The open-ended future of German whisky

The open-ended future of German whisky

Boasting more operational distilleries than Scotland, and balancing a respect for traditional techniques with a vibrant experimental streak, Germany could well be one of the best-kept secrets in new world whisky

Regional Focus | 27 Sep 2024 | Issue 200 | By Harry Brennan

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Germany is far from alone in the expanding category of ‘world whisky’. However, the sheer extent and diversity of German whiskies stands in stark contrast to how rarely they are discussed. Compared to Scotland’s 147 operating distilleries, Germany has at least 200–230. No one, it seems, can agree on a precise number.

 

In 2019, Michaela Habbel suggested that “about 200” distilleries were producing whisky in Germany, noting, “It’s crazy how many German whisky distilleries there are these days.” She is not just any commentator but one of the first whisky producers in Germany, and in 2019 was serving as president of the Verband Deutscher Whiskybrenner (VDW), Germany’s association of whisky makers. Alba Collection also produces a map showing about 200 German distilleries.

 

As recently as 2022, www.whiskyflavour.com was asking, “Do Germans make whisky?”. In 2023, UK newspaper the Telegraph called Germany “the surprising European country that makes twice as many whiskies as Scotland”. That is without even touching on the significant contributions made to global whisky distilling by German malt production and distilling equipment, such as Holstein and Carl stills used across the world.

 

Despite its diversity, German whisky is produced in relatively small quantities. Slyrs, the first dedicated malt whisky distiller in Germany, produces around 85,000 litres per annum (lpa). Many distilleries are far smaller still, with even the dedicated whisky makers at Hercynian Distilling Company releasing only 35,000lpa. Some newer distilleries such as St Kilian and Dresdner Whisky Manufaktur are ramping up production, but even these are still small by the standards of the Big Five whisky-producing countries with 300,000 and 450,000lpa respectively.

 

Many distilleries in Germany are family owned or run, even big names such as Brennerei Habbel. Nestled in the hills of the Ruhr, it is one of German whisky’s prime movers. The company’s head of sales Jens Kühling asserts that Habbel focuses on “our own style, the family style”, adding, “We will always be family owned.”

Brennerei Habbel

Petra Milde, the whisky blogger and connoisseur behind www.meinwhisky.com, sees this as a strength of her country’s whisky. She says, “The passion [of] so many small and privately owned distilleries across Germany is a point of pride.” Likewise, Heinfried Tacke, the author of Whisky Guide Deutschland, declares, “When Germans dedicate themselves to a passion, they do it properly… [they are] in love with detail.”

 

Scotland is the go-to point of comparison for most German whisky lovers. However, the two countries have many more differences than just the number of distilleries. For instance, age statements do not translate effectively between the two. Some German distillers aim to produce 10- or 12-year-old single malts, imitating the informal benchmark set by many Scotch whiskies, but whisky generally ages faster in Germany. Like Scotland, the country has many distinct climates, but maturation is accelerated by higher overall temperatures and more significant seasonal swings.

 

Kühling cites climate as a crucial factor in Habbel whisky’s ageing. The company’s oldest age-statement whiskies (six years) develop within a humidity-controlled warehouse. Hercynian also uses ventilation to keep the alcohol vapours of the angels’ share within legal limits. Both distilleries produce single malts which ‘taste older’ than same-age Scotch counterparts.

 

Then there are differences of approach to consider. Scheibel, one of Germany’s most significant schnapps distillers, has expanded into whisky making with a smaller distillery: Scheibel Mühle. Rather than a dunnage warehouse, this single malt ages in a former watermill which acts more like a bourbon rickhouse. German, French, and American oak lend potent flavours to the whisky ageing on the mill’s three increasingly hot floors.

 

Unsurprisingly, the German reputation for precision and thoroughness carries through to the country’s whiskies, yet that has not translated into conformity or overbearing interference from the VDW. Its activities are largely limited to highlighting the country’s more significant producers and hosting an annual festival of German whisky. An analogue for the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) it is not.

Emil single malt whiskies, produced by Scheibel Mühle

German whisky actively resists consolidation and categorisation. Even more ‘traditional’ single malt distilleries in the Scottish mould prize the ability to experiment. Take St Kilian, a key name in German whisky whose self-labelled black-and-white exterior evokes the ‘Kildalton distilleries’ of Islay. Its view over the Main valley could be mistaken for Speyside.

