Santis Malt Edition Germany Review

Country: Switzerland

Brand: Santis (Appenzeller Single Malt)

Type: Edition “Germany”

Age: NAS (Around 5 Year)

Alcohol: 48%

Date: 06/09/2012

Colour: Golden/Red Glow

Nose: Pleasant with Malt, Apple, Red Fruit, Red Grape Juice, Wood, Honey, Vanilla and Buttered Toast.

Taste: Herbal and Dry, Wood, Spice, Sweet Red Fruit and hints of Licorice and Honey.

Finish: Middle-Long, quite dry and bitter-sweet with Caramel and Berries.

I added a bit of water and that removed the last bit of Alcohol on the Nose. Apple Pie with Honey and Red Fruit Topping. Delicious! Taste and Finish don’t change that much in my opinion although the Licorice note gets stronger and extends to the Finish. You can experiment with a few drops here.

Rating:  81.5  

Nose: 22 – Taste: 20 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Brewery in Appenzell (Switzerland) produces beer since around 1830 but was purchased by the Locher Family in 1886. Today they produce a wide range of beers, with or without Alcohol. In 1999 the Brewery started distilling whisky that was presented to the market for the first time in 2002. It uses water from the Alpstein Mountains and the whisky is matured in old used Oak Beer Casks. There are 5 expressions, 4 of them named after Alpstein Mtn. formations. They are Santis, Sigel, Drei-Faeltigkeit and Marwees. The fifth - and most recent addition, that is being reviewed today, is called the Edition “ Germany”,  a Single Cask expression, bottled at 48%. This whisky matured for 4,5 years in Old Beer Casks before being finished for 6 months in a Fresh Merlot Cask.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is the most “ Scottish” of the Swiss Malts I have tasted so far and I enjoyed it. I found the nose very pleasant with delicious Apple Pie, Honey and Red Fruits. I expected the Palate to be much sweeter but in fact it’s quite dry and herbal with some licorice notes. The Red Fruits go all the way from Nose to Finish. That Finish was a bit on the dry side in my opinion. This is the best Santis Malt so far and the extra years and bottling at 48% certainly added to the quality. This is the way to go certainly!

Jan van den Ende                                                                September 2012