P – like Production Team Part 2
Are there any new distillers at St Kilian?
Yes. Recently, three young colleagues came to us in Rüdenau to work here as distillers. Lukas Giesemann now knows the production plant very well and has an excellent nose for the olfactory determination of the cut points from pre-run to main run and from main run to post-run during the second distillation of our low wines in the 6,000 litre copper spirit still. Kilian Mayer trained as a brewer and maltster in a small brewery in central Franconia and also moved to St. Kilian after completing his training. Kevin Dippel studied beverage technology and started working as a distiller at St. Kilian immediately after completing his bachelor’s degree.
Is St. Kilian Distillers also a training company?
Yes! We recently took on our first apprentice in production, Mirko Knorr. During his practical training as a distiller, Mirko will go through all the stages of whisky production and thus deepen and expand his theoretical knowledge from the accompanying vocational school. In this way, St Kilian is raising its own young talent, so to speak, which is of course an excellent thing.
Who are the Master Distillers at St Kilian?
Mario Rudolf is a trained carpenter, brewer and maltster as well as a graduate master brewer and master distiller at St. Kilian. In his additional role as Master Blender, he is also responsible for putting together the new bottlings. He is assisted by Master Distillers Lars Baethcke and Zoltán Fódi. Trained distiller and master distiller since 2017, Lars Baethcke helped build up a whisky brand during his many years at another distillery in the Westerwald and ended up at St. Kilian through his love of whisky. Hungarian Zoltán studied food technology, specialising in brewing and distilling and, like Mario, has been working at St. Kilian from the very beginning.
What do the Master Distillers do?
The three Master Distillers form the core team at St. Kilian. They are primarily responsible for determining the next steps in production and – very importantly – for planning the next products. They also react to fluctuations in raw materials by adjusting recipes and are constantly developing the system.
Are new products at St. Kilian decided by the team?
In any case. Management and marketing set the framework for a new bottling process. The three master distillers then decide together which whisky will ultimately be bottled. The internal swarm intelligence at St. Kilian, including the expertise of Andreas Kreser – Director of Communication & Brand Development – and Dr Heinz Weinberger – Communication & Science – is also gladly used. The final production decision lies with the Master Distiller & Blender Mario Rudolf.
What other points are important in production?
Ongoing quality monitoring by all employees at every stage of production is immensely important. This also includes determining the alcohol content of whisky, new make and liqueurs by means of sample distillation. In addition, it is not only the filling and emptying of casks that requires a high sense of responsibility on the part of each individual employee.
Are the successes of St Kilian measurable?
Yes! Our whiskies and liqueurs have been awarded over 200 gold medals at the most prestigious competitions around the world. Awards such as “World-Class Distillery”, “Distillery of the Year” and “Whisky of the Year” also testify to the top international level at which St. Kilian now operates.
What is the secret of St Kilian’s success?
A highly talented and harmonious team is the basic prerequisite for the production of innovative and qualitatively outstanding whisky and liqueur bottlings. St. Kilian is constantly evolving in order to meet the high quality standards of the future.