 

However, St Kilian is testing just about every cask type imaginable: herbal liqueur casks, balsa wood, amburana, different cask shapes. Only a few kilometres away, Brennerei Ziegler likewise ages its Freud whisky in German chestnut, Spessart oak, and its own plum brandy casks, alongside good old ex-bourbon. SWA regulations seem like a straightjacket in comparison, even in the land of the Reinheitsgebot (the rigid purity law governing German beer production).

 

Stefan, one of St Kilian’s guides, describes the German distilling approach as “infinite diversification”. While single malt is the most common style, a wider range of grains are often used, including spelt, wheat, oats, and rye. Rye whisky in particular is far more common than in Scotland or Ireland, and Germany boasts distilleries dedicated to rye whisky such as Spreewald Brennerei, the producer of Stork Club.

 

There is one defining characteristic of German whisky which everyone seems to agree on: it has no defining characteristics. As Tacke puts it, there is “no unifying factor in German whisky” at present. This also means there are no strong or formalised regional styles as exist in Scotland. “I don’t think we’ll see a distinct set of regions emerge in the short term in Germany,” says Stefan.

 

The only acknowledged regional divide within German whisky is a hazy north–south one. Northern Germany historically saw more distillation of cereal grains to produce kornbrand, while fruit schnapps was more common in the south. The exact effect of this divergent heritage is hard to define. Kühling claims that southern German distilleries tend to produce a fruitier style than Habbel’s, citing Slyrs’ green-apple aromas as an example.

Casks maturing at Scheibel Mühle

While Scheibel Mühle sits almost literally in the shadow of schnapps production, southern German distillers are keen to go beyond just schnapps. Indeed, Stefan claims that St Kilian wants to show (among other things) “that the reputation of Germany only as a nation of schnapps makers is no longer true”.

 

Of course, the Scottish whisky regions themselves have many exceptions and exist as products of conscious choice as much as any organic, ‘natural’ factors. Distinct clusters of German distilleries could inform future whisky regions, most notably in Swabia, the Black Forest, and Franconian Switzerland. However, no one seems to be expecting German whisky regions to develop any time soon.

 

Thanks to this uncategorised diversity, the quality of German whisky varies widely across the country (few dispute this). As Hercynian’s head of distilling Anna Buchholz notes, the same could be said of other European countries such as Austria or the Czech Republic. What sets Germany apart from these countries is both experience and the country’s sheer number of distilleries. Above all, according to Tacke, “German whisky succeeds in being something completely different.” Though encouraging, this indicates a real dilemma facing German whisky today. How do distillers expand and develop the country’s reputation for whisky without losing the diversity and independence they so value?

 

The open-ended future of German whisky has invited much debate. Tacke’s own answer is that Germany’s many smaller distilleries should avoid veering off into the realm of niche products, instead competing directly with more established whiskies. “You have to prove your uniqueness,” he declares, without attempting any wholesale reinvention of whisky fundamentals. Kühling cites Japanese whisky as an ideal example of such a shift. Once locally popular but internationally overlooked, Japanese whisky is now celebrated globally for its distinct style and quality. Kühling says, “We are dreaming of this in Germany.”

 

Alternatively, Germany’s existing ecosystem of small producers could pull it away from imitating (or directly competing with) the Big Five. Consumer mindsets are changing in the wider whisky world, with a growing interest in local products and provenance. Habbel is certainly connected to its environment, located in a park where old mines now lie dormant. “Here, we have the character of staying on the landscape,” says Kühling.

The still room at Hercynian Distilling Company

Proximity to these distilleries also plays a role, serving as what Tacke calls a “door opener” for German whisky. At Scheibel Mühle, sales manager Dietmar Schuh explains that initially sceptical consumers now “come looking for German whisky” from nearby corners of Germany, France, and Switzerland. Even so, until whisky tourism becomes as popular in Germany as it is in Scotland, local consumers can only get a brand (or its drams) so far.

