Belgian and Dutch distilleries collaborate to create 'first' European whisky

Belgian and Dutch distilleries collaborate to create 'first' European whisky
Master distillers Patrick van Zuidam (Left) and Etienne Bouillon (Right) at a European Whisky event. Credit: Facebook / Talents of Spirits

Two European distilleries were brought together to create the first flavours for a "European whisky" line, a project driven by Belgian entrepreneurs under the brand Talents of Spirits.

While the project claims to create the "first" European whisky, the idea is more about bringing together talented European whisky makers to develop new flavours. "Master distillers often work alone in their workshops and are not open enough to share their talents with others," explained the main shareholder of the project, Hubert Coussement, a Belgian property developer. Coussement sees this project as a way to change this.

The first collection of European whiskies features creations from the collaboration between two international award-winning master distillers, the Dutch Patrick van Zuidam and the Belgian Etienne Bouillon.

Combining the Dutch and Belgian masters was a simple choice, according to Coussement: "[They] are in the heart of Europe." He admits, however, that the first pairing originated out of convenience, from having two famous distilleries nearby.

Although the idea of creating "European" whiskies was straightforward for Coussement, bringing such different talents together isn't an easy sell for everyone: "[Patrick] said you need people who are ahead of their time to accept the idea that two master distillers, with their different specialities, would work together to achieve a new flavour," said Bouillon.

L-R: Etienne Bouillon, Hubert Coussement, and Patrick van Zuidam. Credit: Facebook / Talents of Spirits

While pairing renowned experts in the field was beneficial to speed up the production process, blending their tastes had its challenges: "We first had to talk. And then talk some more. Patrick's speciality is rye and mine is malt, so we had to get creative to achieve a new flavour that we would both agree on," said Bouillon. "But we're still on speaking terms, so I think we're fine," he added with a grin.

The collaboration resulted in a line with four different whiskies, whose names derive from Ancient Greek. The names also express different aspects of this project, with UDOR representing the project's collaborative nature, for example: "UDOR means water, and water is the link between all the whiskies in the world," said Bouillon.

Both master distillers hope the new flavours will not only appeal to lovers of the liquor but also those new to the world of whisky.

The whisky collection can currently be bought in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. It is not yet clear whether it will be sold in other countries in the future, and which other master distillers will be invited to create a new "European" whisky. "We just launched a few weeks ago. We need to walk before we run," said Bouillon.

Nonetheless, he affirmed that the aim will always be to bring different European countries together and to further support the position of European distilleries in the world of whisky.

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