Pradlo-Czech Whiskey

The history of the Prádlo distillery dates back to 1924, but it only becomes interesting for us whiskey fans in 1976, when the distillery started whiskey production. One of the milestones was late 1989 when the distillery distilled whiskey for several months from the fall to spring of 1990. Czech barley was used for the production and the whiskey was then filled into new burned oak casks. Today it is difficult to say what the plans for this whiskey were.

For a long time, the barrels sat in the shadows of the warehouses and no one really thought about what to do with them. That all changed in 2007, however, when Stock, the company that owned the Prádlo distillery, was bought out by a new owner. During an inventory and tasting of the stocks, it turned out that the casks did not contain cheap distillate, as the previous owner had thought, but rather high-quality whiskey. So it was decided to pack them.

Beginning in 2009, Hammerhead Czech Single Malt Whiskey was successively released at 20, 23, 25, 28 and 30 years (it was bottled for a private owner in the US). However, the whiskey was primarily intended for foreign markets. It is named after the malt mill that has been used at the distillery since the days of Halberd whiskey production.

With the last bottling, however, the history of Hammerhead whiskey came to an end and made room for a new whiskey brand. And it was decided that it should bear the name of the distillery it came from. Whiskey Laundry has produced occasionally since 2002 and regularly since 2010 under the direction of Master Distiller Kristina Demel, one of the few women in this position. And what do we know about whiskey production at the Prádlo distillery?

Only Czech barley of the Bojos and Overture varieties is used for Prádlo whisky. The fermented malt is first distilled in a 1970s column still and then in 2,000 liter copper stills. After the first distillation the distillate reaches about 60% alcohol, after the second distillation it reaches 70% alcohol. It is aged in approximately 250 liter capacity winter oak casks that are heavily charred, including the bottom and top.