The Genesis of St. Kilian

Three whisky connoisseurs, one idea. A village of 760 souls, Germany's largest whisky distillery.

How St. Kilian Distillers became what we are today

In the 7th century, three monks from Ireland Christianized Franconia. They brought with them "Aqua Vitae" – the water of life – and the technology for its production. Did they use it to convince the heathens of Christianity? In the end, they became martyrs and are still revered today as the holy apostles of Franconia, St. Kilian, Kolonat, and Totnan.

Ireland was Christianized early, and in the 6th century, Irish missionaries traveled as far as the Near East. There, they discovered the art of distillation from the Arabs, using small copper pot stills. The alcohol obtained was enriched with spices, herbs, and flowers and served as perfume. The Irish monks drank it and found "Aqua Vitae," as they named it in Latin, to be a formidable medicine for body and soul. From then on, armed with this knowledge, Aqua Vitae was distilled and spread in Irish monasteries using copper stills. A barley spirit, comparable to today's "New Make" (spirit) of whisky distilleries.

Three traveling monks with "Aqua Vitae" in their luggage on their way to Franconia

In the 7th century, the monks Kilian, Kolonat, and Totnan traveled to Franconia on the Pope's instructions to Christianize the stubborn heathens there. All previous attempts had failed. All their predecessors had ended up at the stake. However, they carried with them for the first time the "Aqua Vitae" – the water of life – and a small copper still for its production. They presented their barley spirit as a gift to King Gosbert and his Queen Gailana at the court in Würzburg and spoke of its healing effects on body and mind. The King and Queen and all the vassals in the court were immediately enthusiastic. Kilian and his brothers were allowed to establish the production of Aqua Vitae in Würzburg and use the drink to convince the pagan citizens of Christianity. High-ranking as well as ordinary people appreciated this new medicine for external but especially for internal use.

The legend of the origin of St. Kilian Whisky in Rüdenau

On their missionary journeys throughout Franconia, the monks also came to Rüdenau, the current location of our distillery. There, they mixed their drink with the water from the Ottilienbrunnen, a healing spring where, long before, in the times of the Romans who guarded the Limes, water gods were worshipped. What then later emerged there is today a legend: St. Kilian Whisky. How the three monks ultimately became martyrs, and why they are still revered as apostles throughout Franconia, can be read in a booklet available for purchase in our shop in Rüdenau.

Three men - one mission

More than a thousand years later, three men with a mission, for whom "Aqua Vitae" was very dear, came together again. Until then, the art of whisky production in Germany had been driven by schnapps distillers on local stills, through maturation in casks. However, it takes copper pot stills and washbacks made of noble woods to produce a complex single malt whisky using the original process from today's Scotland and Ireland. Our founder Andreas Thümmler, a successful technology investment banker and passionate whisky collector, along with David F. Hynes, the Irish whisky legend from Dublin, had the idea and plan in 2012 to establish Germany's largest whisky distillery in the beautiful Odenwald near Miltenberg am Main. They were joined by master brewer and master distiller Mario Rudolf from Amorbach.

The first "Spirit of St. Kilian" and many more Signature Editions

The three men put the plan into action, and after four years of construction, in 2016, the first Spirit of St. Kilian flowed from the distillery's two 6000-liter Forsyth copper stills in the tranquil whisky village of Rüdenau. In May 2019, the team presented its first three-year-old single malt whisky, the "First Kilian." From then on, St. Kilian has been setting new quality standards in the production of "Whisky made in Germany" with its Small Batch Signature Editions. Our name "St. Kilian" is dedicated to the monk from Ireland and his brothers, who more than 1000 years ago already impressed and convinced us Germans of the miraculous qualities of Aqua Vitae. This is still our "mission" today.