Fred van Zuidam started this distillery in 1975, and his sons Patrick and Gilbert now run it in Baarle-Nassau, in the Netherlands.1,2,3 It has made single malt whisky since 1999 and bottles its single malts and rye whisky under the Millstone name.4,5,6
Fred had been a senior distiller with De Kuyper, and he began with 1 small copper still and 1 small production line.1,2,3 In 1989 the distillery added 600 square meters to its warehouse, along with one production line.1,2 In 2013 a new warehouse was nearly full with 3,500 barrels, and new stills were due that autumn.
A magnificent young whisky, rich with fudge, roasted bananas and milk chocolate, leading to superb spices and a long, Christmas-style spiced fruitcake finish.
Dark and brooding, this whisky is extremely rich, balancing sweet PX notes with savoury tobacco, leather, rancio and dark chocolate.
A nice experiment, but its syrupy side is undermined by a lack of body and sour, bitter notes.
Patrick van Zuidam says he began experimenting with distilling grain mashes for genever and whisky in 1994.7 Its rye whisky is made from 100% rye, half malted and half unmalted.4,5,6 The whisky was double distilled in copper pot stills.8 It has made both peated and unpeated malt whisky.9 The company said its small stills, with a large copper surface for their size, made a delicate and fruity new spirit.8 Patrick van Zuidam has described the stills as heated by water baths.7 It has aged whisky in virgin American oak and in 250-litre sherry casks that a Spanish cooper rebuilds from larger butts.6,8,9 The old website said new or once-used barrels and a warm, dry warehouse made the whisky age rather quickly.6,8,9
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