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Monday, October 15, 2018

Säntis Malt Edition Dreifaltigkeit Swiss Alpine Whisky

Yes, it's Swiss! Though the Locher family has been brewing beer on site since at least 1886, they started down the whisky path in 1999 when Switzerland ended its ban on the distillation of grain-based spirits. Because beer is what they've got, then beer barrels is what they use for maturation.

I enjoyed the beer barrel-aged Mackmyra Vinterrök and Glenfiddich IPA Experiment enough to buy a bottle of each, so I was looking forward to trying Dreifaltigkeit. (Extra credit goes to 'Creepo' who, in the Vinterrök comments, recommended Dreifaltigkeit!) Säntis Malt are nice and wise enough to have released 200mL bottles of their whiskies, so I bought one of those cute things.

Though it's more like Vinterrök in design (peat!), I paired it with the Glenfiddich. That was dumb. Silly Kravitz, Dreifaltigkeit isn't for kids.


Distillery: Brauerei Locher
Brand: Säntis Malt
Region: Switzerland
Type: Single Malt
Age: ???
Barley source: "barley grown at high ­altitude in Switzerland", from the official site
Peat source:  a Swiss "highland moor", says the bottle
Maturation: "Old Oak Beer Casks", says the bottle
Alcohol by volume: 52%

NEAT
It's the color of maple syrup. The nose starts off with hot melting candles, antiseptic and smoldering plastic. Then damp moss, Ceylon cinnamon and a dose of Laphroaig 10. The palate is tremendously smoky. A leaf fire. Burning pine needles. Blackened brisket and charred pineapple. Smaller notes of cherry syrup and milk chocolate linger underneath. The forest fire continues into the finish, met with burnt brisket and bacon, and the nose's melting candles. White fruit sweetness and cayenne pepper in the background.

DILUTED TO ~43%abv, or 1¼ teaspoons of water per 30mL whisky
The nose has become a suburban night in mid-winter. Chimneys, coal smoke, melting candles. Cardamom. The palate becomes much sweeter. Simple, but BIG, smoke. Then salty meat, tangy fruit and tingly spices. A little bit of brown ale. SMOKE in the finish, but also tart fruit, sugar and brown ale.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Who would've expected this level of violence from the Swiss? But this ain't no Leviathan nor Brimstone. A startling level of nuance graces the nose. Even the palate has definable layers that work in tandem. It's still an almost punishing drink, best applied while shoveling a foot of snow off one's driveway. And you can bet your tushie that's when I'm going to drink it next.

Availability - many European specialty liquor retailers
Pricing - (ex-VAT) 40ml: $5-$8, 200mL: $20-$25, 500mL $40-$60, 700mL: $65-$75
Rating - 85 (some people are going to HATE this whisky, though)

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