What are the characteristics you are looking for when creating your whiskies?

It essentially comes down to the single malt whisky I would love to drink and one that is memorable on the palate. I believe that after more than 30-years producing single malt whiskies, I am pretty good judge in terms of a very good quality whisky. Of course, from our range everyone has their favourite, mine is two of our new releases, our Carpathian Single Malt Whisky Vradiano cask finish at 46% and our the Peated Whisky (Cask Strength) at 62.2% both of which have picked-up awards; the latter is without doubt a fire-side drink enjoyed in a comfortable chesterfield armchair.

Can you give an overview of the brand in your own words?

Carpathian Single Malt Whisky is made from 100% Romanian Malted Barley, using sub-Carpathian water in the distillery from the surrounding landscape and I am the first person to have ever produced a single malt whisky in Romania, Scotland & Ireland. What this all means is that the brand is unique, authentic, bespoke and made to the highest standards of single malt whisky production. Alongside the quality, you also have our growing range of finishes, aged in wine casks from across the world, this is attracting new audiences to the whisky category. You could say we are ‘disrupting’ the single malt industry without alienating the whisky aficionados.

What was the packaging inspiration? 

The visual identity of Carpathian Single Malt was created by the French agency Appartement 103, part of the Marie Claire Group. I think you will agree, there is an organic, natural feel to the packaging, whilst retaining a timeless elegance and premium appeal, which reflects the product. You will also notice that the wooden lid of the bottle holder, doubles as a drink’s coaster

How have you gone about crafting such a diverse range? 

As you would imagine, a lot of hard work has been invested alongside a multitude of other investments required to create such products. I went onto conceive the idea of using Romanian casks to mature the whisky, especially in the knowledge we had our winery making fine Romanian wines. This then led on to a quest to experiment with various casks from wineries across Europe and the Carpathian Single Malt Whisky range has grown from there. The range is very well received wherever in the world we go to showcase it, so we continue in bringing as much diversity to our range as possible.

What are the plans for the future of the brand? 

As the group’s flagship whisky, Carpathian Single Malt Whisky has put Romania on the global map of single malt whisky producers and become a multi-Award-Winning product in under 2-years. So, we will continue finding new cask finishes, expand its entry into new global markets and continue to promote widely. Also, without disclosing too much information, but we are experimenting with different barrels for finishing, sourced from all over the world including our own winery which gives us a real advantage over other producers of whisky. We have access to freshly dumped wine barrels that can be filled the same day with whisky once received at the distillery. This year, we hope to use a newly developed yeast strain cultivated from wild yeasts found on our winery’s grapes but that’s for next year!