Among drinks enthusiasts, Germany is famous for producing some of the world’s best beers. And a few of the country’s valleys have attained cult status among wine lovers — in particular, Mosel, Rheingau and the Ahr. German schnapps are pretty much a known quantity, while the country’s herbal bitters have an even broader recognition, or at least the standout brand Jägermeister does.
But German whiskey?
In fact, Germany is now home to almost twice as many whiskey distilleries as Scotland — around 250 producers, according to a website run by the German government, compared to “over 130” in the land of the wee dram, according to the Scotch Whisky Association.
While that might be surprising, bourbon buffs will remind you that American whiskey has a strong German influence. The Jim Beam family came from Germany, as did George Dickel, the great producer of Tennessee whiskey. The Stitzel-Weller distillery — maker of such well-known brands as Pappy Van Winkle, W.L. Weller and Old Weller — was founded by German immigrants, as was the old I.W. Harper distillery near Louisville, Ky. While whiskey produced in the United States might earn frequent comparisons to drinks from Scotland and Ireland, the American bourbon trail was largely paved by immigrants from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Today, Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey are among the protected geographical designations in the European Union. (Either spelling of the word is acceptable; The Times’s style is “whisky” for the liquor that is produced in Scotland or Canada; others are spelled “whiskey.”) Unspecified-location whiskey can be produced anywhere in the European Union, however. To use the terms, the drink has to be fermented from a mash made of malted grain, distilled, unsweetened, aged in wood barrels of a certain size for at least three years and sold with more than 40 percent alcohol by volume.
With around 29,000 working distilleries in Germany, it’s not surprising that many have started making whiskey, especially given Germany’s high-quality barley, the main ingredient in both Scotch and Irish whiskey, as well as in German beer.
As a result, a whiskey trail is emerging in Germany, including visitor-friendly tasting rooms and guided distillery tours. If you want to sample the best German whiskeys in person, this suggested itinerary covers five leading distillers, all of which are conveniently located in some of the country’s most travel-worthy locations.
Schliersee, Bavaria
Slyrs
A quick language lesson: Your ticket from Munich’s central station will take you aboard the Bayerischer Oberlandbahn, or the Bavarian Highlands Train. That is just the first suggestion of Scotland. The second is the spectacular scenery — with deep forests, fast-flowing rivers and soaring mountain peaks — that only gets more dramatic with each minute of your one-hour journey to Neuhaus, an easy 15-minute walk from the train station in the neighboring town of Fischhausen.
Both towns are next to the Schliersee, a pristine Alpine lake not far from the Austrian border. While tourists have enjoyed the scenery for generations, the Slyrs distillery was only founded in 1999. The shop and visitors’ center building are even younger, dating from 2007.
Despite its relative youth, Slyrs is now an elder statesman in the German whiskey scene and counts as one of its largest producers, turning out around 150,000 bottles each year. (For perspective, that would make it one of the very smallest distilleries in Scotland.) The self-guided tour through the distillery takes you past gleaming copper kettles and the tall “spirit pipe” of the still, leading into a cathedral-like barrel room. It is well worth the cost of 9.90 euros (about $11), including a sip of the standard Slyrs, a single malt made from Bavarian barley, along with a sweet whiskey liqueur. For another couple of euros, you can also sample versions finished in Madeira, Marsala or Port casks, though the real standout is the 12-year-old Slyrs single malt, offering a bouquet of biscuity malt and finishing with a pronounced minerality. A glass goes perfectly while contemplating the views of mountain peaks and meadows just outside the tasting room.
Information: slyrs.com
Thuisbrunn, Franconia
Elch Whisky
You might be surprised by the crowds at Gasthof Seitz, home to the Elch whiskey distillery. In the village of Thuisbrunn, about 20 miles from Nuremberg, the brewery and restaurant are packed in nice weather, thanks to its location along the Five Seidla Trail, a popular, multi-brewery route in the Franconia region of northern Bavaria. On Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, you’ll find large groups of cyclists, hikers, families and occasional American soldiers from nearby military bases. Wooden tables shaded by ash trees and umbrellas and bordered by rock walls cover most of the available space between the restaurant and brewery and distillery buildings, making for a popular beer-and-whiskey garden.
Most of the guests come here for Seitz’s excellent Kellerbier — a rustic amber lager with plenty of hoppy bite — and hearty traditional fare like Schäuferla, a pork shoulder roast, served with massive kloss dumplings and sauerkraut. But cognoscenti know that Seitz also distills and sells one of Germany’s few peated whiskeys, a single malt bearing the mellifluous name of Torf von Dorf, meaning “peat of the village.” Think about how much room you have in your checked luggage for a bottle (55 euros) before you try a sample (3.50 euros).
“We actually use German peat,” Georg Kugler, owner of the Gasthof Seitz, said. “We have a malthouse in Belgium, Castle Malting, that makes our peat malt for us.”
The resulting spirit is pale gold with a complex nose of toffee and Virginia tobacco, followed by diverse flavors of apple pie and plums, and a smooth but spicy finish. It is unexpectedly good, especially considering the brewery’s relatively short experience with whiskey production. Although the site has been home to a tavern and brewery since the late 16th century, Seitz started distilling whiskey only “a bit more than five years ago,” Mr. Kugler said. “Our beer is mostly sold locally, but our whiskey is sold around Germany.”
