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 Christianised Franconia. In their luggage they had the "Aqua Vitae" - the water of life - and a technology for its production. Did they succeed in convincing the pagans of Christianity? In the end, they became martyrs and are still venerated today as the holy apostles of the Franks, St. Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan.
Ireland was Christianised early on, and so in the 6th century Irish missionaries travelled as far as the Middle East. There they discovered the art of distillation among the Arabs with the help of small copper pot stills. The resulting alcohol was enriched with spices, herbs and flowers and served as a perfume. The Irish monks drank it and found the "Aqua Vitae", as they named it in Latin, to be a formidable medicine for body and mind. From then on, and with this knowledge gained, aqua vitae was distilled and distributed in the monasteries of Ireland on copper stills. A barley spirit, comparable to today's "new make" (spirit) of the whisky distilleries.
Three travelling monks on their way to Franconia with "Aqua Vitae" in their luggage
In the 7th century, the monks Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan travelled to Franconia on the instructions of the Pope in Rome to Christianise the stubborn pagans there. All previous attempts had failed. Their predecessors all ended up at the stake. But for the first time, they had in their luggage the "Aqua Vitae" - the water of life - as well as a small copper still for its production. They presented their barley brandy as a gift to King Gosbert and his queen Gailana at the court of Würzburg and told them of its healing effect on body and soul. The king and his queen and all the vassals in the court were immediately delighted. Kilian and his brothers were allowed to establish the production of Aqua Vitae in Würzburg and use the potion to convince the pagan citizens of Christianity. High but also common people appreciated this new medicine for external but especially for internal use.
The legend of the creation of St. Kilian Whisky in Rüdenau
On their missionary journeys throughout Franconia, the monks also came to Rüdenau, the present location of our distillery. There they mixed their drink with the water of the Ottilienbrunnen, a healing spring where water gods had been worshipped long before, in the times of the Romans who guarded the Limes there. What later developed there exactly is today a Legend: St. Kilian Whisky. How the three monks became martyrs in the end, and why they are still revered as apostles throughout Franconia, can be read in a booklet that is available in our shop in Rüdenau.
Three men - one mission
More than a thousand years later, three men on a mission came together again, with "aqua vitae" very close to their hearts. By maturing in barrels, the art of whisky production in Germany had until then been advanced by distillers on domestic stills. But it takes copper pot stills and wash backs made of fine woods to produce a complex single malt whisky using the original method from today's Scotland and Ireland. In 2012, our founder Andreas Thümmler, a successful technology investment banker and passionate whisky collector, together with David F. Hynes, the Irish whisky legend from Dublin, had the idea and the plan to establish the largest whisky distillery in Germany 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, the first Spirit of St. Kilian flowed out of the distillery's two 6,000-litre Forsyth copper stills in the tranquil whisky village of Rüdenau in 2016. In May 2019, the team presented its first three-year-old single malt whisky, the "First Kilian". From now on, St. Kilian sets 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 impressed and convinced us Germanic people of the miraculous qualities of Aqua Vitae. And that is exactly what we still do today. "Mission".