Today, drammers in my home country and abroad celebrate the “Day of German Whisky”. For me, this marks a perfect opportunity to introduce you to the new independet whisky merchant Malts of Germany, and tell you about the fantastic tasting I had with them earlier this week. First off, some background information: Malts of Germany is not your typical indie bottler insofar as the brand came to life as an association of five well-established German distilleries that share a long history of collaboration and friendship: Sauerländer Edelbrennerei (home of Thousand Mountains), Birkenhof Brennerei (makers of Fading Hill), No 9 Spirituosen Manufaktur (creators of The Nine Springs), SinGold Whisky Destillerie (producers of the epinomous spirit), and Schraml – Die Steinwald Brennerei (originators of Stonewood). Together, they have set out on a mission to bring German whisky to the world, and show drammers near and far what this category has to offer. For their recently released kick-off outturn, Malts of Germany have exclusively picked casks from their own warehouses, yet they also plan to fill their ace looking bottles with malts from other local production sites in the future. Sure thing, I am super-excited to see what the next years have in store for this highly supportworthy whisky liaison. For now, however, I will focus on the present and share with you my tasting notes for the five whiskies in Malts of Germany’s very strong first serve!

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After tuning in via Zoom, we got our nostrils and palates going with a 4.5-year-old single malt whisky by Thousand Mountains. As managing director Thomas Lesniowski told us, this special sip was entirely matured in casks that previously held very dry and very precious Italian red wine. This is kind of rare for the distillery, most of whose releases are partly composed from red wine casks rather than fully. In the nose, the vinuous influence became apparent right away. I sniffed crunchy blackberries, cooked rhubarb, and darkened wood. The first sip was surprisingly light and sweetish with lots of apple puree. But then the flavors became darker and dustier as plum jam, cocoa powder, gingerbread cumbles, and all sorts of herbs unfolded. The dry and woody aftertaste was rich with very dark chocoloate and gratered pomelo peel as well as tannins, oak, and spices. A very nice and delicate starter!

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Next up was Birkenhof Brennerei’s offering, released under the Fading Hill Whisky moniker. Eager to show the very essence of their distillate, general manager Steffi Klöckner and the team blended their first Malts of Germany contribution from two rather shy and unobtrusive vessels: a 1st- and a 2nd-fill ex-Bourbon cask. The result is a light, elegant, summerly drop in which the fruity and malty new make still shines through at every stage of the degustation. To me, the neat and nifty whisky had a “puff pastry meets apple compote” nose, a “sugared crêpe with vanilla sauce” palate, and a “lemon grass and white-choc spliters” finish. Though it was easily approachable and highly savory, this 5-year-old Fading Hill still had many layers to dehull and excorticate – with ever-new sensations to be found undernearth.

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The third whisky came from a production unit of which I have been a huge fan ever since I dropped by there in person two years back: The Nine Springs. To me – and I gladly repeat this here in writing – the thick, oily, and flavor-rich spirit from the Thuringia-based distillery often evokes associations of The Macallan. This is partly due to the weighty complexion, and partly because of the mouth-watering nougat creaminess I found in pretty much every Nine Springs whisky I had so far (especially the ones drawn from sherry casks). The 5 Years Old released under the Malts of Germany banner was first kept in ex-Bourbon and Bourdeaux casks and then refined in Marsala casks. While it had all the qualities mentioned above, it also showed a different side of The Nine Springs, namely a piquant and herbaceous one. When we savored it under the guidance of founder Bernd Ehbrecht, I noted down the following sensations: garden fruits, grapes, and malt in the nose; honey, chocolate, and fruit liquor on the tongue; short pastry and coffee as well as more honey and chocolate in the aftertaste. Plus culinary herbs and aromatic grasses across all stages from sniffing to bellowing to swallowing.

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Before we moved on to try SinGold’s entry into Malts of Germany’s kick-off selection, the distillery’s owner Hans-Jürgen Flip made one thing clear. “Often,” he said, “people complain about the fact that German distillers produce too clean a spirit. That’s certainly not the case for me. I work mostly by instinct, I experiment a lot, and I run pretty much every crop or grain through my stills that I can find.” Unsurprisingly, his quadruple-distilled whisky, which was made from 10 per cent peated malt and 90 per cent unpeated malt, turned out to be pretty edgy and gritty with a unique character. It started out citrusy and orangey with no more than a little sourness. Then the cereals took over, turning the drop into “liquid bread” as Hans-Jürgen fittingly described it. Bit by bit, more notes chimed in: sticky toffee, jellied fruits, dried herbs, moist earth, salted cashews, cold smoke, and also a bit of sulphur. Sure, this was a pretty unusual tasting experience – but I totally loved every aspect of it!

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If we looked at the tasting as if it were a five-course meal, the only thing still missing was the dessert. We got it in the form of a Stonewood 5 Years Old with an Oloroso sherry finish. Though it resided below the 50 per cent ABV barrier, it was bottled in natural cask strength. The mand behind the dram, Gregor Schraml, explained why: “It always feels a little strange to us to dilute our spirit with water before we bottle it. To ensure we don’t have to do this all too often, we fill our new make into the cask with a rather low ABV of round about 50 per cent. That way, we can bottle it as it is at the end of its maturation time.” With its aroma-rich, full-bodied bouquet and palate, Stonewood’s finger-licking good Malts of Germany dram brought a grade-A tasting to a superb end! The voluminous notes it offered – such as raisin, honey, caramel, mirabelle, cocktail cherry, and tangerine tart – stayed with me for a good while and warmed my throat, my belly, and my heart. So, after sipping five very special and very good Germany whiskies, I had a content smile on my face when I finally bowed myself out saying “Auf die Freundschaft,” a jovial German toast meaning as much as “Cheers to friendship.”

by Tobi

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The drams

Thousand Mountains (Single malt / Germany /4yo / Red wine casks / 47%)
Fading Hill (Single malt / Germany / 5yo / Bourbon casks /46%)
Nine Springs (Single malt / Germany /5yo / Marsala finish / 46%)
SinGold (Single malt / Germany /?yo / White wine & oloroso casks / 49.5%)
Stonewood (Single malt / Germany /5yo / Am. white oak & oloroso casks / 49.6%)

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Malts of Germany @ Web: https://maltsofgermany.com/
Malts of Germany @ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maltsofgermany/
Malts of Germany @ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maltsofgermany/

*** I got the invitation and the samples for free
from Malts of Germany. Thank you. ***