Sunday 28 December at 12:00 pm it's time! The first Groninger single malt Whiskey oet Grunn will be officially presented in De Toeter in a festive manner. Last November 11, 2014 the time had finally come. The 500 liters of 'spirit' that Groningen hospitality entrepreneur/ whiskey enthusiast Maik van Heerd and Damster whiskey connoisseur/entrepreneur Albert Heidema had distilled 3 years earlier on 11 November 2011, in collaboration with Distillery Alambik, could now be called real whisky. Obviously, this exceptional achievement deserves a beautiful and justifiable tribute.
When Groningen was the Capital of Taste in 2011 with the theme 'Regional products', the gentlemen decided to have a real Groninger whiskey distilled with products from the region. Distillery Alambik in Midwolda was logically the chosen one to bring this complicated, but at the same time immensely fascinating process to a successful and satisfying end.
A single malt whiskey must be made from 100% barley, also from one distillery and the youngest component must have been matured for at least 3 years. Žarko Nesic needed no less than 6000 liters of beer to manually manufacture a 500 liter barrel of 'spirit' in his beautiful little kettle, also called 'Alambik'! In total he spent five months filling the Highland Park sherry barrel and the last part was filled on 11-11-2011. So on November 11, 2014 it was exactly three years later and Whiskey oet Grunn can bear its honorable and official title. The whiskey is very uniquely released at cask strength (around 66%) and has therefore not been reduced to a lower alcohol percentage as is practically always the case. No concessions have been made to the taste.
After the announcement, the enormous media frenzy from all over the country gave the gentlemen a few busy weeks. It had to be very accurately mapped out who had already bought one or more bottles and wanted to pick them up, or whether these people wanted to leave their extremely durable stuff for longer. Then there was a real 'run' on the rest of the cask by other enthusiastic whiskey enthusiasts and this soon resulted in a completely sold out cask of Whiskey oet Grunn!
In short, mission amply accomplished and beyond all expectations. Maik and Albert are proud and satisfied with this fantastic end result and they both wish the Distillery Alambik to continue the success from this point on. A wonderful poster to build on regarding Groningen whiskey!
So Sunday 28 December will be in The Horn prior to the 'Whisky Nosing & Tasting XL 11' at 12:00 the presentation of Whiskey oet Grunn will take place. Dutch former whiskey pioneer and ambassador Gerrit Duit from Veendam will receive the first bottle. The buyers can then pick up their own bottles. Everybody is welcome!
