43% ABV
Rye Whisky
Denmark
What do you get when you combine a helicopter pilot, a doctor, a teacher, a chef, and a butcher with a passion for whisky? It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke with a corny punchline, but it isn’t. In 2005 this diverse group of friends along with several others started the Stauning Distillery in the small western Danish village of Stauning. The idea was to produce high-quality whiskies using traditional methods using local ingredients.
The mind-blowing part of this story is that the ownership group knew nearly nothing about how to make whisky. Digging into old distilling texts, they learned on the fly using the very traditional methods but more importantly, doing it themselves up to and including the malting process. It’s not common to find a distillery that does its own floor malting. Even in Scotland, there aren’t more than seven that come to mind. Couple that with the fact that Stauning sources all its barley and rye from local farmers and you start to get a sense of how important terroir and tradition is to this group. To take it a step further, Stauning employs relatively small pot stills to produce its whisky, an effort that results in a more expressive spirit, again bringing the terroir to the forefront.
To age and finish its whisky, Stauning gets more experimental and modern. The team brings casks from all over the world that previously held different types of spirits and wines and deftly combines them to deliver a uniquely complex and flavorful spirit. Their work has garnered heaps of praise from spirits competitions and panels, leading the team to significantly expand its operation in 2015 but carefully maintaining the traditional foundations that have worked so well. Previously unavailable in the U.S., Stauning secured distribution in 2023.
Pairing by: Erik Calviño
Tasting Notes: Stauning Rye
The nose on the Stauning Rye produces a balanced combination of malt, ginger, new oak, and herbal notes. The palate is equally spicy and sweet with flavors of vanilla, apple pie, and a return of the herbal notes from the nose. Paired with the Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Original, the whisky’s vanilla and apple sweetness infuse the smoke beautifully for a complementary pairing.
Cigar Pairing: Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Original
The Joya de Nicaragua Clásico Original is a smooth and flavorful blend covered with a shade grown wrapper. Don’t let that deceive you; it isn’t as mild as it looks. There’s a core of pepper and earth accompanied by subtle nuts and cream.