Information: elch-whisky.de
Wismar, Baltic Coast
Hinricus Noyte’s Spirituosen
High up on northeastern Germany’s Baltic coast, the former Hanseatic League town of Wismar shook off enough of the grunge from its old German Democratic Republic days to earn a spot on the Unesco World Heritage list in 2002. Nearly three decades after German reunification, Wismar boasts enough photo-worthy locations to fill the average influencer’s feed for weeks, with a trove of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, pastel walls and plenty of cozy cobblestone lanes and picturesque squares. Just a few steps from Wismar’s harbor, the brewery Brauhaus am Lohberg occupies an ancient timbered building, where it claims to have been making craft beer since 1452. Like many small German breweries, Brauhaus am Lohberg serves full meals as well as good beers, though the flavors are particular to the location: Instead of sauerbraten or sausages, pride of place on the dinner menu belongs to whole roast Steinlachs, a Baltic coast whitefish.
The brewery and restaurant also offers its own distillates, produced on its own pot still and sold under the name of Hinricus Noyte, its first brewmaster. Since its founding in 2010, the distillery has won numerous awards, including prizes for Germany’s best whiskey. The actual distillery, in the suburb of Dargetzow, is only open to the public on Thursday afternoons, making the atmospheric brewery and restaurant in central Wismar the best place to sample the spirits for most travelers. Small tasting glasses cost 4.50 euros, and bottles are available to buy. The standard Hinricus Noyte single malt whiskey, called Baltach, has a nutty nose with a touch of tropical fruit and a sweet, spicy finish. A peated version of Baltach offers even more spicy fruit, followed by tarry, tobacco-like notes.
Information: brauhaus-wismar.de, shop.hinricusnoyte.de
Schlepzig, Spreewald
Spreewood Distillers
Though the thick Spreewald forest lies less than an hour southeast of Berlin, it feels like half a world away, with train stations and street signs listing names both German and Sorbian, the language of the local Slavic minority. It is the last place you’d expect to find the most American-style whiskey in all of Germany.
How American? Just like bourbon producers, Spreewood is working with new American oak barrels, rather than the more common (though not exclusive) approach in Scotland, where most Scotch is aged in used barrels that previously held bourbon or sherry. Even more unusual: Spreewood claims to be Germany’s first maker of rye whiskey, taking its inspiration from the great spirits of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
The approach has proved popular enough for bottles of Spreewood’s Stork Club Rye Whiskey to sell out completely this year, though the barrel-strength sample offered on the distillery tour (25 euros) gives a hint of the appeal: a vanilla and gingerbread nose with peppery notes, as well as a bit of barnyard funk. It’s close to something from rye’s home in Pennsylvania and Maryland, while the distillery’s line of single malts are much more Scotch-like.
The distillery, in the quiet village of Schlepzig, is an easy, 20-minute public bus ride from the train station in the town of Lübben. Housed in a restored, 100-year-old farmhouse, Spreewood has a comfortable cafe, serving coffee, snacks and whiskey samples. The cafe does not currently serve a manhattan cocktail, a natural for its peppery rye whiskey.
Not yet, anyway.
Information: stork-club-whisky.com
Kressbronn am Bodensee
Weinkellerei Steinhauser
Unlike at Slyrs, there is no 12-year-old single malt available from Baden-Württemberg’s Steinhauser distillery, which only began producing whiskey in 2008, with its current longest-aged drop just eight years old. The distillery’s Brigantia line of single malts has seen recent success, with a version finished in an Islay cask from Scotland, famous for producing pungent, smoky and peaty whiskeys, taking home a silver medal at Germany’s Best Whisky Awards in 2018.
Outside the village of Kressbronn, on the hills overlooking Lake Constance, (about two and a half hours from Munich or Stuttgart), the Steinhauser distillery officially calls itself a Weinkellerei, meaning a wine cellar or a producer of wine. In addition to its wines, Steinhauser sells an award-winning dry gin, as well as an array of fruit schnapps and liqueurs. The source of those ingredients is apparent at first glance: Your journey by bus or train toward this shimmering lake fed by the Rhine River will take you through grove after grove of apples, peaches, grapes and hops, all growing in beautiful, well-tended trellises.
For most visitors, it will be easiest and most interesting to stay just down the road, in the larger lakeside resort town of Friedrichshafen, the birthplace of the Zeppelin and home to the Zeppelin Museum. The waterfront promenade offers postcard-worthy views of Lake Constance, with Switzerland and the rising Alps visible on the far side, as well as the occasional airship sighting overhead.
Visitors can sample Brigantia whiskey at the tasting counter of the expansive, on-site wine and spirits shop, roughly a 20-minute, cross-country walk from the small train station in Kressbronn, with frequent local trains coming from Friedrichshafen. The classic, three-year-old Brigantia offers notes of licorice and spice, and a long-lasting, slightly sulfurous finish; the eight-year version is substantially smoother and more complex. Though distillery tours are not currently available, staff said that they may start up soon.
Information: weinkellerei-steinhauser.de/whisky-destillerie
