The Owl Distillery

The Belgian Owl

Hameau de Goreux 7
4347 Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher

+32 (0)4 247 38 14
www.belgianwhisky.com

The Belgian Owl

Belgian Single Malt Whisky made with Belgian-grown barley

Our company, ‘the Owl distillery’, was founded in 2004. there are three of us in the company. each one of us does his bit:

  • Etienne Bouillon / distiller
  • Christian Polis /  nancial
  • Pierre Roberti / crop-grower

Our objective is to diversify our crop-growing through turning to best account the creation of an excellent Belgian Single Malt Whisky crafted on barley grown in Belgium (Hesbaye), based on environmentally aware agriculture.

Our philosophy is the traditional honest-to-goodness of our product, creating work around us, for the well-being of a life  lled with wisdom.
Our emblem, the owl, reflects our philosophy since, in ancient Greece, this bird stood for intelligence and wisdom. practical know-how is necessary for making our Single Malt Whisky and paying due respect to the soil, source of our quality and the tasting is all about discernment.
Whisky by definition means a minimum of 3 years of ageing in oak barrels.

Our first barrel was led on 29 October 2004. We obtained our first ‘Belgian Owl’ Single Malt Whisky on 30 October 2007 (official tapping on 31/10/2007).
Our Single Malt Whisky has been available in all the better stores and merchants since november 2008.

We booked our  first sales in december 2004 via our internet site, www.belgianwhisky.com.

On 17 november 2007 we started to deliver to the owner the bottles reserved in december 2004, drawn from the  first barrel.

The characteristics
of our product «the Belgian Owl», Belgian Single Malt Whisky, are as follows:

  • dry-grown Belgian barley (in the Hesbaye they say ‘sèche’)
  • 2-row spring barley variety
  • the ‘dry’ Hesbaye barley bene ts from growing on a table of groundwater of excel- lent quality
  • all the stages of the creation process are handcrafted in Belgium, from planting the barley through to bottling. this includes the various stages of manufacture, i.e.: the growing of the barley, malting, maceration, fermentation, distillation, aging and bottling
  • the distillation is a double distillation (pot still) in ‘swan-neck’ kettles
  • our whisky is a Belgian Single Malt Whisky
  • whisky: european certified designation of origin
  • single: distilled in a single distillery
  • malt: 100% malted barley
  • Belgian Whisky: trade description = distilled in Belgium
  • the whisky is aged in 1st-fill Bourbon casks
  • no cold filtration (non-chilled  ltered) (46% vol. in bottle)
  • bottling retains the natural colour from the barrel (no colouring)

The visitor centre

In  the  midst  of  our  production  plant,  in  the  heart  of  Hesbaye,  we  have  set  aside a  space  to  welcome  our  visitors.  We  are  well  aware of  the  interest  that  such  a  project  can  excite,  from  the growing  of  the  barley  to  its  final  processing  into  Single  Malt  Whisky.  This being the case we have made certain that our visit centre will be an innovating centre for all to discover.

More information http://www.belgianwhisky.com

History of the creation, recognition and sale.

  • November 2004: 29 November 2004, filling of the first cask of The Belgian Owl.
  • December 2004: presale via internet to special afficionados of the first bottles for delivery 3 years later, from November 2007.
  • January 2005: constant production of a maximum capacity of 20,000 bottles per annum.
  • October 2005: first international citations in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.
  • November 2007: delivery of the first bottles for the trade fair «Spirits in The Sky» in Liège airport.
  • November 2008: first shop sales.
  • October 2010: The  Belgian  Owl,  Belgian  Single  Malt  Whisky  is  the  ‘european  Single cask  Whisky  of  the  year  2011’,  with  95.5%, in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible. It is also graced with the World Selection Grand Gold Quality Award
  • May 2011: The  Belgian  Owl,  Belgian  Single  Malt  Whisky  receives  the  Brussels  Gold  Medal  and Grand  Gold  Quality  Award  in the World Selection competition.
  • October 2011: The Belgian Owl, Belgian Single Malt Whisky scores a good 94.5% in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2012.
  • January 2012: Meusinvest injects into the capital of The Owl Distillery S.A.
  • May 2012: The Belgian Owl, Belgian Single Malt Whisky receives the High Quality Award in the World Selection in Athens.