G – like founder of St Kilian
Who is Andreas Thümmler?
Andreas Thümmler is the founder and owner of St. Kilian Distillers. He was born in Miltenberg am Main.
Where does Andreas Thümmler live?
Our founder lives with his family in the picturesque village of Rüdenau, where our whisky distillery is located.
What was Andreas Thümmler’s professional career like?
Andreas Thümmler completed a degree in business informatics and then entered the world of technology. There he gained experience as an investment banker and worked in the areas of M&A and company mergers in the Internet, software and IT sectors. As a result, he has travelled all over the world and lived in metropolises such as London, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berlin and Italy. Most recently, his path led him back to Frankfurt, close to his home.
How did Andreas Thümmler get into whisky?
During his time at university, he had the opportunity to taste a 16-year-old Lagavulin Islay single malt whisky at a dinner with a friend. The flavour of this whisky immediately impressed him and awakened his passion for whisky. He then developed a keen interest in this spirit and visited numerous distilleries in Scotland, Ireland, the USA and Japan.
How did the idea for your own whisky distillery come about?
When a textile factory on the outskirts of Rüdenau became insolvent in 2008 and an investor planned to build a recycling centre there, Andreas Thümmler acquired the site and the buildings on it. At the end of 2011, he invited his Irish whisky friend David F. Hynes to Rüdenau. After a few good whiskies, the idea was born to convert the old textile factory into Germany’s largest whisky distillery. This was then put into practice in 2012 with the founding of St. Kilian Distillers GmbH.
When did the production of whisky begin?
On St Patrick’s Day in 2016, the first own spirit flowed through the Scottish copper stills in Rüdenau and was then bottled in casks.
How has the St. Kilian distillery developed?
Very splendid. St. Kilian has now developed an extensive product portfolio, ranging from the permanently available Core Range to limited Signature Editions with individual cask compositions, the Small Batch Series, the Exceptional Range, exclusive special editions, single malts from the Heavy Metal Series, whiskies from the Bud Spencer and Terence Hill series and aromatic liqueurs based on New Make. The high quality of our products is reflected in over 200 gold medals at the world’s most prestigious competitions. We have also been honoured with awards such as “World-Class Distillery”, “Distillery of the Year” and “Whisky of the Year” at the highest international level. In addition, our innovative and experimental distillery with its passionate team is a popular crowd-puller in the Churfranken region with up to 20,000 visitors a year.
What does the future hold for St. Kilian Distillers?
Very good. According to Andreas Thümmler, the distillery is still in its infancy, but it’s a lot of fun. He is convinced that St Kilian has the potential to develop into one of the world’s leading whisky distilleries.
