What comes to your mind when you think of Switzerland? The Alps? Your last holidays when you went skiing? Maybe it might also be the famous Swiss chocolate or only the high cost of living you have to handle in this small multilingual country. In the future, there should at least be one more thing to associate with Switzerland. It’s the excellent whisky they make in a small place called Appenzell. Only 5,751 people live there, but a few of them produce some very well made whiskies called Säntis Malt Swiss Alpine Whisky. During the last years they released a lot of different varieties of their whisky with names that are not always easy to pronounce for a tongue that is not accustomed to using the German language. One of them was decorated as Best European Whisky of the year 2010 by Jim Murray: The Edition Dreifaltigkeit, which was matured in old oak beer casks. Soft spring water from the Alps and peat from the Swiss highland moor are used for this whisky, which reminds you of liquid ham when you take a first sniff after filling it in your glass. But it offers much more than just peat and ham combined with an unusual way of maturing in a country that is famous for so many things but not for whisky. At least until today. Go ahead, give it a try!

by Aaron

Eye: Somewhere in between dark red and brown. Imagine a half pint of Guiness filled up with water.  Actually, by doing this, you will learn that Guiness is red, not black. And I guess you will rather precisely get the same colour as you find in a bottle of Edition Dreifaltigkeit.
Nose: First association will be smoked ham. After a few minutes you will also find herbs grown on a Swiss alp combined with caramel and some earthy notes. But of course, smoke is the prior aroma.
Palate: Your nose might tell you that there will mostly be smoky and peaty notes on your tongue. But there is much more. You will find surprisingly distinct fruity notes. It is hard to say which fruits are in there. Maybe it’s apples, berries or peaches. In addition, you also find the earthy, woody notes again. If it wasn’t from Switzerland, it could almost be a typical Islay whisky.
Finish: Long, sweet and very smoky. A perfect whisky if you try to avoid eating meat. You won’t feel the need to eat ham for the next few hours. But whether you like meat or not, this is a very delicious whisky.

Type: Alpine Single Malt Whisky
Region: Switzerland
Age: No Age Statement
Alc. volume: 52%
Bottle size: 0.5 litres
Price range: ~50.00 Euro
More info: www.saentismalt.com (Website)