 

German whisky is finally shifting from rare and exotic to more accessible and commonplace, but with this shift comes responsibility. The sector cannot get by on novelty or local interest alone. Buchholz notes, “Whisky needs to be extremely good — it doesn’t matter where it’s from.” Schuh also testifies that novelty is no longer the main attraction; quality is the key concern now. “German consumers are increasingly interested in German whisky,” he says, “but it’s a long way to go.”

 

Entering this world of international whisky competition, German distillers must consider price as a key point of reference for consumers. Producers such as Hercynian and Habbel don’t have economies of scale comparable to Buffalo Trace, Glen Moray, or Midleton. This has led some German distillers to release young whisky at questionably high prices. For instance, 500ml bottles of Suerlaenner Hof three-year-old single malt cost €69 (£59), while Brennerei Schroll’s NAS single malt costs €109.90 (£94). The stark price gap between these unfamiliar brands and cheap but reliable household names would make any consumer think twice.

 

Thankfully, this is not representative of all German whisky, and German distillers can absolutely compete with world-famous whiskies — at the right price point. This is certainly the approach Buchholz takes with her single malt. “Whisky is liquid gold… a luxury product,” she asserts. With smaller quantities of single malt being produced at Hercynian, the price will be higher anyway. At approximately €70–90 (£60–80), Buchholz’s craft products such as Elsburn and Alrik hit a crossover point of price and quality to become directly comparable with well-established Big Five counterparts. Many single malts produced by Scheibel Mühle and Slyrs hit the same price point.

 

In this respect, some say Hercynian is spearheading German whisky as a whole, representing some of the country’s finest drams. Though complimentary, Buchholz feels this sentiment is also a little sad as it reflects how far other German whiskies have yet to come. Smaller amounts of high-quality whisky should elevate the country’s wider reputation, but such shifts are slow.

 

Despite the unclear future direction of German whisky production, the country enjoys an excellent whisky scene in general. The range of clubs, festivals, and venues for whisky in Germany increased relentlessly until Covid-19 forced a slowdown, Tacke says, to the point that it was “almost overheating”. He started producing Whisky Guide Deutschland 20 years ago as a response to finding “how hidden the really good whisky addresses in Germany often are”. Now, his efforts have blossomed into an annual publication with its own German Whisky Award (for which the 2024 nominees include Habbel, Slyrs, and Scheibel Mühle).

Taking a sample at Scheibel Mühle

Whisky events in the German calendar range from the local to the enormous. Massive trade fairs such as the Whisky Village (Nuremberg) and InterWhisky (Frankfurt) stand alongside the celebratory festival atmospheres of Whisky Spring (Schwetzingen Castle) and Tacke’s own favourite, the Radebeul Whisky Festival.

 

Germany’s many societies of enthusiasts form a key part of its whisky ecosystem. Take Whisky AmateurClass Frankfurt, created by local whisky fan Adrián Huba Takács in 2018. The Frankfurt whisky scene “just keeps growing”, Takács reports. With varied tastings, Facebook groups, annual fairs, and whisky shops, enthusiasts are spoiled. His club’s members taste whiskies from all over the world, although most see Scotch single malts as “unquestionable kings of the whisky world”.

 

Whisky AmateurClass goes some way to demonstrating how many whisky consumers remain unconvinced of German whisky’s merits. Takács confesses that the dozen German whiskies he has tried thus far “never truly impressed or convinced me”. That said, there is a growing respect for these spirits coming through, in line with their steadily improving quality. Takács’ belief that “German distilleries have their raison d’être” reflects the cautious optimism about German whisky slowly seeping into the wider consciousness.

 

Overall, it is no longer a question of expertise, of whether German distillers can make great whisky. They clearly have the knowledge and equipment to compete with anything produced in Scotland or elsewhere. More established German distilleries such as Slyrs can now release 12-year-old age-statement whiskies.

 

Reaching new benchmarks of age and quality, German whisky nonetheless remains diverse and unsettled, finding its niche within the abundant ecosystem of world whisky. Moreover, the impact of the pandemic remains present despite the country’s strong whisky scene. “There have certainly been better whisky days in Germany,” Tacke notes.

 

Many whisky lovers remain to be reached or persuaded, and focusing on common ground may be necessary for German whisky to reach the station it arguably deserves.

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