A trip to Lake Constance and a distillery
On our last trip, we went to scenic Lake Constance to enjoy the lake, apples, wine and of course visit a distillery. In this case the Steinhauser distillery in Kressbronn, which even the New York Times wrote about. They are famous for their highly awarded See Gin, but also make eau de vies and single malt whisky.
Although Steinhauser with its winery and six stills is quite big, the company is still family owned. The family tradition in the spirits industry even dates back six generations to 1828. Their eau de vies are distilled on two massive Arnold Holstein stills and later redistilled on a third slightly smaller still. On top of that, they also have another Holstein still for producing gin and eau de vies distilled from macerated fruits. It sits right next to a small baby 40 l still.
Distilling on a vintage still
However, for distilling their whisky they use an updated still from 1890 with Pistorius bassins which enhances the alcoholic vapour up to around 70 °C. The barley for whisky is grown regionally and the mashing takes place using special whisky yeasts. The first whisky was distilled in 2008 and the first 111 bottles were sold on 11.11.2011. The regular bottling is a three-year-old one called Brigantia, and they regularly release new bottlings finished in different casks. There also is an eight-year-old version, an Islay cask, a rum cask, a sherry cask and a brandy single cask bottling. However, every once in a while Steinhauser also does a single cask bottling and every Christmas Eve an “Heiligabend” whisky is distilled.
Aged on a lake
Maybe the most unconventional aged Steinhauser whisky is the so-called “Schwaben” whisky. It is named after the boat MS Schwaben built in 1937. Four barrels of whisky age for one year in the bow of the boat and are bottled afterwards with an ABV of 45 % and a total age of five years. This special technique is supposed to accelerate the ageing process of the single malt. To be honest, I did not expect to taste a big difference, but the Schwaben Whisky really is smoother than the other ones I have tried.
Apples and hazelnuts
The Brigantia Classic starts off with some typical caramel and vanilla notes. It is relatively smooth for its young age. You also can sense some fruits and even a slight hazelnut note. However, you also notice some youthful characteristics in the taste. Nevertheless, the single malt has some potential, which can be seen with the cask finished versions at an age of five years. They already show more complexity.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product.
