Blaue Maus

The German-speaking part of Central Europe is one of the fastest-growing whisky regions in the world. As I write this, my database has almost 25 entries for a whisky distillery in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, producing either a single malt whisky or one from a mixture of malted and unmalted grains. A true pioneer in this Robert Fleischmann, who started distilling single malt whisky at his Blaue Maus tavern in Eggolsheim, in southern Germany’s Frankonia region, back in the early 1980s. Like virtually all distillers in this part of the world, he uses an eau-de-vie still. Among the first of his single malts, staying in tune with the nautical element of the tavern, was a whisky called ‘Piraten Whisky’. With its rancid, almost fishy, oiliness and its very heavy wood influence this wasn’t one that set the whisky world alight ….

 But things have moved on and Robert’s whisky-making abilities have improved. For starters, there is nothing wrong with Blaue Maus’ current new make: a heavy typical ‘washy’ flavour, but no feints or other off-notes whatsoever. Carrying on the nautical theme to some extent, the distillery currently brings out single malts under four different labels: Blaue Maus, Krottentaler, Schwarzer Pirat and Spinnaker.

The four labels differ in the way the barley is malted (though peat is never used) and the casks used, but it is best to simply consider each bottling on its own, independent of the name on the label, as they are essentially single cask bottlings. To start with Blaue Maus itself, a 15 y.o. Blaue Maus distilled in 1986 has an extremely bourbony nose, but is less sweet on the palate with hints of pickles. Another 1986 distilled Blaue Maus, but bottled at 16 y.o. couldn’t be more different, with its anaesthetic-like sweetness. An 8 y.o. Blaue Maus from 1993 is biscuity, with notes of cod liver oil, leather and vanilla. A 1995, 6 y.o. Blaue Maus has a leathery-woody nose, with dusty notes. The palate is sweetish at first, but then dries out quickly. A Krottentaler from 1994, bottled at 7 y.o. has a peculiar ‘wet dog’ nose, after which it is soft and light, with traces of wood. A Schwarzer Pirat from the same year and bottled at the same age has light cocos and sweet-woody notes. Turning finally to Spinnaker, an 8 y.o. Spinnaker from 1993 is light, with hints of candle-wax and leather. Two 11 y.o. Spinnakers from 1990 (but from different casks) have strong bourbony-vanilla notes, with gherkins. The balance between the vanilla and the gherkins differs markedly between the two, but both have a dryish finish.

 These are quirky, very individual malt whiskies, though they all share a dry-ish finish and woody notes. Personally, I feel the heavily-bourbonised malts (such as the 15 y.o. Blaue Maus and the 11 y.o. Spinnakers) are the best examples of what this distillery can make, but for sure these are whiskies unlike anything distilled in Scotland.