The commercial is the second in the brand’s 'Journey of Discovery' theme, this time following the voyage of three Irish adventurers as they trek across Africa in the plane to discover who makes the world’s best whisky.

According to the director, Greg François from Fresh Eye, using a vintage aeroplane visually captures the exotic drama and romance of the great explorers. "In the mass-produced, synthetic world we live in, this low-tech, mechanical masterpiece, which took years to restore, harks back to the days of honest, hand-crafted excellence. In this it reflects the exceptional quality of the whiskies produced today by Three Ships," he says.

In its heyday the BE 18 was the equivalent of today’s executive Learjet. The aircraft came to South Africa in 1994 and received star status in 2008 in the Hollywood movie Amelia, which was based on the life of Amelia Erhard and starred Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

The current TVC follows on from the first in the series aired in 2012 which featured a group of Scottish explorers as they set off in finding the world’s best and discovering the Three Ships Five Year Old Premium Select Whisky awarded as the World’s Best Blended Whisky by blind taste-test at the 2012 World Whisky Awards.

The TVC series was conceptualised by 140 BBDO, and according to copywriter David Williams, the aim of the campaign is to remind South Africans that making whisky is not only reserved for the traditional whisky-making countries such as Scotland and Ireland. "In a category obsessed with its own traditions, the challenge was telling South Africans that we too can create a whisky to rival the best the world has to offer - and even better," he says.

"We wanted to create a storyline that would engage South Africans and create a sense of pride in the whiskies produced here through the extraordinary journey and discovery that awaits the three Irish adventurers as they cross Africa and arrive at their final destination, The James Sedgwick Distillery where Andy Watts, master distiller, crafts the award-winning range of whiskies."

He concludes: "As the Irish explorers travel from country to country to refuel, braving rocky deserts and WWII era jungle runways, they find that Africa is not at all what they had expected. Instead, it is an assemblage of cultures, harsh natural beauty and bustling modern metropolises. And even after all they had experienced on their travels, arriving at the distillery, they discover that the best things in the world don’t always come from where you’d expect."

The TVC launched on Wednesday, 18 March on DSTV, SABC and eTV and will roll out to cinemas on Friday, 20 March.