St. Kilian
Type: Distillery and brand
St. Kilian is a German whisky distillery in Rüdenau, a village in the Odenwald near Miltenberg am Main, where a former textile factory became home to two Scottish-made copper pot stills. Founded as a company in 2012, it first distilled spirit on 17 March 2016, bringing together founder Andreas Thümmler, Irish mentor David F. Hynes and German brewmaster Mario Rudolf.[1][2][3][7]
| At a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Rüdenau, Lower Franconia, Germany.[1][5] |
| Founded | St. Kilian Distillers GmbH, 2012, according to the producer.[2] |
| First spirit | 17 March 2016.[4][7] |
| Founder and reported owner | Andreas Thümmler, identified by the producer and Whisky.de; the exact legal ownership entity, effective date and ultimate parent are not reliably established. Checked November 2026.[2][5] |
| Stills | One wash pot still and one spirit pot still, each 6,000 litres, made by Forsyths; checked November 2026.[3][5] |
| Mash tun | Stainless steel, 12,000 litres.[5] |
| Washbacks | Four wooden vessels, each 10,800 litres.[5] |
| Condensers | Vertical shell and tube.[3] |
| Water | Own well, according to Whisky.de.[5] |
| Maturation | Includes former ammunition bunkers in the Odenwald.[7] |
| Business status | Cannot confirm from the sources checked in November 2026.[2][5] |
| Distilling status | Cannot confirm from the sources checked in November 2026.[2][5] |
| Visitor access | A shop is reported in Rüdenau, but current visitor access cannot be confirmed from the sources checked in November 2026.[2] |
| Site status | Cannot confirm from the sources checked in November 2026.[2][5] |
What St. Kilian is known for
St. Kilian combines unpeated and peated malt whisky, a large variety of maturation casks and a portfolio extending beyond bottles carrying the distillery name. Its whisky production uses German barley malt for unpeated spirit and Scottish peated malt for smoky spirit; many casks mature in former military ammunition bunkers which the distillery calls Bunker City.[7]
The range also reaches into music and film collaborations. Bud Spencer and Terence Hill series sit alongside the Core Range, Signature Editions, Small Batch Series, Exceptional Range and Heavy Metal Series, while the wider portfolio includes New Make liqueurs.[2] These names describe different parts of the business, not one uniform whisky recipe or source.
That distinction matters here more than a simple description of a German single malt producer might suggest. St. Kilian makes its own malt spirit, but the producer also sells a Bud Spencer blended whisky incorporating Irish whiskey from a named Irish distillery.[9]
From textile factory to whisky distillery
Thümmler bought the former textile factory at the village entrance in 2008, after the factory became insolvent. According to the producer, he had previously worked in mergers and acquisitions in the internet, software and IT sectors.[2]
At the end of 2011, he invited his Irish friend David F. Hynes to Rüdenau, and the idea of converting the factory into a distillery took shape. The producer describes Hynes as its mentor and credits him with a long career at Cooley; Whisky.de reports that he subsequently taught Thümmler and Mario Rudolf the art of whisky distillation.[2][3][4][5]
Rudolf, a brewmaster and Master Distiller from nearby Amorbach, supplied another strand of experience. The producer says he also spent time at Mackmyra, specifically its Gravity Distillery in Sweden.[1][4][7]
Story box: A factory finds a second purpose
Founding story: In the producer’s account, Thümmler’s invitation to Hynes in Rüdenau at the end of 2011 led to the distillery idea. St. Kilian Distillers GmbH followed in 2012.[2]
Source and claim mapping: the invitation, conversion idea and company founding.
Turning point: First spirit ran on St. Patrick’s Day, 17 March 2016, marking the move from building a distillery to making spirit.[4][7]
Source and claim mapping: the producer’s account of production beginning.
Documented record: The company’s founding year and first distillation year are separate milestones, not competing dates for the same event.[2][4]
Sources and claim mapping: 2012 company founding; 2016 production start.
Last checked: 7 November 2026.
Production timeline
| Date | Verified milestone |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Thümmler bought the former textile factory.[2] |
| Late 2011 | Hynes visited Rüdenau; the conversion idea arose.[2] |
| 2012 | St. Kilian Distillers GmbH was founded.[2] |
| 17 March 2016 | First spirit was distilled.[4][7] |
| May 2019 | The three-year-old First Kilian was presented, with 760 bottles.[1][7] |
| May 2026 | Cigar Malt joined the Core Range.[8] |
How St. Kilian makes its spirit
The two pear-shaped Forsyths pot stills are identical in size and shape, each holding 6,000 litres, but their roles and fittings differ. Hynes designed them, and the producer describes indirect heating through internal plates using steam at 140°C.[3]
Whisky.de records a 12,000 litre stainless steel mash tun and four traditional wooden washbacks of 10,800 litres each. The washbacks are the vessels used for fermentation, which the trade account says uses Scottish yeast; it also identifies the distillery’s own well as its water source.[5]
| Stage | St. Kilian’s documented arrangement |
|---|---|
| Malt supply | German barley malt for unpeated whisky; peated malt from Scotland.[7] |
| Fermentation | Four wooden washbacks; Scottish yeast, according to Whisky.de.[5] |
| First distillation | Wash pot still with an upward-rising lyne arm, which increases reflux.[5] |
| Second distillation | Spirit pot still with a reflux condenser in its lyne arm.[3] |
| Condensation | Vertical shell and tube condensers.[3] |
Twice distilled, not triple distilled
St. Kilian’s documented process uses two distillations, in its wash still and spirit still. The producer’s expression “multiple distilled” refers to the reflux condenser fitted into the spirit still’s lyne arm, rather than a third separate distillation.[3][7]
Reflux is the return of condensed vapour towards the still. Here, the important distinction is between that recirculation within the apparatus and passing the spirit through another complete distillation: the published equipment account describes the former, not a three-still production sequence.[3]
Casks and the Odenwald bunkers
Maturation is one of St. Kilian’s most distinctive features. Many casks are stored in former military ammunition bunkers in the Odenwald, and in 2023 Thümmler spoke of more than 370 cask types in use.[7]
The published releases show how varied that cask programme can be. Signature Edition Eleven matured solely in former Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey casks, whereas Signature Edition Fifteen, released in February 2025, spent three years in former Amarone wine casks.[7][8]
Those examples are more useful than treating the cask count as a description of every bottle. The Core Range follows a more readily recognisable framework: the trade account describes Classic and Peated as using approximately 70% former bourbon casks and 30% Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso casks.[7]
Finding your way through the range
Classic and Peated provide the clearest starting distinction within the named St. Kilian range. Classic is unpeated and presented as “Mild & Fruity”; Peated is presented as “Rich & Smoky”, with both bottled at 46% ABV according to the trade account.[7] These are published range descriptions, not tasting observations made for this article.
