PRESS RELEASE: Exceptional St. Kilian Bottlings

St. Kilian Distillers Presents Winter Edition “Merry Christmas” and Grave Digger Forest Fruit Liqueur “Berry Metal”

Rüdenau, December 2022
Just in time for Christmas, St. Kilian Distillers is releasing two new bottlings to sweeten the anticipation of the most wonderful weeks of the year. The innovative distillery from Rüdenau in Lower Franconia is known for its experimental spirit, which has already resulted in a multitude of award-winning bottlings. But a single malt, aged in former herbal liqueur casks, is an absolute novelty even for Mario Rudolf. "We were very excited to see how our different New Make Spirits would develop in the ex-herbal liqueur casks, and we are absolutely overwhelmed by the result. The wintry spice aromas are perfect for our Christmas Edition," enthuses the Master Distiller. For this five-year-old Winter Edition, Rudolf put together three herbal liqueur casks, one of which was filled with mild New Make and two with "heavily peated" (54 ppm) New Make. Bottled at 53.5% vol., and as always at St. Kilian Distillers neither colored nor chill-filtered, the single malt impresses with full-bodied aromas of gingerbread and plum compote with wintry spices, enveloped in warming peat smoke.

Cooperation with Grave Digger

Following the great success of the two single malt whiskies from the Heavy Metal Edition, released in November 2021 in cooperation with Grave Digger, another joint bottling with the legendary heavy metal band from Germany is now following. This time, Mario Rudolf and Grave Digger guitarist Axel "Ironfinger" Ritt opted for a highly aromatic forest fruit liqueur based on St. Kilian's "heavily peated" (54 ppm) New Make Spirit. This peated liqueur was bottled at a robust 40% vol. and convinces with a perfectly coordinated blend of fruity forest berries and fine peat smoke.

Premiere in Frankfurt and Munich

Both festive new releases are strictly limited. Only 850 bottles of the Winter Edition “Merry Christmas” were filled with the iconic still shape, while a total of 1,280 bottles of the peated Berry Metal forest fruit liqueur with heavy metal optics were produced. The exceptional bottlings will be presented to the public simultaneously and exclusively on the first weekend of December at the 23rd InterWhisky, the trade fair in the historic Palmengarten Gesellschaftshaus, in Frankfurt am Main, as well as at FOOD & LIFE, the fair for food, drink, and lifestyle, in Munich. Subject to sufficient availability, both bottlings will then also be available in the St. Kilian Distillers online shop and on-site at the distillery.

Tasting Notes: Winter Edition “Merry Christmas”

Appearance
Bright gold

Aroma
Sweet herbal notes with cardamom and a hint of cinnamon bark, accompanied by gingerbread, caramel, and a touch of ripe plums and fine peat smoke.

Taste
A full-bodied explosion of aromas of sweet plum compote with wintry spices, garnished with fine herbs and a pinch of cinnamon, enveloped in warming peat smoke.

Finish
Initially creamy sweet and warming, before dry notes of cloves and anise with subtle peat smoke linger for a long time.

Alcohol content:
53.5% vol

RRP:
€ 69.90 (0.5l)

Tasting Notes: Grave Digger Berry Metal Forest Fruit Liqueur

Appearance
Ruby red

Aroma
Mild peat smoke envelops an intensely fruity potpourri of red and black forest berries.

Taste
Wonderfully fruity, sweet, and juicy with intense notes of strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry, accompanied by a hint of caramel and subtle peat smoke.

Finish
Creamy berry compote lingers pleasantly long with fine smoke and subtly dry ash notes.

Alcohol content:
40% vol

RRP:
€ 39.90 (0.5l)

---

About Grave Digger

The heavy metal band from Gladbeck has been one of the most influential representatives of the German metal scene since its founding in 1980. With their now 21 studio albums, they bring metal made in Germany to the world. In addition to classics such as "Heavy Metal Breakdown" or the Wacken anthem, the band is known, among other things, for its legendary Scotland trilogy. The three albums "Tunes of War", "The Clans will Rise again" and "Fields of Blood" are a tribute to Scottish history and take listeners to the battlefields of the Scottish Highlands. The band around singer Chris Boltendahl and guitarist Axel "Ironfinger" Ritt captivates fans worldwide with their epic sounds and emotional live performances. More information can be found at www.grave-digger.de.

About St. Kilian Distillers GmbH

Germany's largest whisky distillery, located in Rüdenau in Lower Franconia near Miltenberg am Main, produces top-class whisky that has been awarded numerous gold medals at the most renowned whisky competitions around the globe. In addition, awards such as "Distillery of the Year" and "Whisky of the Year" attest to the international top level that the distillery, founded only in 2012 by investment banker Andreas Thümmler and thus still young, has now reached with its whiskies. St. Kilian Distillers supports the responsible consumption of alcohol, about which you can find out more at https://www.massvoll-geniessen.de/. Further information about the company and portfolio can be found at stkdev.lichtschreiber.de.

---