Next up in our Nordic Explorer‘s session was a whisky from Denmark’s Stauning distillery.
Stauning was founded in 2005 by nine whisky enthusiasts in western Denmark with a dram to make a Danish dram that uses locally sourced grain, locally malted and, where relevant, using Danish peat. Encouraged by a meeting with Jim Murray and his positive reviews of their early results, the team bought a farm near Staining and built new premises in 2009.

Photo: Whisky Saga
Stauning Young Rye (2010/2011 – Oct 2012) Batch 5 49.3%
- Nose – Inoffensive yet still veering more in the harsh nose cleanser territory, clearly rye, raw yet more muted than the rawness of the Floki, some spice sharpness, a dusty dry sawdust dimension, then became sweeter with overripe melon and honey
- Palate – Grain rye, smooth and doesn’t burn with a hint of apricot
- Finish – Normally a finish that stays is a good thing… in this case not so much
Perhaps it is just that my Nordic whisky lady companion and I are simply not partial to rye whiskies or perhaps it was just that after the fabulous Teerenpeli Kaski, the Stauning Young Rye didn’t even come close to measuring up.
It reminded both of us of the slightly peculiar grain experiments we recently tried from AD Laws – Triticum and Hordeum. Neither were to our taste. Perhaps a rye fan would find other elements we missed… That’s all part of the range of whiskies that appeal to different palates and preferences.
Here are the folks at Stauning have to say:
- Colour – amber, dark
- Aroma – Rye, fruit, cinnamon
- Taste – Rye, apple, apricot
- Finish – Very long, cinnamon, oak, raisin, chocolate
Stauning Rye takes an usual approach in using a large proportion malted rye, then matured in new white oak barrels.
*** Whiskies courtesy of
For more information, do read Thomas’ posts on Whisky Saga. Specifically:
- Nordic Whisky #45 – Flóki – Icelandic Young Malt 1st Edition
- Teerenpeli Distillery
- Stauning Distillery
A fascinating journey so far with our Nordic whisky experiences:
- Smögen Single Cask 7/2011 4 year old 57.3%
- Smögen Sherry Project 1:4 57.2%
- Box Whisky The Festival 2015 54.5%
- Shareholders 2016 52%
- Mackmyra Preludium:01 – De Första Dropparna, 3 year 55.6%
- Mackmyra 8 YO Dram Good Whisky 54.4%
- Mackmyra Bachair 3 YO Private Cask
- Audny Series 3 4 year 46%
- Flóki Young Malt 1st Edition 47%
- Teerenpeli Kaski Distiller’s Choice 43%
- Stauning Young Rye (2010/2011 – Oct 2012) 49.3% Batch 5 (this post)
- Stauning Peated 4 year (2009/2013) 55% 2nd Edition (coming next)
With only one more to go, our Nordic whisky adventures are nearly over…
You can also find Whisky Lady in India on:
- Facebook Whisky Lady in India – https://www.facebook.com/WhiskyLadyIN
- Twitter @WhiskyLadyIN