Andreas Schwarz selection of 5 exotic distilleries that worth a sip – Part 2

After introducing you to 5 exciting “exotic” whiskey distilleries at the beginning of the year, I would like to continue today and present 5 more exotics.

How many of them do you already know?

Flóki ~ Iceland

The Eimverk Distillery is located near the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. It was founded in 2009 and offers the first Icelandic single malt with its “Flóki Whisky.” It is particularly interesting that their single malt is made from a very robust Icelandic organic barley. As this type of barley has a very low starch content, a much higher quantity of barley must be used for their single malt than for conventional single malt whiskies. One of their whisky's is “Flóki Sheep Dung Smoked Reserve”, which uses sheep dung to dry the malt according to an old Icelandic tradition.

Hwayo ~ South Korea

Founded in 2003, Hwayo Distillery is based in the Yeoju region of South Korea, near the capital Seoul, and mainly produces soju, a Korean grain spirit. Hwayo recently introduced X.Premium, a single grain whisky made from 100% Japonica rice, distilled in traditional copper stills and aged (for at least 3 years) in American oak barrels. X.Premium is currently the distillery's only whisky and is bottled in half-liter bottles with a mild 41% alcohol content.

Bivrost ~ Norway

Aurora Spirit was founded in 2016 and is located in a very remote area in the Lyngen Alps of Norway. This makes Aurora Spirit the northernmost distillery in the world! Various spirits and whiskeys are produced here. What makes their Bivrost single malt whiskey so special is, of course, the extreme climate in the region, as well as the glacier water and Nordic barley used in its production. Due to the low temperatures in the region, their whiskeys, such as Bivrost Yggdrasil 2024 , are mainly matured in smaller casks in old NATO bunkers.

Goldcock ~ Czechia

The R. Jelínek distillery is located in Vizovice (Moravia) in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1894, making it the oldest whisky brand in Czechia. In addition to the distillery's flagship product, Slivovice, whisky has also been produced here for some time under the name Goldcock, most of which is matured in regionally produced European oak barrels. In addition to blended whiskies, various finishes, and wheat whisky, Goldcock Peated Single Malt with 30ppm is one of the distillery's most popular whiskies.

Ko'olau ~ Hawaii (United States of America)

The Ko'olau Distillery is a distillery in Hawaii founded by war veterans. In addition to vodka, gin, and moonshine, the small distillery also offers corn whiskey and the 100% Hawaiian Old Pali Road Private Reserve Straight Bourbon. What makes their whiskey special is the Hawaiian water, the local corn from which the whiskey is made, and, of course, the unique Hawaiian climate.