INTRODUCING: ZUIDAM DISTILLERY
THIS OCTOBER, WE’RE EXPLORING ZUIDAM DISTILLERS WITH THE SLOW WHISKY CLUB - THE FAMILY BEHIND MILLSTONE, THE FIRST SINGLE MALT WHISKY EVER MADE IN THE NETHERLANDS.
Long before it was fashionable to make whisky outside Scotland, the Zuidam family broke out of just making the Genever they were famous for, and started making a Dutch malt in the south of the Netherlands. Patrick van Zuidam ran his first experimental distillations in 1996, grinding the grain in traditional Dutch windmills - which is where Millstone gets its name.
Nearly three decades on, the distillery is still independent and family owned. And it’s still turning heads: its 100 Rye was named World’s Best Rye in 2022 and 2023, while its smoky, wine-cask single malts are winning over a whole new generation of drinkers.
This month, you’ve got one of each. Let’s taste...
Whisky No.1: MILLSTONE 100 RYE
Everything comes back to 100: 100% rye, at least 100 months (8.5 years) in new American oak, bottled at 100 proof. The mash is 51% unmalted and 49% malted rye, making it a Dutch rye in an American style.
It’s a bartender’s favourite - Millstone’s Rye has made them famous with trade across the world - and was named World's Best Rye at the World Whiskies Awards in 2022 and 2023.
Tasting notes: orange blossom, citrus, honey and brown sugar, then a long finish of pepper, vanilla and oak.
50% ABV
Whisky No.2: THE HEART CUT #25 MILLSTONE
This month, you’re having a sneak preview of our next limited release ahead of the rest!
This was a joy of a cask to pick out - but not an easy one. I visited Patrick on a chilly but beautiful autumn day last year, and after touring the distillery we sat down in his office and went through (no joke here) over 80 samples. Different cask types, same cask type but different parts of the warehouse, unpeated vs peated. Rye vs Single Malt. So many glorious variations.
Patrick’s known for his relationships with wineries over Europe, so his wine cask releases are always outstanding. So when I laid my eyes on a group of 5 ex-Amarone wine cask samples, I knew these would be excellent.
This single cask, in particular, has that stand ovation soloist quality to it. Peated - Single Malt - fully matured in an ex-Amarone wine cask (think big, bold Italian Red Wine).
Just 442 bottles came from this cask, and we bought it down to 52% where the flavour and alcohol balance sings in perfect harmony.
As for the tasting notes: Slow Cooked BBQ, Bonfire Embers, Flamed Peaches, Sugar Puffs and Baked Apples. Glorious. The PERFECT whisky for this time of year. And such a special cask to share.
ABOUT ZUIDAM DISTILLERY
The family who put the netherlands on the whisky map.
Zuidam is a family story two generations in the making - and a whisky story that starts with genever.
Fred van Zuidam spent around twenty years running production, purchasing and recipes at De Kuyper in Schiedam before deciding it was time to build something of his own. In 1975 he bought a plot of land in Baarle-Nassau and started small: one copper still, 300 square metres and a handful of second-hand kit. His wife Hélène designed the bottles and labels, and together they built the business on liqueurs and genever.
In the 1990s their sons, Patrick and Gilbert, took on more of the running - and Patrick wanted to make whisky.
He ran his first experimental distillations in 1996, at a time when nobody in the Netherlands was making single malt. It took years of trial and refinement, but the result was Millstone: the first single malt whisky ever made in the Netherlands. Today Patrick is master distiller and general manager, Gilbert leads sales, and the family still owns the lot.
Zuidam sits in Baarle-Nassau, a Dutch town so tangled up with Belgium that the border runs through houses and cafés.
It’s farming country, and much of the barley and rye that goes into Millstone is grown by the family or by farmers nearby. From there, the grain is ground in traditional Dutch windmills. The millstones turn slowly, which keeps the flour cool and holds onto its flavour, and they gave the whisky its name.
Patience runs through every step of production.
Fermentation is long and cool, using both brewer’s and distiller’s yeast, which builds fruity, complex flavours into the wash before it ever reaches a still. Distillation is slow, in copper pot stills, and that slowness shapes a spirit with real structure and depth.
The same stills turn out rye as well as malt. Millstone 100 Rye (100% rye, at least 100 months in new American oak, bottled at 100 proof) was named World’s Best Rye at the World Whiskies Awards in 2022 and 2023.
When it comes to casks, Patrick is obsessive.
Ex-bourbon, sherry, wine casks and new American oak all have their place in Zuidam’s warehouses, but it’s the quality of the wine casks that Patrick is most particular about. Baarle-Nassau’s warm, dry warehouses mean a high angel’s share, which concentrates flavour in the cask year on year.
It’s also why, when Georgie visited, she found herself facing 80 cask samples. (Yes, 80.) One of them became #25.
