Steve Erlank

The Climb

Systems work came first, and it shows in the later distilling. Steve Erlank began as senior systems analyst at Southern Life Association Limited (1984–1989), work that sits close to process, structure, and the practical logic behind how a business runs. He then moved into teaching as senior lecturer: Information Systems at University of Cape Town (1989–2000), where that same technical discipline was carried into the classroom. Leadership in training extended that line of work. At Faculty Training Institute, Steve Erlank served as chief executive officer (1998–2015), then as strategic business consultant at Faculty Training Institute (2015). The sequence matters: operational oversight first, advisory work after, with the intervening years compressing into a longer view of how institutions hold together and change over time. Since 2015, Steve has been thinker of Taking Time to Reflect, a role that signals the reflective side of his practice. In 2016, that reflective discipline was joined by production at Deep South Distillery, where Steve Erlank became distillery owner and director and distiller of Deep South Distillery (since 2016). The move places him on both sides of the same trade: thinking through the work and making it.

Today

The present work is split between reflection and distilling. As thinker of Taking Time to Reflect (since 2015), Steve Erlank keeps a written or conceptual register alongside the day-to-day demands of being distillery owner and director and distiller of Deep South Distillery (since 2016). The pairing suggests a maker shaped by systems thinking: someone who treats standards, process, and patience as part of the product, not as afterthoughts.

Signature

Steve Erlank’s signature spirits include Deep South Chilli Vodka, Taprobane Gin, and Old Reserve Overproof Arrack. Read together, they show a distilling practice that is specific in style and clear in intent: products with a defined point of view, and a local identity that is meant to hold its own in the market.

In Their Words “It is really motivating that we can provide our loyal customers with well-made local spirits that are able to compete with products made by huge international brands.” “It is always exciting to win a medal for one of our spirits, and even more so when it is one that we have developed and made for a client.”

Recognition

Recognition, in Erlank’s terms, is tied to proof of work. Steve Erlank frames value in the ability to make local spirits that can compete with products made by huge international brands, keeping the emphasis on standards rather than status. The point is not simply that the bottles are noticed, but that they hold their place against larger operations. The same applies to medals. For Steve Erlank, it matters that the award belongs to a spirit that has been developed and made for a client; the recognition is bound to the making, not separated from it. When asked what sustains the work, he answered with characteristic directness: “Determinaton, a love of making craft spirits and a belief in our products.”