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Fotos: Alexlukin, pleshko74/iStock.com; Karin HollySpotlight 14/2019 THE UK IN GERMANYWhat would you list as some of the top
whiskies?
That’s hard to say. There are brands
such as Glenfiddich and Jura that are
known to most people. I have a lot from
Scotland, such as Laphroaig, Ardbeg,
Springbank, Tobermory and Talisker.
Those are typical Scotch whiskies. I
don’t think there is a single whisky that
I tell people they have to have. I have
more than 130 whiskies that are from
Germany. Some people kind of roll their
eyes when you say “German whisky”.
But it certainly has its place. There’s a lot
of know-how that goes into it, which is
great. As you look towards Ireland, you
have to mention Bushmills, Ireland’s
oldest licensed whiskey distillery. Then
there is Clonakilty and Tipperary, which
are gold standards.
When it comes to US whiskies, it’s a
bit more difficult. Everyone knows Jack
Daniels. I’m also a fan. The Jack Daniels
distillery produces Gentleman Jack,
Single Barrel and Sinatra Select, as well
as various rye whiskies. Another top US
whiskey is Elijah Craig. Where do you
start, and where do you stop? I can talk
about whisky for hours without taking
a break.How long has whisky been a passion of
yours?
I started getting into whisky only about
two years ago. The hotel and restaurant
we own require a lot of my attention, so
I haven’t yet been able to travel abroad
to visit places like Ireland or Scotland
to enjoy those whiskies where they are
made.How did you discover whisky?
My love affair with whisky started
with Ardbeg 10, a Scottish whisky. I
was putting away a bottle a little too
quickly and a drop fell on to my desk.
I tasted it and thought, what is this? It
was very smoky — like nothing I had
ever tried before. I was fascinated by the
complexity of the smoke. From then
on, I was hooked. Back then, we had ten
different whiskies at the bar. I tried them
all and was really impressed.What do people say when they step
into your bar?
They see my “whisky heaven” and say,
“Wow!” They see the shelves and arefloored. People like to have choices.
That’s important to them, but it also
makes choosing difficult. So, we set up
the menu in a way that makes it simpler
for people. They can search for a specific
whisky — for example, one that was aged
in a sherry cask. My team is also trained
to answer questions. It’s not an easy job
for them, considering the number of
whiskies we have.For many years, microbreweries
have been very popular. Are whisky
microdistilleries on the rise, too?
Yes. Where I really see a lot of growth
in microdistilleries is in Germany. You
might have a small distillery that has
made schnapps and is now interested
in doing whisky. Many experts will then
claim that whisky from such distilleries
still tastes fruity. Of course, the barrel
will influence the taste. And you always
taste fruit in whisky. I don’t think that’s
bad at all.What can one expect at a whisky
tasting?
For me, it’s all about introducing people
to the drink. I serve six one-centilitre
whisky glasses, baguette and water along
with a lot of information. They also get
tasting notes from me, and they can take
down their impressions of what they
are tasting. Then there’s my favourite
pastime — talking. I tell them about
each whisky, its story, and finally, they
get to taste it. I try to offer a wide range.
Sometimes, my topic is Germany; if so,
I might offer whiskies geographically,
going from north to south. I don’t want
to be predictable.barrel [(bÄrEl]
, Fass
floored: be ~ [flO:d] ifml.
, sprachlos sein
hooked: be ~ [hUkt] ifml.
, Feuer und Flamme seinA drink as complex as it is varied, with flavours as
wide-ranging as smoke, pear, salt and sherrypastime [(pA:staIm]
, Zeitvertreib
predictable [pri(dIktEb&l]
, berechenbar
rye [raI]
, Roggen