The first Italian Distillery, meet the Wallnofer men
This weekend at Whisky Live Paris I saw a wide spectrum of whisky iterations and met tons of people.
After day one, the exhibitors all went out together for dinner and drinks. I had the fortune of sitting with the lads of Triple Malt from the Puni Distillery (pronounced pooh knee).
Jonas, Valentin, and Lukas are 3 brothers from northern Italy. Immediately hitting it off, we all stayed out in the city so late that checking into the hotel was almost pointless.
The 3 have just opened the first distillery in Italy. Whisky by definition must be aged over 3 years at least, and since they've just started they're still filling and aging their rack houses. Side note: their rack houses are converted WWII bunkers, which hosts an ideal environment temperatures and are indestructible which is always a plus.
Currently they have two spirits, Puni Pure and Puni Alba. These are defined as "New Make Spirits". The "Triple Malt" distillate is made from barley, rye, and wheat which have an outstanding and delicious flavor. Puni Pure is aged in a stainless steel tank for 3-9 months and unadulterated from wood. It's a clear spirit, I got some crisp cut apple notes. The Alba is aged for a year in Marsala and wine casks. This one for me had a really nice smooth herbal note. Both were new and very distinct to me.
The distillery design is a work of art too <-click it
Operating a Scottish made Pot Still they're not only filling American Bourbon barrels, but Marsala casks from Sicily and wine casks from South Tyrol Italy.
They do it all, from operations at the distillery, to running the business, and designing the logo, website, and branding.
I really like the creative and production direction their taking and am rooting for Triple Malt and the Puni Distillery.
-Cheers