Puni Italian Malt Whisky Arrives In The United States

Of the different nations that make up the European Union, a good number of them embrace making whisky to one degree or another. Italy happens to be one of these, and the Puni distillery has long been a leader, by craft standards any how, in that country. Now, after years of being overseas only, the Puni malt whiskies are coming to the United States.

The Puni malt whiskies, according to those behind them, herald from a brand that’s been making this style in Italy for a decade. Puni was founded by the Ebensperger family in 2010 in the midst of the Italian Alps, near the Ortler mountain range, just outside the small town of Glorenza. Four of their expressions, as outlined below, are being imported for Americans:

• Puni Gold, matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks, establishing the house style
• Puni Alba (Italian for “dawn” and Scottish Gaelic for “Scotland”), matured in Sicilian Marsala casks and finished in ex-Islay barrels
• Puni Vina, the first in a range of limited edition wine cask-matured whiskies and aged in ex-Marsala casks from Sicily
• Puni Sole, finished for two years in rich Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks from Jerez, Spain

“After working on it for years, we are very proud to finally be able to share ‘The Italian Malt Whisky’ with the US,” said Puni distiller Jonas Ebensperger, one of the founders of the family-run business, in a prepared statement. “We put our hearts into the making of our whisky and are very excited to now give whisky lovers in the US a chance to taste it.”

What is said to be of note around Puni is that its distiller “employs an unusual recipe using three different malted grains – barley, wheat and locally-grown rye – to create a signature mash bill. The local rye grows in the foothills of the Alps near the Ortler mountain range in the Trentino-Alto Adige region, where the distillery sits as a landmark to modern Italian design and distillery innovation.

“The Alpine climate contributes to the particularity of Puni’s whiskies, which are aged on the family’s stunning new distillery campus.”

As it stands now these Italian malt whiskies can initially be found in IL, CA, MN, NY, NJ, WA, TX, and FL, with more states to come. They range in price from $90 to $130.