THE HISTORY OF WAVE DISTIL
The story begins with COSMIK and vodka.
In 2010, after having worked in various fields such as sport, art and administration, Thierry Van Renterghem decided to launch his own fruity vodka, Cosmik Citron. He wanted to create a fruity, sweet and natural vodka. He created at the same time a second taste Cosmik Orange Sanguine.
At the same time, he launched the Pure vodka that he had used for the fruity vodka, Cosmik Pure Diamond. He did not expect such a success! The Pure Diamond vodka was noticed well before the fruity ones and it quickly won several medals in international competitions. The machine was launched! He became aware of the potential to develop a complete range of products, true to himself.
After 3 years of ageing, the result is up to his expectations, a new whisky is born: August 17th.
Its name refers to the date of August 17, 1992, the day when the life of the creator was turned upside down following a serious soccer accident and some complications, his career as a professional player came to an end!
In 2015, he launched Gemblue gin, which was awarded only 4 months later with a gold medal in Chicago and a bronze medal in London.
Then, Thierry Van Renterghem had the idea to make a whisky with the end of the heating heart of the August 17th whisky, so he released a Pure Malt with a very Belgian identity!
In 2016, Thierry Van Renterghem also built a cellar in which he will store exceptional barrels.
Little G rum came later, in 2017.
In 2018, Benoît Bertholet joins Thierry Van Renterghem in the Wave Distil adventure and takes over the management of the company.
In early 2020, Wave Distil will move to Dinant and transform an old farmhouse into a real distillery!
On February 1, 2022, the Pure Malt created in 2016 changes its name and becomes Manneke'Tiche and thus asserts its Belgian identity.
THE DISTILLERY
The distillery of Wave Distil is located in Sorinnes on the heights of Dinant in an old farm. The place is bucolic, rural and easy to access. Our distillery has a distillation area with a swan neck still, a production and bottling area, as well as an aging cellar and two finishing rooms with more than a hundred barrels.
Bottling and labelling are done on site. On the farm, we have also set up the administrative offices of Wave Distil. We can welcome you for different types of events: seminars or company presentations, Master Classes, business meals, tastings of our spirits accompanied, if you wish, by a catering service.
It is also possible to visit the distillery. We occasionally organize visits for small groups. Visits are only on request and by appointment.
OUR CHAIS
The cellar master, Thierry Van Renterghem, has been creating spirits for nearly ten years. He has learned by himself, thanks to his varied and atypical professional career, thanks to beautiful encounters and above all thanks to his passion and his unfailing will.
In 2016, he decided to build a room with very old and exceptional barrels. what is called in the jargon "a Chai".
The distillery has an aging cellar with about 60 new oak barrels in which whisky or rum are aged, as well as two finishing cellars with more than a hundred old barrels that previously contained spirits such as Port, Cognac, Monbazillac, Banyuls, etc. These finishing cellars allow the whisky and rum to be reworked to offer rare and exceptional finishes.
ENDLESSLY AGING
The spirits are placed in French oak barrels and will rest under the supervision of the Master Cellar Master, which allows the spirits to age and to be bottled in the best possible conditions.
Ageing is done in oak barrels that have contained Port and then Cognac or in oak barrels that have received a medium bousinage.
EXCEPTIONAL FINISHES
The finishing touches are done in our Chai. The rums and whiskies are placed in carefully selected exceptional barrels such as Laphroaig, Banuyls, Marsala, Sauternes, Bourbon, Monbazillac, Olorosso, Porto and Amarone. They will rest in these barrels, under the control of the Master Cellar to obtain the desired finish.
The August 17th whisky is offered in different finishes with the RARE CASK EDITION, a prestigious and very limited edition. The number of bottles released per finish is determined by the type of cask. Each bottle is numbered and bottled by hand.
The Rare Cask edition of August 17th currently has 8 different finishes: W.01 Marsala, W.02 Laphroaig, W.03 Monbazillac, W.04 Olorosso, W.05 Banuyls 7+1, W.06 Banyuls 3+2, W.07 Bourbon, W.08 Sauternes 7+1, W.09 Laphroaig 10 and W.10 Sauternes 5+2.