Stauning

Stauning's ‘grain to glass’ philosophy shapes the character of all its bottlings. From malting to mashing, fermenting, distilling and ageing to bottling, all production steps take place on the distillery's premises. The first Whiskies were produced in a former slaughterhouse using homemade equipment, locally grown barley and peat from the historic Bølling Sø bog. These artisanal origins still form the basis of production today.

The core range includes Stauning HØST, a double malt Whisky made from rye and barley. This bottling is a blend of a rye Whisky and a single malt Whisky from the distillery. The name ‘HØST’, which translates as ‘harvest’, refers to the rhythm of the seasons, the raw materials and the traditional working methods of the distillery.

The multi-award-winning Stauning R.Y.E. is also part of the core range. To mark the distillery's 20th anniversary, a new bottle design was given in 2025. The revised brand logo with nine lines around a grain motif commemorates the nine founders of Stauning.

To mark the anniversary, Stauning Peat Smoked – 20th Anniversary 10 Years was also released, consisting of equal parts peated and unpeated malt. This bottling is intended as a look back at the distillery's beginnings as a small, experimental hobby distillery.

What began as a hobby with a planned annual production of 200 to 400 litres quickly developed into an internationally sought-after distillery. Despite growing demand, Stauning has remained true to its original philosophy and consistently focuses on local raw materials, traditional methods and small production steps.

Only Danish rye and Danish barley, malted on its own malting floors, are used. Distillation takes place in small, directly fired pot stills, which contributes significantly to the characteristic style of the so-called ‘New Nordic Terroir Whisky’. Following the success of the first bottlings, annual production was increased to around 80,000 litres. To meet this demand, Stauning opened a new, modern distillery in 2018 in the immediate vicinity of the original location.

Stauning initially worked with very small stills of 200 and 400 litres, later moving on to 600 and 1,000 litre stills. When the distillery was expanded, a conscious decision was made not to use large-volume equipment in order to preserve the distillery's character.

Today, 24 copper stills with a capacity of 2,000 litres each are in use, including 16 wash stills and 8 spirit stills. All stills are traditionally fired directly with gas. This direct firing ensures higher temperatures, promotes Maillard reactions and contributes to the development of complex, powerful aromas.

Good to know:
The Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction between reducing sugars and amino acids that occurs under the influence of heat, produces many aromatic compounds and brown pigments (melanoidins). These complex compounds are responsible for the colour and aroma of foods such as toasted bread or coffee and also play an important role in the development of flavour and colour in the Whisky-making process.

The rye and barley used for Stauning Whiskies come from the immediate vicinity of the distillery and are stored in two large grain silos. Stauning also has its own traditional floor maltings, a unique feature among modern distilleries.

While in the early years malting was still done by hand with shovels, today a special machine takes care of the regular turning and moistening of the grain. