First of all, a disclaimer: I am not going zig-zag across the country these days to see whisky distilleries. I am staying the heck home, of course. While doing so, however, I remembered that I had started this piece on my visit to Dolleruper Destille almost one year ago. (I went there in April 2019.) Yet, for some reason, I had never finished it. Well, better late than never. So here we go! In a way, Dolleruper Destille is the German answer to Wolfburn. Whereas the latter is the northermost distillery on the Scottish mainland, the former takes the same position on the German mainland. And chances are good that it will not lose this unique characteristic anytime soon. After all, the production plant resides in the small village of Dollerup, not even ten kilometers south of the Danish border. Even if someone decided to challenge the founders Werner Sauer and Dr. Axel Hartwig – both of which do originally come from the beer industry – for that title, they would have a hard time finding a fitting location that is even further north than Dollerup.

There are a number of small villages around the distillery. But the closest city is Flensburg, one of three university towns in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. From there, Dolleruper Destille is only a 15-minute car ride away. When my girlfriend and I were in Flensburg over Easter of 2019, we happily embarked on that wee trip. After all, it would feel like a big omission to reside that close to a distillery without popping in on it. As the unit is really small, it does not offer tours like the ones you you know from your latest Scotland trip, for example. But it has a number of other offers, such as distillation seminars, whisky tastings and sometimes even in-house jazz evenings. When we visited, no such activity took place. Still, the doors were open, the shop was busy and we were welcomed amiably. As we walked around the interior, we checked out the production facilities and browsed the store’s vast selection. Besides whisky, Dolleruper Destille also makes several types of gin (most noticably the Knut Hansen brand) as well as rum and fruit schnaps. Aditionally, they also have their own eco-friendly produced beer called Urstrom. Unlike their spirits, however, Urstrom is not produced directly in Dollerup. After all, they run a distillery there and not a brewery.

Since I was driving that day, I only had one small dram. I went for the latest batch of Dolleruper Destille’s smoky single malt whisky Typ Rauch. It was a nice, fiery companion during my stroll around the premises. If I had been able to drink more, the friendly lady in the shop would have been happy to re-fill my glass with whatever I had desired. At the counter there were many different bottles open and ready to be degusted by the guests.

Normally, I would have closed this piece with something like “The next time you’re in the area, be sure to pay Dolleruper Destille a visit.” But it ain’t that easy at the moment. The borders are closed, even domestic travel is highly restricted and it is absolutely mandatory that we all do our part to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. So please: Be responsible, stay home and, most importantly, remain healthy. Once the world has gone back to normal, we can all resume our social dramming and whisky exploring adventures. And who knows, maybe the latter will then also lead some of you to a small production site a couple of kilometres south of the Danish border …

by Tobi

Name: Dolleruper Destille
Type: Whisky & spirit distillery
Address: Dolleruper Destille, Neukirchener Weg 8a, D-24989 Dollerup, Germany
Opening hours: 10 am till 6 pm (Mon till Fri), 11 am till 5 pmn (Sat)
Online: https://www.dolleruper-destille.de/ (Website) ; https://www.facebook.com/diedolleruperdestille/ (Facebook)