Stauning Whisky Distillery Tour

In the fall of 2022 we visited the Danish distillery “Stauning Whisky”. During a private tour, we gained insights into the entire production, from floor malting, drying and smoking to bottling and tasting.

Our tour begins at the so-called “floor malting”. In traditional floor malting, the wet grain is placed on a smooth concrete floor where it germinates. Over the course of the next few days, the grains germinate and produce sugar, which is fermented into alcohol in the subsequent production process.

At Stauning Whisky, the grain is turned by machine in large sheds to prevent it from taking root. By the way, floor malting in-house is a rarity: only a few distilleries do the malting themselves at all.

How many tons do you think fit into one of these floor malting plants? 14 tons per lane, crazy, isn’t it? The approximately 3300 tons of grain needed for Stauning Whisky annually are supplied by 2 farmers who manage their farms within a 5 km radius of the distillery.

It is of course a bit decadent to book a private tour for only 5 people. But if we want to take pictures and film for our travelogue, then the private tour is the only way to get undisturbed shots, as this is the only way to avoid shooting uninvolved people.

However, the private tour also has its justification apart from being a travel blogger and we can only warmly recommend it to every visitor for the following reasons: We can always understand the explanations of our guide Carsten and ask questions. How often do you take part in guided tours where you can hardly understand a word in the back rows? In addition, we can move freely in the rooms with our small group and really look at every detail. Another advantage of the private tour is the time available, which allows us to leisurely stroll through the premises, smell the aromas, touch the grain, feel the warmth in the firing hall.

The air at the upper ends of the stills and condensers flickers from the heat inside. In the lower area, you can still touch them with your hand without any problems; at the top, you should “better keep your hands off”. The air in the distillery is pleasantly warm, and the sweet smell of whiskey is still in the air. A wonderful place.

During the production of whiskey, the penultimate production step involves the separation of the different types of alcohol that have been produced up to that point. The so-called “head” contains a large proportion of toxic methanol, which is produced as a by-product during fermentation. This toxic part is separated out and not used further for whiskey production. In addition, however, the head portion also contains initial light flavors. The decision as to how much head is bottled with, is up to the master distiller and has an influence on the quality and taste of the later product: A long-stored whiskey can be provided with quite a bit more head, since it will give off the unfavorable alcohols with the storage time to or over the wooden barrel and for this the desired flavors remain in the whisky and form its aroma.

After the head, follows the “Heart”, which is the main part of the distillate. In this area, most of the ethanol passes through the still. The “Heart” contains mainly the desired, pleasant flavors.

Now the distillation process is stopped and the stills cool down. Nevertheless, for some time further distillate will come out, which is called “Tail”.

Depending on the composition of the raw alcohol, only 30% to 40% of the total distillate produced is ultimately used for whiskey production.

We go into one of the huge warehouses. Back in 2014, when I visited Stauning Whisky for the first time, the entire distillery consisted of what felt like two converted pig barns. This is where they malted, distilled, bottled, stored and sold back then. It is so great to see how the distillery has developed in such a short time thanks to the extraordinary quality and reception.

In one of the warehouses Carsten announces us a special feature. We are to follow him into a small corridor between two rows of barrels. After a few meters of squeezing through (the photo backpack did not fit through), we reach a small cavity with a small, fine, secret mini-bar in the middle of the stored barrels and are briefed on the secrets of the aroma-forming barrels, their materials and their storage times. Some of the casks are purchased from the Makers Mark Bourbon distillery in the USA – my favorite bourbon, what a coincidence.

“Sustainability” has, in my eyes, turned over time into an inflationarily used term that in many cases serves mainly to “greenwash” old processes and products. But I buy Stauning’s “sustainability.” In addition to sourcing local raw materials, the distillery plans to be completely energy self-sufficient in no more than 5 years. The necessary solar panels on the warehouses and production halls are being installed during our visit, they produce their own biogas from the leftover mash, the leftovers are sold to local farmers as animal feed, and used Stauning whisky barrels are passed on to beer brewers or dairies.

Ultimately, the highlight of the tour is the tasting, during which we take a detour into the history of the creation of Stauning Whisky. I was never a big Rye fan – until this day. That’s because Stauning Rye tastes much smoother and fuller than some scratchy US Rye products. But here we taste the rye and feel close to the ingredients. It tastes of craft, not industry.

The design of the bottles alone is a work of art. All the drawings on the bottles are penned by the tatoo artist Thit, the sister of one of the founding members of the distillery. With her Stauning dog, she symbolizes the process of extracting the raw alcohol by means of a dissected dog and its head, heart and tail.

The location of the Danish village of Stauning is ideal: there is plenty and good water thanks to the sandy soils, the climate due to the proximity of the lake is ideal for malting and storage, most of the ingredients grow and thrive in the immediate vicinity – including the heather used to smoke the “Stauning Heather”. A unique taste experience away from the classic peat smoking. No wonder that this region is so suitable as the home of Stauning Whisky, Stauning is located at the same latitude as the Scottish capital Edinburgh and is therefore characterized by similar vegetation and a similar climate.

Has this travelogue sparked your interest? On the website of Stauning Whisky there is more information about the Whiskys, the history, as well as contact details for guided tours.

If you are now curious about the taste of Stauning Whiskys, you can order them via the following links and then enjoy them. All the following links marked with * are Amazon Affiliate Links, which give us a percentage of the purchases made through them.

Stauning RYE – a new experience of Rye Whisky

Rye was never my favorite. Until I tried the Stauning RYE *. Mild, full-bodied and full of rye flavors. With grain flavors, instead of dust and spiciness, and with a long, round and sweet finish. Stauning RYE is made with 51% floor malted rye and 49% floor malted barley. Stauning RYE is the winner of a gold medal at the 2020 International Wine and Spirits Competition and a gold medal at the 2017 San Fransisco World Spirits Competition.

Stauning KAOS – a breathtakingly mild mix of different Stauning Whiskys

Stauning KAOS *, that’s everything Stauning Whisky makes in one bottle. The name originated in the 1930s when Thorvald Stauning used the slogan “Stauning or Chaos” to win the 1935 general election. This mix brings you both Stauning, and Kaos. Stauning KAOS is the winner of the silver medal at the International Wine and Spirits Competition 2020.

Stauning SMOKE – Single Malt smoked over local heather and peat

Who does not like smoked whiskeys, nevertheless, should not stop reading now. The Stauning SMOKE * is not intrusive despite its smoky notes. Heath and peat flavors come subtly: a delicate smoky note and a complex character that lets the dunes, the heath and the wind of the North Sea shine through.

Our visit to Stauning Whisky Distillery and the writing of this post were at our own expense without compensation or funding from Stauning Whisky. We just like to travel, enjoy good things, photograph and then write about our experiences.