The Americans call it 'moonshine', to the warm-blooded Irish it is 'Poteen' and the Swiss call it 'Kirsch'. In South Africa, it is 'Witblits' in the Cape and to Transvalers it is just 'Mampoer'. Mampoer and the variety of names given to it are the names of strong, homemade distilled brandy made from fruit.

Mampoer is uniquely South African. Its legend is so entangled in the South African folklore legends that it is difficult to distinguish between facts and fables.

What makes Mampoer so unique is the fact that it is distilled on the farm according to handpicked recipes and very special processes. The secrets of distilling this potent 'brandy' are carried over from generation to generation and this adds to the mystery that surrounds it.

It is not certain where the name 'mampoer' originated. Many stories and anecdotes which are being told and which are still in circulation as well as the closely guarded secret of the refined recipes, contribute to the fascination of the mampoer legend.

It is alleged that mampoer was named after Mampuru, a Pedi Chief who instigated the murder of his half-brother Sekoekoenie. It is alleged that, General Joubert's men probably obtained liquor from Mampuru and Mapog. It is believed that this liquor was distilled from Maroelas, which was plentiful in the area.

The test to determine quality of mampoer is very simple. Pour a small quantity on a flat surface and light it. If it all burns off with a clear blue flame, it is unadulterated and full strength. This is why Mampoer is sometimes also called 'fire water' - it causes the first-time drinker to catch his breath with his first sip.

A simple recipe for making mampoer: Take your drums of ripe yellow peaches (don't worry about any worms), mash them up and leave them for 14 days. The fruit ferments and gives off a lot of gas. When the bubbles subside, the mash is ready to distil. Don't leave the mash too long or it will go sour and you'll end up with peach vinegar.

Heat the mash in the still to just under boiling point. The alcohol boils off before the water and is trapped by a condensation pipe. The condensate is collected in a bucket and, for really top quality mampoer, it may be redistilled. The residue of the distillation process (known to whisky distillers as the feints) makes an excellent liniment and mosquito repellent.

The farmers in the Marico district (North West Province) where mampoer distilling is part of everyday life, have to sell their mampoer discreetly - mampoer distilling for retail sale is still illegal. This goes back to 1924 when the government passed a law giving KWV a monopoly on brandy production.

All stills had to be marked and registered with Customs and Excise, and detailed records kept as to the amount and strength of any liquor produced. Farmers were allowed to produce liquor only from fruit grown on their land. Portable stills were outlawed: they had to have a minimum capacity of 680 litres and had to be built on a cement or brick foundation.

Recently exemption was however given to agricultural museums and colleges to distil brandy, and two institutions have taken up the offer. In the Cape, the Kleinplasie farm museum in Worcester makes Witblits and in the Transvaal, the Willem Prinsloo Agricultural Museum, near Pretoria, distils mampoer.

A Mampoer tour from the town of Zeerust also takes tourists from farm to farm, where they can sample the home distilled, clear spirit or spend a night to enjoy the Groot Marico hospitality.

Mampoer has long ago become part of South Africa's cultural heritage. To the people who distil and drink 'mampoer', it has become a way of life.