Single malt whisky – Made in Germany
Our story
How St. Kilian Distillers became what we are today
Three whisky connoisseurs, one idea. A village of 760 people,
Germany’s largest whisky distillery.
In the 7th century, three monks from Ireland Christianized Franconia. In their luggage they had “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 Franconian apostles St. Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan.
Ireland was Christianized early on and Irish missionaries travelled as far as the Middle East in the 6th century. There they discovered the art of distillation from the Arabs with the help of small copper pot stills. The alcohol obtained from this was enriched with spices, herbs and flowers and served as a perfume. The Irish monks drank it and found the “Aqua Vitae”, as they called it in Latin, to be a formidable medicine for body and soul. From then on, this knowledge was used to distil and distribute Aqua Vitae on copper stills in the monasteries of Ireland. A barley spirit, comparable to today’s “new make” (spirit) of whisky distilleries.
Three traveling monks with “Aqua Vitae” in their luggage on their way to Franconia
In the 7th century, the monks Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan travelled to Franconia on the instructions of the Pope in Rome in order to Christianize the stubborn pagans there. All previous attempts had failed. Their predecessors were all burned at the stake. For the first time, however, they had “Aqua Vitae” – the water of life – and a small copper still for producing it in their luggage. They presented their barley brandy as a gift to King Gosbert and his Queen Gailana at the court of Würzburg and reported on its healing effects 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 simple people appreciated this new medicine for external but above all 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 current location of our distillery. There, they mixed their drink with the water from the Ottilienbrunnen, a healing spring where water gods had been worshipped long before, in Roman times, when they guarded the Limes. What exactly was created there later is now a legend: St. Kilian Whisky. You can read more about how the three monks became martyrs and why they are still revered as apostles throughout Franconia today in a booklet which is available to buy in our store in Rüdenau.
Three men – one mission
More than a thousand years later, three men came together again on a mission that was very close to the heart of the “Aqua Vitae”. Until now, the art of whisky production in Germany has been driven forward by distillers on domestic stills through maturation in barrels. But it takes copper pot stills and washbacks made from fine woods to produce a complex single malt whisky using the original process from modern-day 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 from the distillery’s two 6,000-liter 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 impressed and convinced us Germanic tribes of the miraculous qualities of Aqua Vitae more than 1000 years ago. This is exactly what our “mission”.