Cigar Malt joined the Core Range in May 2026. Elsewhere, the portfolio includes numbered Signature Editions and smaller releases such as Whisky Solera IV, recorded in 2025 as an unpeated six-year-old release of 728 bottles.[7][8]
Music collaborations form another recognisable strand. The producer’s news records two Scorpions whiskies marking the band’s 60 years in June 2025, alongside collaborations involving Grave Digger and the Framus IRONFINGER Edition.[8] The practical task is to identify the individual product, rather than assume that a collaboration name tells you its distillation source or maturation.
Not every bottle is German single malt
Bud Spencer, The Legend, Whisky (mild) is sold as a blended whisky. Its product page identifies triple-distilled Irish whiskey from bourbon casks at the Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk.[9]
That is a product-specific source statement, not evidence that St. Kilian’s own spirit is triple distilled. Keeping the distillery, the wider brand portfolio and the individual bottle separate resolves both common misunderstandings.[3][9]
The monk behind the name
Claim: The distillery’s name is dedicated to the Irish monk Kilian and his brothers.
Verdict: Documented
What the record shows: The producer states the dedication.[1]
Evidence against or gap: The supplied sheet identifies no earlier record of the dedication.
Earliest known source: Not established from the sources checked.
Source and claim mapping: the producer’s account of the dedication.
Last checked: 7 November 2026.
The producer’s origin story also tells of Kilian, Kolonat and Totnan bringing a small copper still and “Aqua Vitae” to seventh century Franconia, but the producer itself presents the outcome as legend.[1]
Claim: The monks brought distilling equipment and barley brandy to Franconia in the seventh century.
Verdict: Legend
What the record shows: The producer tells this story and dedicates the distillery’s name to Kilian and his brothers.[1]
Evidence against or gap: The supplied record does not substantiate the medieval distillation claim.
Earliest known source: Not established from the sources checked.
Source and claim mapping: the producer’s story and its own legend qualification.
Last checked: 7 November 2026.
Visiting Rüdenau
The producer records a shop in Rüdenau, while its news archive documents the third St. Kilian Whisky Festival on 28 June 2025 at the distillery and Bunker City.[2][8] That past event should not be read as confirmation of access to either location on another date.
Before travelling, check the official website for current booking arrangements, accessibility, age conditions and which parts of the site a visit includes. A shop visit, a distillery tour and access to maturation bunkers are separate things to confirm.
Where to go next
- Mackmyra: follow the Swedish connection in the producer’s account.
- Stauning: continue exploring European distilleries.
- PUNI: turn to another continental European whisky producer.
Sources
- St. Kilian Distillers. Our Story. Producer’s account, undated web edition supplied in the November 2026 fact sheet. https://www.stkiliandistillers.com/en/pages/unsere-story
- St. Kilian Distillers. G for Gründer (Founders) of St. Kilian. Producer’s account, undated web edition supplied in the November 2026 fact sheet. https://www.stkiliandistillers.com/en/blogs/wissen/g-wie-gruender-von-st-kilian
- St. Kilian Distillers. P, as in Pot Still. Producer’s account, undated web edition supplied in the November 2026 fact sheet. https://www.stkiliandistillers.com/en/blogs/wissen/p-wie-pot-still
- St. Kilian Distillers. St. Kilian Distillers: The Genesis. Producer’s account, undated web edition supplied in the November 2026 fact sheet. https://www.stkiliandistillers.com/en/blogs/wissen/wie-st-kilian-entstanden-ist
- Whisky.de. St. Kilian Brennerei. Trade reference, undated web edition supplied in the November 2026 fact sheet. https://www.whisky.de/flaschen-db/brennereien/details/stkilian.html
Further sources:
- Spiritory. St. Kilian Distillers. Trade reference, undated web edition supplied in the November 2026 fact sheet. https://spiritory.com/fr/brands/St.-Kilian-Distillers
- St. Kilian Distillers. Press & News. Producer’s news archive, including 2025 and 2026 announcements, supplied in the November 2026 fact sheet. https://www.stkiliandistillers.com/en/blogs/presse-news
- St. Kilian Distillers. Bud Spencer, The Legend, Whisky (mild). Producer’s product description, undated web edition supplied in the November 2026 fact sheet. https://www.stkiliandistillers.com/en/products/bud-spencer-whisky-mild
This desk-researched article uses verified fact sheet TOP-A358, distinguishing the producer’s accounts from trade reporting and the recorded legend.
Last checked: November 2026