How did you end up being the only female master distiller in South Africa?It wasn't my intention when I started as process manager at the James Sedgwick Distillery 15 years ago, but I fell in love with the delicate art of distillation - and the rest is history.Describe a typical day at the distilleryEvery day is different and that is part of the attraction. Some days I do admin, other days I spend my time in the distillery or in the maturation store. Then there are the days where we blend and taste samples from the casks to create our award-winning brandies.story_article_left1Are people surprised to discover their brandy is made by a woman?Often they are, as the industry has traditionally been known to be a man's world. But this is slowly changing. We have a number of female winemakers and it's only a matter of time before we see more womenadding their magic and feminine touch to brandy.Any tips on how to enjoy brandy?The best way to enjoy brandy is the way you like to drink it. This might require some experimentation. As a rough guide, blended brandies are meant to be enjoyed with a mixer, whereas vintage and pot still brandies are ideally drunk neat or with ice.How do you like your brandy?A pot still brandy served in a traditional brandy glass with a block of ice.Do you have a favourite brandy recipe?That would have to be my famous family recipe for brandy pudding. I take the liberty of adding a splash of Van Ryn's 15 Year Old in the sauce, and the endless requests for a second helping show that I must be doing something right. - Roberta Thatcher..