Rothaus brewery / distillery

Region: Baden Württemberg, Schwarzwald (Black Forest), Germany

A little distillery info: In 2009 Rothaus released a three year old whisky under their brewery name 'Rothaus'. Within days the full release sold out at the original price of under €50. It is now being sold on the second market for up to €160. Crazy, totally crazy!

General whisky characteristics: Very fragrant and aromatic rubber and potatoes.

Photo by Whisky Emporium photography

Rothaus, 3y, distilled 2006, bottled 2009, 43% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€ (Now €€€€€)

Glass: Spiegelau

Colour: Lightly (very lightly) coloured rainwater

Nose: Very aromatic herbs with heavy undertones of new tyres (rubber).

Palate: Thankfully there's no rubber on the palate, just extremely fragrant potatoes.

Finish: Very long and aromatic

Overall Impression: I have heard and read both good and bad reports about this whisky, so I was very unsure of what to expect. I have also tried various drams from the Fleischmann distillery (Blaue Maus / Grüner Hund .. etc) and also Slyrs, so I am familiar with German whiskies and, although this one is far away from its Scottish counterparts, it compares very favourably with the 3y Slyrs. It's very aromatic and fragrant, but I still think it's more akin to a typical German Schnapps than a whisky, although I look forward to perhaps retrying this if it's allowed to mature for many more years.