, which followed 12 years of work.
Wyness could never understand why no one was using KZN's sugar cane by-products to make rum - and although there were many cynics who told him he was crazy - he managed to do just that.
Now the partners are just two weeks away from exporting to Germany. "France will be next and Brazil is looking promising too," Wyness said.
Daily News