German whisky

German whisky is a distilled beverage produced in Germany made from grains traditionally associated with the production of whisky. The distillation of German-made whisky is a relatively recent phenomenon having only started in the last 30 years. The styles produced resemble those made in Ireland, Scotland and the United States: single malts, blends, and bourbon styles. There is no standard spelling of German whiskies with distilleries using both "whisky" and "whiskey" and one even using "whessky", a play on the word whisky and Hesse, the state in which it is produced. There are currently ten distilleries in Germany producing whisky.^[1]

German distilleries

Blaue Maus

In 1980 Robert Fleishmann founded the Blaue Maus Distillery to produce brandy wine on the site of a grocery and tobacco shop that was owned by his family. He made his first attempt at making whisky, a pure single malt, three years later. After many attempts at perfecting the art he sold his first whisky in 1996 and four years later his son Thomas and wife Petra took over the operations. The distillery offers five different brands of whisky.

Höhler

The Höhler Distillery was founded in 1895 as a maker of fruit liquors. The present owner is a fourth generation member of the family, Holger Höhler. In 2001 he started turning out small batches of whisky using a recipe consisting of corn, wheat and rye. These whiskies are aged for a three year period and when bottled sell out quickly. The whiskies produced have been in the style of Irish, Scotch single malt, rye and bourbon. The whiskies are spelled "Whessky" as a play on the word whisky and Hesse, the state in which the distillery is located.

Slyrs

The Slyrs Distillery was founded in 1999. It produces Slyrs Bavarian Single Malt. This whisky is aged for three years in new, unused American white oak barrels with a 50-gallon capacity. Beginning in 2015 the company will be offering a 12 year old single malt.

First German whisky conference

The first German Whisky Conference (Whisky Konferenz) was held in Hannover 21 August, 2008. It was organized by Dr. Clemens Dillmann, owner of software house HBB Datenkommunikation & Abrechnungssysteme GmbH and www.whisky.de. ^[2]

References

^ MaClean, Charles (2008). Whiskey. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 254–265. ISBN 978-0-7566-3349-3.
^ http://www.mixology.eu/en/blog/first-german-whisky-conference-hannover

[1] MaClean, Charles (2008). Whiskey. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 254–265. ISBN 978-0-7566-3349-3.

[2] ttp://www.mixology.eu/en/blog/first-german-whisky-conference-hannover

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