When you’re looking for a good whisky, you probably wouldn't think of Bavaria. After all, Bavarians are known for their beer. But the fact is that the ingredients of the two drinks are very similar. And a visit to the idyllic Slyrs Whisky Distillery on Lake Schliersee will not only add to your knowledge about whisky and its production but also teach you a lot about courage, inventiveness, and dreams.
The first Slyrs whisky was the outcome of a bet. When the company’s founder Florian Stetter traveled through Scotland in 1994 as part of his training as a distiller, he asked himself why there wasn’t anything like this in Bavaria. He bet a crate of beer with his friends, who refused to believe he’d be able to produce a tasty whisky at Schliersee. He was bold enough to try and worked on the first Bavarian whisky from 1999 to 2002. He won that crate of beer – and gained a new line of business.
Today, Florian Stetter's story also proves that you don't need to take a business trip to Edinburgh to taste great whisky. Slyrs – a little piece of Scotland in Bavaria – is located just an hour's train ride from Munich in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. Here, MICE teams can improve their whisky knowledge and taste (almost) every step of the production process – and don't even have to travel to Scotland to do so. Slyrs will also teach you a thing or two about entrepreneurship, and why it pays to swim against the tide.
The tour starts with a short movie, and even if you're not a big whisky fan, you'll be inspired by the story of the founders. There are takeaways for the whole team here: How you can think outside the box and why it’s worthwhile being bold.
Tours of the Slyrs site are held in German and English – "with Bavarian as a bonus language," as Marinus, Tour Leader and Brand Ambassador, adds with a laugh. The Bavarian heritage is written large here, and yet it repeatedly intersects with that of the Scots. After all, the first monks who gave their name to this village on Schliersee were of Scottish and Irish descent. Hence the unusual spelling, as Slyrs is pronounced "Schliers". The parallels do not end there: Founder Florian Stetter was himself reminded of his own Bavarian people in many of the peculiarities of the Scots – from the Scottish dialect to the defiant traditional costume.
The Bavarian heritage is written large here, and yet it repeatedly intersects with that of the Scots.
The ingredients for a whisky can be quickly summarized: barley, water and yeast. Only the hops are missing to brew a beer. However, there is an immense amount of leeway in these few ingredients: the water, the yeast strains, the preparation of the barley malt, and the construction of the stills all determine the whisky’s taste. The tour through the Slyrs halls is not just pure theory; it also includes numerous tastings – for example in the distillery hall, where visitors are allowed to taste the first, middle and last run of the whisky. The first and last runs will be discarded because they are undrinkable. With its 80% alcohol content, the first run reminds you of a cleaner with the sweet smell of glue, while the last run tastes like stale beer. So throw them away and only use the middle run.
The tour continues to the cask hall where MICE teams can start dreaming. Here, in the "sacred warehouse" of the private cask hall, companies can select their own whisky and let it mature. There’s a wide range of logos on the casks – from Bayern Munich to Subway, a number of companies have their own whisky stored here. And that’s a highlight for any company outing. The casks are also important in other respects: "The cask accounts for 70-80% of the taste," Marinus explains. That’s because the whisky takes on the flavors and color of the barrel it is stored in. Old port wine barrels or sherry casks are not uncommon.
Above all, however, Slyrs teaches us that it pays to be bold.
In the tasting room with its views of the mountains and meadows, visitors can finally taste the final product. Three of the most popular Slyrs whiskies will be ready and waiting. Drinking whisky is as much a science as producing it. So anyone who’s been on a trip to Slyrs can show off their insider knowledge on how to swirl the glass past your nose and not "stick your beak in the glass", as Marinus points out. Or that the streaks in the glass are a sign of good quality and that it's worth holding one nostril closed when smelling the whisky because this activates different receptors in the brain.
Above all, however, Slyrs teaches us that it pays to be bold. "In our early days, no banks wanted to lend us money. They said that a whisky from Bavaria wouldn't be profitable. In the end, our boss got his start-up capital from friends – a risky business because you have to wait three years before you can finally taste the whisky," Marinus explains. "But people camped out in front of our distillery the very first time we sold our whisky. So it was worth it." And even today, people from all over the world come to this small village on Lake Schliersee to learn how a great tradition can be put into practice – the Bavarian way.
Good to know:
• An exclusive tour with a personal guide can be easily booked on the website: slyrs.com
• The tour includes a movie, a personal guided tour of the facility, and a tasting.
• Duration: approx. 1.5 hours, daily between 10 am and 3.30 pm.
• Price: €90 for the guide and €9.90 per person.
• You can also book a Bavarian snack on the luxury tour, which costs €90 for the guide and €23.80 per person.
• If you’d like to book your own room afterwards or visit Slyrs outside opening hours, you can book events by arrangement with Slyrs Coffee & Lunchery. There’s room for around 70 people inside and some 120-150 people on the sun terrace. Besides, the Slyrs team will support you in everything from decoration to menu selection – à la carte or buffet.
• Companies can easily configure their own whisky using the online tool. The whisky will then be stored with a customized label. You can configure your own whisky at slyrs.com
• You can also book a workshop where teams of five or more can create their own whisky liqueur. A one-hour workshop costs a one-off fee of €300 plus €10 per person for materials. Workshops can be booked from Monday to Friday.
