In 2020, Danielle Schoeman, a renowned South African Master Distiller, began trialling various alcohol-free distilled spirits in her Dona craft distillery. 

Foraging botanicals from her family farm in the Cape she experimented with various blends until eventually discovering the perfect recipe. Using nine different botanicals (some of which are uniquely indigenous to the Western Cape) she created Mahala Botanical in her bespoke vacuum stills.

Free from sugar, alcohol, colourants and artificial flavours. A flavoursome, premium alcohol-free spirit. It offers health-conscious and mindful consumers a great tasting premium drink.

The all-natural botanicals undergo a triple-distillation process in our custom-built vacuum stills. This ensures abundant flavour and results in a complex, layered finish. The end product is a beautiful premium drink that delivers a sophisticated alternative to alcoholic beverages. 

  • Danielle, Sam and Pulane

  • Sam

  • Pulane

The Distillery known as Dona Distillery is situated in Montague Gardens in Cape Town.  It is an all-female distillery headed up by our Master Distiller Danielle. Dona means ‘women of rank’.  We are a craft distillery producing and developing exciting and innovative new products. We are passionate about the whole
process and that is why we do everything in-house ‘Farm To Glass’ from sourcing
local ingredients and raw materials to fermenting, distilling, bottling and
labelling every product that leaves our distillery. Our mission is ’to create
the best possible spirit, that is all

"

“We’re a team of three people - every single bottle that leaves our distillery, we’ve touched it, we’ve put on the label, we’ve closed it and we’ve put it in a box”

Danielle Schoeman

Our founders

Danielle Schoeman

Co-founder, MASTER DISTILLER

Cape Town born and bred, Danielle established Dona Distillery in 2019 with the dream to disrupt the industry with custom built vacuum stills (the only ones in Africa at the time) and ambitious goal to bring new and exciting spirits to local and international markets.

By 2020 Doña had won multiple awards including the trophy for the Best Low/No-alcohol Drink, Best Ready to Drink and numerous medals for her spirits at local and international competitions.

Danielle sees herself as an ambitious distiller with a vision to produce the highest quality products by continuously innovating and pushing the envelope. In her free time, Danielle enjoys hiking the mountain ranges of the Western Cape and spending time with her friends and family. 

Paul Scanlon

CO-FOUNDER & managing DIRECTOR

Born in France of Irish parents, Paul has lived in many countries including France, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, South Africa and now, the UK.

He joined the Alcohol Industry in 1996 as a Commercial Manager for Jameson Irish Whiskey, part of Pernod Ricard, where he held various senior commercial roles. Paul subsequently moved to the UK to become International Commercial Director of Chivas Brothers, working extensively across Europe, the Americas and Asia.

In 2014, Paul became the Managing Director of Pernod Ricard South Africa.  Following over 20 successful years at Pernod Ricard.

Paul set up his own beverage consultancy in 2020 prior to starting Mahala Botanical in 2021. Combining his passion for impeccable quality, the No/Low beverage category and South Africa, he partnered with Danielle to launch the Mahala Botanical brand. He is an avid rugby fan, a cyclist and a strong believer in healthy and mindful living.