Gouden Carolus "Blaasveld Broek"

De Molenberg Distillery

Charles Leclef is a representative of the fifth generation of the Van Breedam family, millers and brewers in Mechelen since the 17th century. In 1990, he took over and modernised the family brewery Het Anker, located on the site of the former beguinage hospital. In 2010 he set up a whisky distillery on the family farm 'Molenberg' in Blaasveld (municipality of Willebroek), with the idea of producing a single malt distilled from the wort of the Gouden Carolus Tripel beer. This is a good thing, because in the past the Van Breedam family milled and distilled cereals to make genever.

The name Gouden Carolus also takes us back several centuries to the time when Mechelen was the capital of the Burgundian Netherlands. It refers to the golden shield of Emperor Charles V, for whom the Mechelen Brewers' Guild brewed a special beer.

Gouden Carolus Blaasveld Broek

This new whisky refers to the nature reserve next to the distillery, "Het Broek", in Blaasveld. Between about 1100 and 1770, the area was known for its peat bogs, the peat extracted from which was mainly used as fuel or for drying malted barley. Gouden Carolus Blaasveld Broek is distilled from a special brew to which peated barley malt is added. This gives it a slightly smoky touch, which melts into the oak and vanilla aromas.