Beverbach Double Oak Aged

”Oh Very Young”

Whisky Review # 940

Country: Germany

Region: Hardenberg, Lower Saxony
Brand: Beverbach Double Oak Aged
Type: Single Malt Whiskey
Age: NAS (3-4 Years)

Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 43%
Maturation: Mix of First-Fill Ex-Bourbon and French Oak Brandy Casks
Chill Filtration: Yes

Price Average: US$ 55-65 (March 2022)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👎  Too expensive for what it offers
Buying Advice: 👎 Too Young. Too Harsh. Whisky needs Maturation in good casks!

Colour: Pale Straw/Chardonnay (Natural Color)

Nose:

The Nose is welcomed by strong notes of Varnish & New French Oak. This is a quite Young and Harsh Spirit that is much closer to Gin, Genever, New Make and Slivovitz than to Whisky. There's not a lot happening and you have to dig very deep in your memory to find a few Medium-Sweet reference notes.

Main Aromas:

Toasted Grain, Buttered Toast, Dairy, Grass and Straw, Varnish, Glue, Licorice, New Oak and Red Berries.
    
Supportive Aroma Accents:

Vanilla, Cheap Honey, Brown Sugar, Oak Char, Cinnamon, Pepper, Hazelnut-Milk Chocolate and Cooked Vegetables.

Palate:

Sweet, Young and Harsh. I really would like to taste a fully matured Beverbach one day. As it is, I can't find anything of interest here.

Main Flavours:

Toasted Grain, Sugar, Slightly Burnt Toast, Red Berries, Green Apple, Dairy, Nuts, Charred Oak, Pepper and Licorice.

Supportive Flavour Accents:

Vanilla, Brown Sugar, Burnt Caramel, Cheap Honey, Straw, Pear, Plums, Cardamom and Cloves.

Finish:

Sweet, very Short and slightly Hot. I find Toasted Grains, Sugar, Vanilla, Red Berries like Strawberry and Raspberry, Green Apple, Charred Oak, Lemon, Pepper, Licorice, Cloves, Cardamom and small hints of Varnish, Metal, Dairy, Straw and Nougat. Dry towards the end.

Drinking Advice:

You can add a few drops of Water to diminish the Harshness a little bit.

Rating: 69.5

Nose: 17.5 - Taste: 17.5 - Finish: 17 - Overall: 17.5

Drinking Experience Neat: Below Average

Drinking Experience On the Rocks : Borderline Acceptable

Conclusion:

The Hardenberg distillery was founded in 1700. It started with Korn (Grain Spirit) but along the many years Vodka, Gin and, more recently, Whiskey were added to the portfolio.The latter product is made with regional Barley and Wheat and is called Single Malt Whiskey and not Whisky. Probably to avoid trouble with Scotch Single Malt Whisky, a combination that is protected by law.

Nowadays you can find some good Whisky in Germany. Just over a week ago I had two new expressions made by the Rudenau based St. Kilian distillery. One Speyside type and a Peated expression. Both were highly enjoyable. It's probably not a big coincidence that St. Kilian is only producing Whisky. For most German distilleries Whisky/Whiskey is only one of their products that was often only added to their portfolio in the last 10/20 years or so. Their main product is Young Obstbrand and/or Korn and you can taste that in their Whiskies. They are usually bottled at a very young age and often taste like New Make Spirit that matured for a couple of years in mostly new European Oak. The Beverbach Double Oak is no exception I'm afraid. Consequently I find little enjoyment in tasting this Spirit. Good whisky needs time and unfortunately this Beverbach wasn't allowed to mature sufficiently.

Cheers!

Jan van den Ende                                                                        March 30, 2022

Slyrs Fifty One Review

Country: Germany

Region: Bavaria

Brand: Slyrs Fifty-One

Type: Single Malt Whisky 

Age: NAS

ABV: 51%
Chill-Filtration: No
Whisky Review # 553

Colour: Golden with a touch of Light-Brown (Natural Colour)

Nose: At first I get a strange Aroma that reminds me of Cooked Vegetables. It is important to give this Slyrs enough time in the Glass as this rather weird Aroma tends to diminish over time. The (fortified) Wine casks are certainly noticeable. Next to the Veggies, I find Malted Barley, Butterkekse (German Butter Biscuits), Vanilla, Straw, Fresh Oak, Plums, Grapes, Pear, Unripe Apricots, Raisins, Dried Herbs and a touch of (Milk) Chocolate. It´s Sweet but not in an annoying way. It is still a relatively Young Whisky and the Alcohol is not fully integrated. Like many West-European Whiskies it feels like a hybrid between Whisky and Fruit Liqueur.

Palate: Strong and Sweet Delivery with Spices and a light Bitterness. The Youth and Alcohol are more noticeable when compared to the Nose. I find Toasted Malt, Vanilla, New Oak, Nut Shells, Straw, slightly Bitter Orange, Plums, Grapes, Dried Fruit, Dried Herbs, Dark Chocolate, Pepper, Cardamom, Nutmeg and Cloves. 

