Press Release: Judas Priest Whisky

St. Kilian Distillers dedicates the next Heavy Metal Edition to the legendary band Judas Priest

With the single malt bottlings "50 Heavy Metal Years" and "Angel of Retribution", Germany's largest whisky distillery celebrates 50 years of Judas Priest's band history

Rüdenau, September 2022
One of heavy metal's greatest bands, Judas Priest, celebrates its 50th anniversary. Few metal bands have built such a lasting reputation in the scene as the British band. They were the first to exclusively wear leather and studs, creating a look that was embraced by metal fans around the world. Accompanied by numerous awards, Judas Priest's success continued steadily since the seventies. With their legendary album "Firepower" in 2018, they reached an absolute peak in their metal career. Postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Judas Priest celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, inspiring fans around the world with a sensational concert tour. Reason enough for St. Kilian Distillers to dedicate another Heavy Metal Edition with two extraordinary bottlings to the legendary band from Birmingham. The "50 Heavy Metal Years" Anniversary Edition, limited to 12,300 bottles, received its unique character from barley malt that was gently smoked over beechwood fires. The four-year-old, smoky single malt matured largely in former Bourbon casks and was married with whiskies from ex-Rye and ex-Brandy Jerez casks, which contribute a creamy fruit sweetness to the wood smoke. For the strictly limited "Angel of Retribution" Edition, on the other hand, Ultra Heavily Peated barley malt with 91 "parts per million" (ppm) was used, which comes directly from the Scottish Highlands and embodies heavy metal in its purest form. A total of 950 bottles of this four-year-old single malt, which received a unique full maturation in French 300-liter ex-Pineau des Charentes casks and offers a true explosion of flavors of peat smoke, fruit, and spice, were bottled. Both of these special Judas Priest Heavy Metal Editions will be available from September 25, 2022.

Heavy Metal matches St. Kilian

Andreas Thümmler has been a fan of the British heavy metal band since his youth. "Songs like Turbo Lover, Metal Gods, and Breaking the Law remain unforgettable for me even after 50 years. So it was immediately clear that there had to be a St. Kilian Heavy Metal Edition for Judas Priest's 50th anniversary," says the founder and owner of St. Kilian Distillers. Thümmler didn't hesitate for a minute when Global Merchandising Services Limited, one of the world's largest exploiters of merchandising rights in the music and entertainment industry, approached St. Kilian Distillers with the licensing for Judas Priest whisky. After the great success of the first St. Kilian Heavy Metal Edition, Grave Digger, metal fans and whisky enthusiasts alike will once again get their money's worth.

Use of smoked and peated malt

The basis for the "50 Heavy Metal Years" Anniversary Edition is special barley malt from Germany, which gets its unmistakable aroma from gentle kilning over beechwood smoke. "With this lightly smoked malt, we get a fine but noticeable smoky note in the whisky. In addition, the brandy casks from Jerez contribute a creamy-sweet fruitiness as an ideal complement to the bourbon and rye notes," explains Master Distiller Mario Rudolf. Inspired by the anthem "Lochness" from the Judas Priest album "Angel of Retribution", the equally named, extremely heavily peated Heavy Metal bottling was created. This was produced with Ultra Heavily Peated barley malt, which is sourced directly from Scotland. "The fruity aromas, the unique taste, and the high quality of the Pineau des Charentes casks completely convinced us and were the decisive factor for this limited edition," reveals Rudolf.

Sales launch on September 25, 2022

Both Judas Priest Single Malt Heavy Metal Whiskies are neither colored nor chill-filtered and are bottled in the 0.7-liter bottle with a black metal-look label, used exclusively for the Metal series. The recommended retail price for end consumers is €59.90 for the mildly smoky "50 Heavy Metal Years" and €99.90 for the Ultra Heavily Peated "Angel of Retribution" Single Malt Whisky. The release date for both editions is Sunday, September 25, 2022, from 7:00 PM in the St. Kilian online shop. While the 50th Anniversary Edition will later also be available from many specialist retailers, the "Angel of Retribution" Edition will be exclusively available online from St. Kilian and – if sufficient availability – also in the shop at the visitor distillery. In addition, the "50 Heavy Metal Years" Anniversary Edition will be presented and tasted together with participants on Saturday, October 15, at 7:00 PM, as part of the large Online Whisky Tasting live from the Stillhouse of Germany's largest whisky distillery – along with many other new releases. Further information on the Online Whisky Tasting can be found at stkdev.lichtschreiber.de.

Tasting Notes: Judas Priest - 50 Heavy Metal Years

APPEARANCE
Pale Gold

AROMA
Wonderfully fruity notes of juicy apricot, underpinned by sweet vanilla, a hint of barley malt and finely spiced oak, are perfectly enveloped by warming wood smoke notes.

TASTE
Creamy-sweet and at the same time pleasantly warming with grilled apricot, vanilla cream and malty sweetness, accompanied by a subtle peppery note with a touch of oak spice and dry wood smoke.

FINISH
Pleasantly warming with creamy light fruit, toasted malt, dry ash notes, and a finely spiced oak structure that lingers long.

ALCOHOL CONTENT:
47 % vol

RRP:
€ 59.90 (0.5l)

Tasting Notes: Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution

APPEARANCE
Amber

AROMA
Intensely warming peat smoke in harmony with sweet fruit notes of yellow plums and red grape jelly, accompanied by ash notes, some soot and spicy oak with menthol in the background.

TASTE
The velvety fruit sweetness of juicy oranges and yellow plums combines with spicy oak, white pepper and fine marzipan in an all-encompassing peat smoke with a delicate ash note for a true explosion of flavor.

FINISH
The creamy-spicy mélange of fruit jam and oak tannins lingers long with the pleasantly warming peat smoke, dry ash notes, and a hint of almonds.

ALCOHOL CONTENT:
49 % vol

RRP:
€ 99.90 (0.5l)

---

About Judas Priest

Judas Priest from Birmingham are considered one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal bands. Originally founded as a blues band in 1969, Judas Priest turned to heavy metal in the mid-1970s. With numerous albums and hits like "Breaking The Law", "Living After Midnight" or "Painkiller", they have been leaving their unmistakable mark on the metal music scene for 50 years now and reached an absolute peak in their metal career with their legendary album "Firepower" in 2018. This year, Judas Priest was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and received the "Musical Excellence Award". For their 50th anniversary, a limited box set with all official live and studio albums as well as 13 previously unreleased CDs was released from the band's vast archives in 2021. For 2022/2023, concerts are planned in Germany, Spain, the USA, Scotland, Finland, Sweden and Italy, among other countries. More information can be found at www.judaspriest.com.

About Global Merchandising Services Limited

Global Merchandising Services Limited is one of the world's largest exploiters of merchandising rights in the music and entertainment industry. The company develops unique and innovative international merchandising programs and holds licenses from a variety of internationally successful individual artists, music bands, and entertainment events. Led by Barry Drinkwater, founder and executive chairman, and with offices in London and Los Angeles, California, Global Merchandising Services Limited's roster includes music groups such as One Direction, Judas Priest, Motörhead, and Iron Maiden, as well as characters and brands like The Emoji Company, Capcom, and entertainment brands like Universal's "Jurassic World" and Rovio's "Angry Birds".

About St. Kilian Distillers GmbH

Germany's largest whisky distillery, located in Rüdenau near Miltenberg am Main in Lower Franconia, produces premium whisky that has won 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 on which the distillery, founded only in 2012 by investment banker Andreas Thümmler and thus still young, now operates 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.

---