Mackmyra Preludium/Sveriges whiskydestilleri

You may have heard of Mackmyra, the Swedish distiller of single malt whisky. They just released Preludium:01 the first Swedish Single Malt Whisky available for sale in a bottle:

The first Swedish Malt Whisky ever. A limited edition from our very first years of distilling. Preludium:01 is a blend of the premier casks of whisky made in our small-scale distillery in 1999, and the first ones from our present distillery, opened in 2002. In short words: the very first drops of Swedish malt.

There are a few differences in the way Mackmyra produces and matures their whisky, which we'll see when we talk to Eskil Tunberg - this is a thoroughly Scandinavian endeavor.

For maturation, Mackmyra uses first fill ex-bourbon casks and ex-sherry butts, but in addition, Mackmyra uses new casks made of Swedish Oak.

The fresh oak is charred to bring out the sweetness locked inside the wood fibres. The result is a rich, dark colour and an oak flavour without any influences from previous contents.

The following interview took place at Whisky Live London (March 2, 2006).

KE - Tell me about Mackmyra.

ET - The company was founded in 1999. The first drops were distilled in December 1999 from a very small hand made still. producing 30 litres. Very, very small.

During the first three years (1999, 200, 2001) what we did was learn how to produce whisky, and also developed the different recipes. We wanted to experiment. From Autumn 2002 our full scale distillery was operational and since then we have been in full production.

KE - Were you making any spirits before this?

ET - No, Mackmyra was founded by eight friends, four couples that went to a ski resort in Sweden. They all brought a bottle of malt whisky with them - there were eight people, eight bottles of whisky - and this is what came out.

The first three years was just recipes. Just learning, too. After the first 170 different batches we felt we were ready to take it to the next level and invest in a big distillery.

In late Autumn 2002, we got our new stills 8,000 and 6,000 litres - and since then we have been producing 2 recipes. One unpeated, we just dry the barley with hot air, and one peated version - and don't only use peat to get the smoke, we mix in juniper twigs as well - just to make a different Swedish recipe.

KE - Where are you getting your peat?

ET - Four kilometres away from the distillery - Swedish peat - it's all Swedish ingredients - Swedish water, Swedish barley, Swedish yeast - everything Swedish.
We've made everything ourselves - just to be sure that we do not copy someone else. We wanted to make Swedish whisky - so we've done everything ourselves.

KE - Let's talk about the Preludium...

ET - It's an introduction. This is a mix. We took the first cask we ever made, and the first first-fill sherry cask, the first first-fill bourbon cask, the first Swedish oak cask, and so on and so on. We took the first of everything and mixed it together and to get the volume. We took the first casks from our new distillery as well - so this is a three year old - the first recipe is six year old - so it's a mix of everything.

This is the first in a series of six that we will launch during 2006 and 2007.

KE - And you introduced it today, at the London Whisky Live?

ET - Yes. There were 9,000 bottles made - but the main part will stay in Sweden. There is some available throughout Scandinavia - and also in England, Scotland, France and The Netherlands.

KE - What about the U.S.?

ET - Yes. We are looking to get to the United States. One of the problems is that we have to find an importer first - but we have made some really good contacts here in London. We already have restaurants in New York and other places that are interested.

KE - Do you comprise the Swedish whisky industry at this point?

ET - Yes, we are the only ones. But we would love for the whisky industry in Sweden to grow!

--------------------

A few days after Whisky Live, Eskil emailed me with proof positive of the demand for a home-grown Swedish Whisky:

I am also very happy to tell you that we sold the 4000 bottles of our Preludium:01 allocated to the Swedish private market in approximately two hours.

Good Luck, Mackmyra!

Comments

[Anne]

And I was one of the lucky 4000 to get a bottle - I stood in line for it, but it was well worth it. Or at least I hope so - I haven't opened it yet. I'll try to get all the Preludiums though - I'm not a huge whiskey fan myself, but my husband is and I rather like having the bottles around :)

[Johny Westergård]

If you would like to find out more about Mackmyra you can look at http://www.mackmyra.com/

[Fredric Liljestrand]

I just layed my hands on Mackmyras second release, Preludium:02. I stood in line for 2 hours before opening and it sold out within the first five minutes. It will be a pleasure to try this fantastic Swedish Whisky =)

[Lars Cederbro]

Now they have released the Preludium:03.
It sold out in minutes. But I was lucky enough to get 2 bottles. I't was a surprisingly good whisky! Highly recommended.