The Danish Distillery Fary Lochan uses nettle smoke for their whisky, which gives it a unique flavor. I’ll return to that in a moment, but first, a bit about the nettle itself.

Nettles are readily available and provide a distinctive smoke, and they have other properties besides just flavor. They have also been used medicinally and even for textiles.

I believe most people see nettles as an annoying weed today, which doesn’t offer much benefit. But if I should mention some of the good aspects of nettles, it would be that they are rich in vitamins, especially A, C, K, and several B vitamins. They have a relatively high protein content and also contain many important minerals, including iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and silicon.
Nettles have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce inflammation and pain.
They have diuretic properties that can help reduce water retention in the body, and they are known for their blood-cleansing properties, which can help improve liver and kidney function.
Nettles have been used to treat conditions like arthritis, allergies, eczema, and kidney problems over time.

Fary Lochan has taken a family tradition of smoking cheese with nettles and transferred it to the smoking of the malt for their whisky.
Since there are several traditions in Denmark of using nettle smoke for smoking food, among other things, several people have described how the flavor profile of nettle smoke can be.

Flavor Profiles of Fresh Nettle Smoke:
Smoke from fresh nettles is often described as having a range of complex aromas, including:

• Herbal: Reminiscent of fresh parsley, basil, or oregano
• Earthy: Gives a deep, mineral character
• Citrus: Creates a slight acidity and freshness
• Green Pepper: Adds a touch of spice and warmth
• Honey-like: Provides sweetness and smoothness

These aromas can vary depending on various factors, such as the growing location of the nettles, drying method, and the smoking technique used.

The exciting part now is – how does it affect the whisky?
Fary Lochan smokes their malt for the whisky themselves. They have a very primitive setup with an old “fireplace” where they light a fire and pile it high with fresh nettles. The chimney is fitted with a pipe that leads the smoke to a cart with the malt, and here the magic happens under the lid of the cart.

It does not become a heavily smoked whisky, but a fresh whisky where you are treated to a taste that is markedly different from the more traditional peat-smoked whiskies. In this one, it could be said that the level is around 15 ppm, and by comparison, many of the whiskies coming from Islay in Scotland are around 40-55 ppm, so it’s on the mild side.

The nettles provide a unique flavor, and here you get full value since the whisky has been aged in ex-Bourbon casks. The combination is good. The sweet vanilla notes from the cask complement the nettle smoke, also taming some of the harsher smoke notes. Nettle smoke from fresh plants can sting the eyes, but if we translate that to flavor, this is where I think it gets tamed. You get a gentler smoke. The mineral, earthy, pepper, and citrus notes come through nicely. Fary Lochan’s new make has a fantastic freshness and lovely citrus character that pairs well with the smoke from the nettles.

🆅🅴🆁 🅻🅻
It is an exciting and lovely whisky with a different taste. The “Winter” variation has been discontinued from Fary Lochan’s regular lineup, but they still make their nettle-smoked whisky, which comes as Limited Editions, such as Smoke & Sherry.

A pleasant mild bourbon – oh, sorry – Tennessee Whiskey
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select is made on the same mash as Old No.7/Black Label. 80% Corn, 12% Malted Barley and 8% Rye. The difference here is were the barrels have matured in the warehouse.

Sigle barrels are usually located at the top in the warehouses to give more flavor to the whiskey. I think the Single Barrel Select is coming from the middle of the warehouse as it not as full flavored as the Single Barrel Barrel Strength and has lower price.
This is a very delicious whiskey and I will recommend it. But if you are going for the real good stuff, Go for the Barrel Strength.

𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮: (3/6)

🅼🆈 🆁🆃🅸🅽🅶 🆂🆈🆂🆃🅴🅼

– 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧
– 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛
– 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 – 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢
– 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 – 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮
– 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣
– 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩

A had a very pleasant surprise one Tuesday in Bremen, Germany, when visiting my friends at Piekfeine Brände.

Birgitta Schulze Van Loon, the owner, welcomed me and we had a good chat about what had been going on at the distillery since I visited last time.
I had time to chat with Ole and Philipp who were busy bottling and labeling in the production area.
Mathias joined us and told about some of the new products.
Now it was time for Jannik and me to go to the new warehouse. It is a little drive from the distillery, just about 10 minuets if traffic allows it.

I was about to witness the upcoming warehouse, visitor center, shop and a gorgeous tasting room.
The warehouse is located at Union-Brauerei, a brewery where some of the wort for Van Loon whisky is made.
Jannik showed me around the new warehouse, that was in the making and he also had a surprise for me He showed me how to use the valinch (the tool to take the whisky out of the cask with. In this case a glass pipe you suck up the whisky from the cask and put your finger over the inhale hole and place the pipe in the bottle and let the whisky flow into the bottle by removing your finger again and the repeat) He then told me to fill my own bottle
We had been talking about what new whiskies they had been making and when He told me to fill my bottle with the not yet released Van Loon Port wine finish it was like a dream come true
That feeling of smelling the whisky in the cask and having the privilege of taking out of the cask and tasting…… What a great feeling.

Straight out of the Port wine cask!
The whisky has been resting in different cask types. A First fill 100 liter ex-bourbon barrel and a 225 liter Burgundy red wine barrique was married after 3 years and then finished in Tawny Port wine cask for about 1 year.

I tasted it straight out of the cask at 60% ABV and it is full of fruity flavours, warming but soft with a load of pear notes, plum and dark chocolate. It has a good burst of the red wine and the Port wine takes over at the end and stays together with some vanilla and wood for a long time.

It is a whisky that tastes significantly different from other with a port wine finish. It’s one of the things that makes Piekfeine Brände Van Loon whisky interesting and one of a kind.

When it is released it will be at 43% ABV but I belive it still will be a fantastic whisky it can take the lower ABV without los in complexity.

𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮: (5/6)

🅼🆈 🆁🆃🅸🅽🅶 🆂🆈🆂🆃🅴🅼

– 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧
– 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛
– 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 – 𝙈𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚
– 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 – 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮
– 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣
– 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