A creator through and through
Gerard Velthuis was known as someone who didn't blindly follow what already existed. His strength lay in creating new things, developing ideas that deviated from the beaten path. This urge to create something of his own was the common thread in his work and forms the basis of what would later grow into Stokerij Sculte.
The origin in Austria
The interest in distilling did not originate in the Netherlands, but in Austria. There, Gerard closely observed a distilling process in which a drink was distilled from pure fruit. The artisanal character, the patience, and the simplicity of the process made a deep impression. What started as a fascination quickly grew into action: Gerard began distilling himself in Austria and delved into the craft.
Back to Twente: fruit as a foundation
With this knowledge and experience, he returned to the Netherlands. In 2004, Gerard began distilling in Mander, initially exclusively with fruit. This formed the foundation of his craftsmanship. Working with fruit taught him precision, a sense of taste, and respect for raw materials—principles that would later also become crucial to his approach to whisky.
From fruit to whisky
From fruit distilling, an interest in making whisky emerged. Not as an obvious next step, but as a deliberate one. Whisky offered room for deepening: a process in which time, maturation, and vision are central. For Gerard, this was not a matter of copying what was already happening elsewhere, but of starting anew and shaping the process to his own hand.
Daring to do things differently
Where many distilleries work with used barrels from America or Southern Europe, Gerard consciously chose a different path. He asked himself whether a whisky could not be completely shaped by its own environment. This idea led to the Twente oak—trees that have been rooted in the same soil for centuries as where the whisky is distilled.
The wood thus became not a standard ingredient, but an essential part of the identity. Not tradition dictated the direction, but the region itself.
A unique philosophy
With this approach, Gerard Velthuis wrote his own chapter in the whisky world. A philosophy in which origin, craftsmanship, and innovation come together. Through the use of Twente oak and the abandonment of existing conventions, something unique emerged: a whisky that is not only made in Twente but is also inextricably shaped by it.
Thus, one man from Twente proved that whisky history is not only written in Scotland or Ireland—but also right here in Twente.
