Zuidam whiskies

History

Fred van Zuidam founded the distillery after years of experience at a large Dutch liqueur house, and made it a family business that his children run today. They started with genever, liqueurs and fruit spirits, and at the end of the 1990s they took up distilling whisky, a rarity in the Netherlands at the time. To mill the grain in the traditional way, the family built a stone windmill in the village, which gives its name to the Millstone brand. Today it is one of the best-known whisky distilleries in continental Europe.

House style

Millstone offers malts and ryes with plenty of character, slowly distilled in copper stills. Its 100 Rye, pure rye with a hundred months in new American oak casks, is intense and spicy. The malts use sherry, wine or bourbon casks, and some are lightly peated. They are rich whiskies with good texture.

Where to start

Millstone 100 Rye is the catalogue’s benchmark and a good way to see that great ryes are also made in Europe. Compare it with Kyrö Malt, the Finnish rye, and with an American rye such as Rittenhouse or Pikesville to see the differences between continents. It is best appreciated neat or with a few drops of water. It is also a good bottle for those who collect European whiskies beyond Scotland and Ireland, and for discovering how far rye can go when it is worked patiently.

• Millstone 100 RyeRye · 50% ABV