St. Kilian 5 yo - Batch 1 (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)

Volume: 0.5 litres | Alcohol content: 53.1% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Beechwood smoke and a former cherry wine cask shape this single malt from the World of Smoke series. During kilning, the malt was infused with beechwood smoke; the whisky then matured in the cherry wine cask. The bottling thus combines a distinctive source of smoke with an unusual previous use for the cask.

For Batch 1, That Boutique-y Whisky Company bottled the five-year-old whisky at 53.1%, producing 542 bottles. It is neither chill-filtered nor coloured and comes in a 0.5-litre bottle with gift packaging.

The label depicts medieval monks with references to rock music, reflecting St. Kilian's collaborations with heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest. The monastery windows echo the shapes of the pot stills and bottles.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, dried fruit and bright cherry notes mingle with raspberry leaves and fragrant wood. Gentle wood smoke remains in the background.
• Palate: On the palate, the fruit takes the form of cherry sweets, accompanied by malt and a hint of menthol.
• Finish: The finish is dry and woody, with lingering menthol.

Distillery/Bottler:

St. Kilian Distillers is located in Rüdenau in the Odenwald, near Miltenberg am Main. Andreas Thümmler and Irish whisky expert David F. Hynes developed the plan for the distillery in 2012. After four years of construction, production began in 2016 using two copper Forsyth pot stills, each with a capacity of 6000 litres. The Scottish-inspired equipment also includes wooden washbacks made by Joseph Brown of Dufftown, in which fermentation takes place. In May 2019, First Kilian was released as the distillery's first three-year-old single malt. The distillery's name commemorates the Irish monk Kilian and his companions.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an independent bottler that selects whiskies from distilleries around the world and also creates its own blends. Its approach centres on small, unusual releases, including whiskies that depart from a distillery's usual style. Each hand-drawn label tells a story about the distillery or the bottling.

Facts: