St. Kilian Grave Digger Field of Blood Peated Whisky

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 47% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Fields of Blood brings together Scottish peated malt and maturation in three different cask types. The malt comes from Glen Esk, south of Aberdeen, and has a phenol content of 54 ppm. For this bottling, it was fermented for more than 70 hours in wooden washbacks before the spirit was slowly distilled twice in copper pot stills.

The whiskies used spent their entire maturation period in red wine, first-fill bourbon or Ruby port casks. Only then were they brought together for the edition, so the different cask influences come from full maturation rather than a subsequent finish. Creamy fruit sweetness and mild peat smoke define the result.

The limited heavy metal edition was unveiled on 29 December 2022. A total of 5,450 bottles were filled, each containing 0.7 litres at 47% alcohol. The whisky is neither chill-filtered nor coloured. The black label features a winged skull above the Grave Digger lettering.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose reveals red berries, ripe peaches and sweet grapes, accompanied by mild peat smoke. Vanilla, a little oak spice and fine tannins complement the fruit aromas, with subtle floral notes adding another accent.
• Palate: The whisky feels creamy and sweet on the palate. Vanilla, red berry compote and juicy grapes mingle with warming oak spice and fine tannins. Mild peat smoke accompanies this fruity combination.
• Finish: The long finish brings warmth with creamy grape sweetness and delicate oak spice. Dark chocolate and subtle, dry ash notes follow.

Distillery/Bottler:

St. Kilian Distillers is based in Rüdenau in the Lower Franconian Odenwald, near Miltenberg am Main. Andreas Thümmler founded the company in 2012, and Irish whisky specialist David F. Hynes helped plan the distillery. In 2016, the first new-make spirit flowed from its two copper Forsyths stills. First Kilian, its first three-year-old single malt, followed in May 2019.

The equipment includes a traditional mash tun, four wooden washbacks and two pot stills, each with a capacity of 6000 litres. Master Blender Mario Rudolf works with different types of malt and yeast, as well as various distillation methods and cask maturations. He brings together whiskies from separately matured batches. Grave Digger guitarist Axel Ritt also took part in the unveiling of Fields of Blood.

Facts: