German whisky remains one of the most fascinating corners of the single malt world, and the Finch 8 Year Old Distillers Choice is a bottle that deserves your attention. Bottled at 46% ABV with eight years of maturation behind it — including time in sherry casks — this is a spirit that signals serious intent from a producer operating well outside the traditional whisky heartlands.
I'll be honest: when a German single malt lands on my desk, I approach it with curiosity rather than expectation. The country's distilling tradition is deep-rooted in fruit brandies and schnapps, but the pivot to grain spirit and oak ageing is relatively recent in the broader sweep of whisky history. What encourages me about the Finch range is the commitment to age statements and cask selection. An eight-year-old single malt finished in sherry wood, bottled at a respectable 46% without chill filtration — these are decisions that prioritise flavour over margin, and I respect that.
The sherry cask influence at this age should bring a certain warmth and dried-fruit sweetness to the spirit, rounding out whatever the base distillate offers. At 46%, you're getting enough strength to carry those cask-driven characteristics without the burn that higher proofs can introduce. The 'Distillers Choice' designation suggests this was a cask or batch that the production team felt represented their best work — always a good sign, though admittedly a claim that's hard to verify from the outside.
Tasting Notes
I won't fabricate specific tasting notes where my memory would be doing the heavy lifting. What I can say is that the combination of German barley, continental climate maturation, and sherry wood influence typically produces a whisky with a rounder, softer profile than you might find from a Scottish equivalent at the same age. The warmer warehouse temperatures in southern Germany tend to accelerate the conversation between spirit and wood, so eight years here may deliver complexity that rivals older expressions from cooler climates.
The Verdict
At £50.50, the Finch 8 Year Old sits in competitive territory. You could spend the same money on a well-regarded Speyside or a decent Highland single malt. But that rather misses the point. This is a whisky for the drinker who has worked through the classics and wants to understand what's happening beyond Scotland's borders. It rewards curiosity. The age statement, the cask choice, the bottling strength — everything here suggests a distillery that understands what serious whisky drinkers are looking for. I'm giving it a 7.7 out of 10. It earns that score not by competing directly with the Scottish establishment, but by offering something genuinely different while respecting the fundamentals of good single malt production. A confident, well-made whisky that justifies the price of admission.
Best Served
Pour it neat in a Glencairn and give it five minutes to open up. If the sherry influence runs rich, a few drops of cool water will help separate the layers. This is a whisky built for slow, attentive drinking — not a mixer, not a cocktail base. Give it the respect of your full attention and it will return the favour.
