Origin: Germany
Type: Single Malt German Whisky
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Whisky Facile
Official website: Whisky Facile
In what is by now a well-established independent bottling career, Whisky Facile turns the tables by choosing two single casks from a country not exactly at the forefront of whisky production: Germany.
Founded in Rüdenau, the St. Kilian distillery began production in 2016 thanks to founders Andreas Thümmler and David F. Hynes (the latter coming from the world of Irish whiskey) and Master Distiller Mario Rudolf, drawing inspiration from the Scottish (and Irish) spirit thanks to the two 6,000-litre Forsyth stills.
The name honours the three Irish monks Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan who brought acquavit to Germany in the seventh century, travelling around the country to Rüdenau, and if their products are not exactly well-known in our country, surely some of you have seen the bottlings dedicated to Bud Spencer and Terence Hill (The Legend and The Hero), released in 2011.
And it was thanks to them that Whisky Facile discovered the distillery and fell in love with their peated whisky, choosing two casks that express different nuances of it.
Whisky Facile St. Kilian 6yo ex-Bourbon
Strength: 60.7%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon
Price: € 65.00 on Whisky Facile Shop
Vote: 87/100
Single cask from Jack Daniel’s, filled in February 2018 with the 80 ppm peated German spirit (from Scottish Highland malt), ending up in 246 bottles after more than six years in old NATO bunkers in the Odenwald mountains.
Tasting Notes
The nose expresses a woody peatiness, a nice barbecue in a pine forest burning fresh wood and pine needles, leaving bacon and sliced pineapple on the grill with a handful of marshmallows to sizzle for after lunch. The albeit considerable alcohol content is entirely absent, leaving room for toasted malt (biscuit, more like) with Catalan cream, caramelised apple, almonds and Turkish coffee. Slight balsamic vein, at times mineral. Inviting.
In the mouth, it’s again the peat that drives the Teutonic composure, still earthy and arboreal, much more energetic than on the nose but integrating with the other flavours, in particular the coffee that makes room especially along the length. Grilled fruit, especially orange and chinotto, which doesn’t disdain handfuls of pineapple and quince along with toasted almonds, ginger biscuits, spices (nutmeg and cloves), all washed down with splashes of grapefruit. And the balsamic vein returns, more intense than on the nose, with mentholated traits.
Quite long finish of citrus, agricultural peat, spices, coffee, caramelised apple and balsamic traits.
Very young and yet already so rich and full, with the Black Forest in the glass it fully expresses its proud Nordic soul, which will not leave lovers of Scottish peat indifferent.
Whisky Facile St. Kilian 6yo ex-Sherry
Strength: 59.6%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry
Price: € 65.00 on Whisky Facile Shop
Vote: 85/100
Same distillation date but different cask, another six years of ageing to create 255 bottles.
Tasting Notes
On the nose, the peat convincingly embraces sherried influences, creating a unicum in which the smoke abandons (in part) its woody dimension to enter the Tuscan one (meaning the Toscano cigars), where the lit-up twist blows on notes of red fruits (blackberries, blueberries), sultanas, ripe plums, chocolate, wet leather, almonds. It retains its balsamic side, which becomes evident over time with a mentholated vein accompanying the aromas. Compact.
In the mouth, it attacks with a nice spiciness (pepper, nutmeg, aniseed) on a full but light body, in which liquorice, chocolate and coffee compete with red fruits (in jam), tamarind, toasted hazelnuts and baked apple. The smoke reappears as a cigar, acting as the main thread of the drink, together with the ever-present balsamic part that cools the palate.
Quite long and spicy finish with mentholated cigar, red fruits, roasted almonds, citrus fruits.
Less interesting than the ex-Bourbon version, although it remains a whisky capable of expressing the distillery’s uniqueness, especially in that balsamic vein that is somewhat the common thread linking the two casks.