St. Kilian Distillery Exclusive (2020/2025) - peated

Deep underground, where NATO secrets were once stored, liquid gold is now maturing. Whisky Bunker AG has taken advantage of an extraordinary maturation location for its second limited edition bottling: a former military bunker in the Odenwald forest, whose constant temperature and humidity create ideal conditions. The selected casks come from the exclusive vintage stock of St. Kilian Distillers and have undergone intensive development here.

Rum meets smoke – sounds like a Caribbean bonfire, but it's actually the latest creation from Rüdenau. For the Signature Edition Seventeen, St. Kilian matured their spirit in Jamaican, Mexican, and Barbadian rum casks as well as rhum agricole casks, letting the peat smoke tag along for the ride. The result? A single malt that acts like it just returned from a beach holiday – sunglasses on, incense stick in the luggage.

The St. Kilian distillery from Franconia delivers the smoky counterpart to the Mild & Fruity with the Classic Rich & Smoky. Matured in a combination of 70% ex-bourbon and 30% PX and oloroso sherry casks, this single malt promises the marriage of sweet fruit and elegant smoke – and delivers on that promise convincingly.

Following the previously released unpeated and peated Mizunara full maturations, this bottling is the last from a single virgin Mizunara cask for the time being. To be honest, we were sceptical: can a German distillate really harmonise with the legendary Japanese oak?