It’s Sunday, October 12, 2025.
• World Arthritis Day — A global nod to the quiet strength of those living with joint pain. Whether it’s morning stiffness or long-term resilience, today’s about awareness and empathy.
• International Moment of Frustration Scream Day — Feeling tangled? This quirky observance says: let it out. Just aim for a pillow, not your neighbor. A cathartic shout might be just what the weekend ordered.
• 1899: Boer Ultimatum Issued — On this day, the South African Boer Republic demanded British withdrawal, sparking the Second Boer War the very next day. A fierce struggle over land, gold, and sovereignty that shaped the road to union in 1910. A reminder of the grit of the pioneers of this country.
• Born today: Melvin Franklin (1942) — The velvet bass of The Temptations, anchoring Motown classics like My Girl. His voice was the heartbeat of a generation.
• Born today: Rick Parfitt (1948) — Status Quo’s riff king, delivering boogie-rock anthems that still get boots stomping. Rockin’ All Over the World wasn’t just a song—it was a mood.
I saw a bottle of Writer’s Tears whiskey in the Fish Hoek SPAR yesterday afternoon. It made me chuckle. Humour isn’t often used in branding—especially not in the world of whiskey, where gravitas tends to rule. But this Irish label leans into the emotional drama of the creative process, a nod to writers like James Joyce and W.B. Yeats who knew a thing or two about pouring soul onto the page.
Launched in 2009 by Bernard and Rosemary Walsh, the name is both tongue-in-cheek and oddly sincere. No sign of Oscar Wilde or Robbie Burns—perhaps too flamboyant or too Scottish for the concept. Still, it’s a bottle that understands the writer’s journey—whether drowning sorrows or celebrating a publication.
Someone I was talking to the other day thought Pep Stores was opened by Raymond Ackerman. He couldn’t be more wrong. Here are the facts:
Pep Stores South Africa — Fast Facts
• Founded: 1965
• Founder: Renier van Rooyen, a self-made entrepreneur from Upington who began his retail journey in 1955 with a small general dealership
• Founder’s Death: Renier van Rooyen passed away in May 2002
• Store Count: Approximately 1,800 stores across 11 countries in Southern Africa, including South Africa
• Employees: Around 15,000 people employed across the region
All of which brings me to today’s topic—the price of whiskey compared to biltong.
Few people are going to splash out R800 or R1,000 on a bottle of whiskey unless it has some special meaning or they’re celebrating something big. We’re talking ordinary people here, and that Writer’s Tears bottle is definitely special. Yet I saw the other day in a supermarket that the price of lean biltong is over R550 a kilo—sometimes even more.
I can’t believe the price of meat has gone this high. Really, I can’t. And I find it strange that people will complain about the price of a fillet or rump steak, yet happily hand over cash for biltong that’s far more expensive.
Of course, biltong has deep roots here. The pioneers invented it out of necessity—they didn’t have refrigerators or ice. They were out in the sticks, travelling long distances through uncharted country, and had to find a way to preserve protein while on the move. It’s part of the country’s DNA.
The market value for biltong in South Africa was estimated between R640 million and R1.1 billion in 2003, growing to over R2.5 billion by 2015. Beef biltong sales accounted for around R2.4 billion, with game biltong about R237 million. Biltong is a staple snack, and its price drivers include meat and processing costs.
As for whiskey, South Africa’s whiskey market showed a volume decline from about 43.2 million litres in 2014 to around 38.7 million litres in 2016. Whiskey remains the most consumed spirit in South Africa, preferred by roughly 4.1 million people. In terms of value, whiskey accounts for approximately 44% of the spirit market. The average price of a 750ml bottle was roughly R173 in 2017, up from R96 in 2008
It’s funny, isn’t it? People sip whiskey slowly but chew through money faster than biltong at a rugby match.
