Later this month, I will drive up north for a guided tour of Stauning Distillery in Denmark. This will be my second visit to the place, however, I am sure that this time will be completely different from the previous one. Cause when I first dropped by there almost six years ago, Stauning was still operating out of its traditional farmhouse distillery. Since then, much has changed: While the old building still stands, the whisky making has moved over to a new, big, and modern production unit which is capable of giving birth to over 1,000,000 litres of alcohol per year – this makes Stauning not only Denmark’s biggest whisky distillery in specific, but also the country’s most-yielding alcohol producer in general. In anticipation of my upcoming trip, I have poured me quite a lot of Stauning drams in the last weeks. One of them is this very special 5-year-old single cask release, which I bought some weeks back from Stauning’s Brand Ambassador Henning at an open tasting at Weinquelle Lühmann in Hamburg. What’s so very special about it? The cask formula! Finished in a maple syrup cask, this sweet, savory, and heavy Danish single malt whisky is a prime example of the extra-strong eagerness to innovate, which has been an elemental part of Stauning’s DNA ever since the distillery’s humble DIY beginnings. For me, this was the first time I tried a dram drawn from such unusual wood; and I gotta say: No matter how odd the story of this Stauning 2017/2022 may sound or read in theory, it actually works super-great in practice!

by Tobi

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Eye: Yellow apple wax.
Nose: Liquified Snickers! I smell lots and lots of crunchy peanuts coated in thick layers of caramel sauce and milk chocolate. Under this heavy blanket, there lingers an immense fruitiness: quince jelly, orange slices, and apple rings. When given a bit of time in the glass, the whisky moves on to develop quite a peculiar spiciness that leans into an oriental direction with curcuma and cardamom.
Palate: Salty and milky at first, then a bit peppery. The Snickers note from before is not so present in the beginning. Yet, it becomes more and more noticeable with time – until it’s the strongest force in the mix. The light-colored fruits make a return, too. In the mouth, however, they feel less like quinces and oranges to me and more like pears and grapes. There’s just one thing I don’t really get anymore: the oriental spices. Their place is now taken by cornflakes, oat cookies, and grain husks.
Finish: The lengthy, punchy finish emphasizes on nut splinters, cocoa nibs, orange graters, banana chunks, and vanilla ice cream – drenched in waves of caramel sauce and sprinkled upon with a pinch of salt.

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Type: Single Malt Whisky
Region: Denmark
Age: 5 years
Alc. volume: 57.6 per cent
Cask type: Maple cask finish
Bottle size: 0.7 litres
Price range: ~95.00 Euro
More info: https://stauningwhisky.com/ (Distillery) ; https://kirschwhisky.de/ (Importer)

*** I bought the bottle as a regular customer. ***