G – as in General Principles

What do principles mean for St. Kilian?

Principles are certain rules that we have established for ourselves and meticulously follow. For us as a manufacturer of premium spirits, they form the basis of our daily actions.

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What principles are there at St. Kilian?

The principles at St. Kilian are as follows: We always bottle our whiskies with at least 46% alcohol by volume (ethanol). Furthermore, we do not add any additional coloring to our whiskies. We only have natural colors that come from cask maturation. In addition, our whiskies are not chill-filtered before bottling. And finally, we do not perform any finishing; we only do full maturation. These are the four main principles that we at St. Kilian have followed from the beginning.

Why are the whiskies bottled with at least 46% alcohol by volume?

If the alcohol content of a whisky is below 46% by volume, there is a risk that the spirit will form a haze and become cloudy at colder temperatures (e.g., transport in winter, cold cellar). This is not a quality defect, but it does not look aesthetically pleasing.

Where does this cloudiness come from?

The cloudiness comes from certain aroma and flavor compounds, the so-called congeners. Some of them are only water-soluble, others only alcohol-soluble. An alcohol content of 46% is considered a solubility limit for certain congeners in whisky, such as certain fatty acid esters. If the alcohol content decreases due to the addition of water, these precipitate and form a haze. Since solubility is temperature-dependent and decreases with falling temperature, a whisky bottled with less than 46% alcohol by volume and also chilled will develop a more or less noticeable cloudiness. To prevent this, the whisky industry developed chill filtration.

Why does St. Kilian reject chill filtration?

Because this process, in which the respective whisky is cooled to below 0°C before bottling and the resulting turbid substances are removed by filtration, removes something from our whisky. These removed turbid substances are then missing from the final aroma and flavor profile of our whiskies. However, these filtered-out turbid substances usually contribute to the mouthfeel, i.e., the texture of a whisky. This is partly lost through chill filtration, and we absolutely do not want that. Because in the end, we do not want to remove a certain proportion of what we have painstakingly worked for in an elaborate and costly production process from our whiskies!

Why is coloring avoided?

At St. Kilian, we produce honest whisky, made exclusively from the three ingredients water, barley, and yeast through double distillation, and allowed to mature as new make in wooden casks. As natural as possible. The color of our whiskies comes exclusively from the used wooden casks. Depending on the type of cask and the previous use of the maturation casks, we get a natural color in our whiskies, whose palette ranges from straw yellow to gold and amber to the deepest mahogany.

Why does St. Kilian not do finishing?

We believe that only full maturation in a cask, i.e., the entire storage period of our new make spirit in one and the same cask, reflects the full aroma and pure taste of our whisky. For example, when we fill our Italian Amarone wine casks from the renowned Cantine Lenotti from Bardolino with St. Kilian New Make, after 3, 5, 8, 10, or 12 years in this cask, we get 100% of the pure Amarone taste of our whisky. This is not possible with finishing.

What is meant by finishing?

In finishing, a spirit is first matured in one type of cask, usually Bourbon casks. After a certain time, the contents of this cask or several casks are transferred to another type of cask. These can be, for example, Amarone, rum, sherry, port, beer, or other casks. As a result, the whisky, already characterized by the original Bourbon cask, takes on additional aromas, which usually come from the previous use of the casks used for finishing. In addition to the Bourbon cask character, you get another component, both of which ideally complement each other. Finishing often lasts only a few months, but depending on the activity of the cask, it can also extend over a period of a year or more.

Are no whiskies blended at St. Kilian at all?

Yes, of course. For example, our Signature Editions are almost always blends of single malt whiskies from several cask types. However, this only happens after their individual maturation! Because every single whisky in such a blend – in the wine world one would speak of a cuvée – comes from one cask from beginning to end.

Is full maturation more expensive than finishing?

Oh yes. As mentioned, in finishing, often the cheaper Bourbon casks are used for the basic maturation of a whisky. After a certain time, this Bourbon cask-matured whisky is then transferred to other wine, beer, or spirit casks and re-matured there, often only for a few months. These casks can then be used again for the next finishing. This saves time and ultimately money. At St. Kilian, we allow every whisky to fully mature in the desired cask. This means that, for example, our expensive red wine or Mizunara casks are occupied for years and therefore cannot be used as often as would be the case with a finishing. And that simply costs more money. But the high quality of our whiskies, which have now won several international awards, proves us right.

Are there any exceptions to the bottlings regarding the principles?

Yes, there are. In the event that a cask leaks during the maturation of the whisky, its contents must be transferred to another cask to keep losses as low as possible. Or a cask is overactive and releases very intense aromas to the maturing distillate after only a few years. In this case, too, it is transferred to another cask so that the distillery character of our spirit is not completely overwhelmed. In both cases, we speak of "Double Maturation," a second maturation, and of course, we state this on the label of the respective bottle. Also, especially at the beginning of our first single malt whisky bottlings, there were a few that were bottled with an alcohol content between 40 and 46% by volume. Examples would be the Single Malt Whiskies Signature Edition ONE (45% vol.) and Rhein-Neckar Löwen Edition (43% vol.). But these remained very few exceptions.

What is the goal of St. Kilian's four principles?

Our goal is to remain down-to-earth and to create honest whisky that is purely natural, unadulterated, and full of flavor. That is what we stand for with our name.