Finish: Middle-Long, Spicy and Bitter-Sweet. Dry towards the end. I also find a light Plastic-like Off-Note. Besides that I get Toasted Malt, Oak, Plums, Bitter Citrus, Pepper, Cloves and a little Dark Chocolate. For me it´s the better part of this Slyrs.

I added a little Water and the Alcohol naturally retreats. Vanilla, Barley and Butter Biscuits take control and some of the Aromas and Flavours are lost. Better sip it neat.

Rating: 77.5

Nose: 19 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 19.5

General Remarks: In 1994, Florian Stetter, a member of the Bavarian Distillery Guild visited Speyside and saw the likeness of the region with Bavaria. So he decided to try and produce a Single Malt Whisky in Bavaria. He started distilling in 1999 at the Fruit Spirits Distillery Lantenhammer. But in 2007, the Slyrs Distillery was opened in the township of Neubach (Schliersee) as part of said Lantenhammer. As of 2011, Slyrs became the largest German Whisky Distillery. The name Slyrs goes back to 779 when five monks founded a monastery near Lake Schlier and called it Slyrs. It is also the name of a locally found green-yellow clay. The name Fifty-One refers to the ABV of this Slyrs Expression. It is made by combining various Ex-Bourbon casks. Part of this Blend is then finished in a mixture of Ex-Sherry, Ex-Port and Ex-Sauternes Casks. The price of this Slyrs varies a lot from place to place but usually lies in the 40-60 Euro range.

Drinking Experience Neat: A little disappointing on account of some Off-Notes.

Conclusion: Earlier I tasted the standard Slyrs 2009 and 2011 expressions. I liked both better than this Fifty-One expression although I found the Cooked Vegetables note in the 2009 as well. But the 2009 and 2011 were young, vibrant and promising when given time to mature a bit more. The Fifty-One on the other hand, while not bad and more complex, feels a bit tired and heavy. If you generally like (Red)Wine finished Whisky or Port Wine you might give this Slyrs expression a chance. Personally I prefer the regular Slyrs expressions over this Fifty-One. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                 August 15, 2016

Slyrs 2011 Review

"Give Me Just a Little More Time"

Country: Germany

Region: Bavaria

Brand: Slyrs 2011

Type: Single Malt Whisky 

Age: NAS (3 Years)

ABV: 43 %

Colour: Yellow Gold

Nose: Quite different from your average Scotch Whisky but pleasant none the less. I could imagine that many people would identify it as a Fruit Liqueur in a Blind Tasting event. I find lots of Vanilla from the fresh Oak as well as Plum Jam, Honey, Hazelnuts, Sweet Barley, Straw, Dairy, Brown Sugar and hints of Toast, Varnish, Pineapple and Marzipan. Young, Uncomplicated and Different. I didn't find the Cooked Vegetables note I encountered in the 2009 expression. 

Palate: Young and slightly Edgy with Vanilla, Charred Oak, Honey, Caramel, Alcohol, Brown Sugar and Plums. 

Finish: Middle-Long, Fruity and Sweet with Vanilla, Charred Oak, Sweet Barley, Lemon Peel, light Licorice and Pepper.

Please refrain from adding Water to this Single Malt. You will completely kill the Spirit. 

Rating: 81

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 20 

General Remarks: In 1994 Florian Stetter, a member of the Bavarian Distillery Guild visited Speyside and saw the likeness of the region with Bavaria. So he decided to try and produce a Single Malt Whisky in Bavaria. He started distilling in 1999 at the Fruit Spirits Distillery Lantenhammer. But in 2007, the Slyrs Distillery was opened in the township of Neubach (Schliersee) as part of said Lantenhammer. As of 2011, Slyrs became the largest German Whisky Distillery. The name Slyrs goes back to 779 when five monks founded a monastery near Lake Schlier and called it Slyrs. It is also the name of a locally found green-yellow clay. The Standard Slyrs Single Malt matures for 3 years in new 225 litre American White Oak barrels. The 2011 expression was distilled in 2008 and released in September 2014. The Barley is partially dried with Driftwood. This young whisky is not cheap at an average 50 US Dollars.   

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: I believe you should approach this Spirit with an open mind in order to avoid a direct comparison with a Scottish or Japanese Single Malt. The Slyrs is a hybrid of Whisky and Obstbrand (Fruit Liqueur). It's certainly well-balanced and consistent. If my memory serves me well I found the 2009 a little more Fruity (Peach) while the 2011 is heavy on Vanilla and Honey. That's why I will rate the 2011 slightly lower. Still, Slyrs has proved to be able to produce a product of consistent quality over the last couple of years. I do question their commercial strategy in the long run though. While a Cask Strength and a 12 Year expression exist, Slyrs is mainly focusing on bringing 3 Year old NAS to the market. It is obvious that a 3 year maturation can only rarely result in a very complex end-product. And I could imagine that consumers may grow tired of buying such a young whisky over and over again. Moreover as the Slyrs NAS is quite expensive given its age! I really hope we will be able to enjoy older Slyrs Whiskies in the future as the distillery has shown their ability to distill quality Malt. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                     March 2, 2015