Inspired by a post I read on the pages of fellow whisky blogger Herr Lutz, my girlfriend and I fueled up our trusty lil’ Daihatsu on the first weekend in August and embarked on a 350 kilometer road trip up north to visit Stauning Distillery in Denmark. It is there that I not only developed a very fond liking for the sympathetic Danes running this up-and-coming whisky making site, but also bought a bottle of their Distillery Edition. Said beverage, which is basically Stauning’s award-winning Peated expression matured in ex-Rye casks instead of the usual ex-Bourbon barrels, is the only spirit you can currently get at the distillery – due to the enormous demand for Stauning’s products, their entire core range has not been available in the visitor center for more than two and a half years! This youthful, dashing and slightly smoky sip, which got a somewhat wholemeal-like quality from the wood it was matured in, is a mighty fine dram that I would fully recommend to all Nordic whisky lovers out there. If (and yes, there is a rather big “if” here) they are willing to pay the steep price of 54 Euro for a small 250ml bottle. No matter from what angle you look at it: That is a lot of money! But it also gets you a one-of-a-kind whisky that you will not have the chance to buy just any day. And at least for me that was reason enough to dig into my wallet and purchase my first (but certainly not last) bottle of Danish whisky!

by Tobi

Eye: Dried hay shone at by the summer sun.
Nose: This certainly ain’t no aroma you get to smell every day. Lively, fresh and invigorated, Stauning’s Distillery Edition is packed with notes of grist (most likely coming from the rye cask), wood polish, pine cones, cereal bars and kumquats. Surprisingly, we sense little to no peat.
Palate: A tad sweetish, but not overly sugary. The crops from the nose are there on the palate as well. And so are the cereal bars. As is little surprising for such a young 50 per-center, the alcohol is everything but shy. Considering how vigorous of a pour this is, it is really fascinating how nicely aligned its differing parts are and how well they compliment each other.
Finish: Lengthy and powerful with apple sauce, black bread and finally a whiff o’ smoke.

Type: Single Malt Whisky
Region: Denmark
Aged: 3yo
Cask: ex-Rye cask
Alc. volume: 50.1%
Bottle size: 0.25 litres
Price range: 54.00 Euro
More info: https://www.stauningwhisky.com/ (Distillery)