PRESS RELEASE: Extraordinary St. Kilian bottlings
St. Kilian Distillers introduces Winter Edition "Merry Christmas" and Grave Digger forest fruit liqueur "Berry Metal
Rüdenau, December 2022
Just in time for the Christmas season, St. Kilian Distillers is releasing two new bottlings to sweeten the anticipation of the most beautiful weeks of the year. The innovative distillery from Rüdenau in Lower Franconia is known for its love of experimentation, from which a large number of award-winning bottlings have already sprung. But a single malt, matured in former herbal liqueur barrels, is an absolute novelty even for Mario Rudolf. "We were very excited to see how our various New Make Spirits would develop in the ex-herbal liqueur casks and are absolutely overwhelmed by the result. The winter spice aromas are perfect for our Christmas Edition," the Master Distiller is pleased to say. For this five-year-old Winter Edition, Rudolf put together three herbal liqueur barrels, one of which was filled with mild and two with "heavily peated" (54 ppm) New Make. Bottled at 53.5% vol. and, as always with St. Kilian Distillers, neither colored nor chill-filtered, the single malt impresses with full-bodied aromas of gingerbread and stewed plums with winter spices, wrapped in warming peat smoke.
Cooperation with Grave Digger
After the great success of the two single malt whiskies from the Heavy Metal Edition, which were released in November 2021 in cooperation with Grave Digger, another joint bottling with the legendary heavy metal band from Germany now follows. This time, Mario Rudolf and Grave Digger's guitarist Axel "Ironfinger" Ritt opted for a highly aromatic forest fruit liqueur based on St. Kilian's "heavily peated" (54 ppm) New Make Spirits. This peated liqueur was bottled at a powerful 40% vol. and convinces with a perfectly coordinated blend of fruity wild 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 bottled with the iconic still shape, while a total of 1,280 bottles with a heavy metal look were produced of the peated Berry Metal forest fruit liqueur. The unusual bottlings will be presented to the public simultaneously and initially exclusively at the 23rd InterWhisky, the trade fair in the historic Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten, in Frankfurt am Main, and at FOOD & LIFE, the trade fair for food, drink and lifestyle, in Munich on the first weekend of December. Subject to sufficient availability, the two bottlings will also subsequently be available in the St. Kilian Distillers online store and on site at the distillery.
Tasting Notes: Winter Edition "Merry Christmas
Appearance
Bright gold
Aroma
Sweet herbal notes with cardamom and some cinnamon bark, accompanied by gingerbread, caramel as well as a hint of ripe plums and fine peat smoke.
Taste
A full-bodied flavor explosion of sweet plum compote with wintry spices, garnished with fine herbs as well as a pinch of cinnamon and enveloped in warming peat smoke.
Aftertaste
Initially creamy sweet and warming, before dry notes of cloves and anise with discreet 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 wild berries.
Taste
Delightfully fruity, sweet and juicy with intense notes of strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberry, accompanied by a hint of caramel and subtle peat smoke.
Aftertaste
Creamy berry compote lingers pleasantly long with fine smoke and subtle 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 meanwhile 21 studio albums they carry Metal made in Germany into the world. In addition to classics such as "Heavy Metal Breakdown" or the Wacken anthem, the band is known among other things for their 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 the listeners to the battlefields of the Scottish Highlands. The band around singer Chris Boltendahl and guitarist Axel "Ironfinger" Ritt inspires their fans worldwide with their epic sounds and emotional live performances. For more information, visit www.grave-digger.de.
About St. Kilian Distillers GmbH
Germany's largest whiskey distillery, based in the Lower Franconian town of Rüdenau near Miltenberg am Main, produces top-class whiskey that has been awarded numerous gold medals at the most prestigious whiskey competitions around the globe. In addition, awards such as "Distillery of the Year" and "Whisky of the Year" also testify to the top international level at which the distillery, which was only founded in 2012 by investment banker Andreas Thümmler and is therefore still young, is now operating with its whiskies. St. Kilian Distillers supports the responsible use of alcohol, about which you can find out more at https://www.massvoll-geniessen.de/. For more information on the company and portfolio, visit stkdev.lichtschreiber.de.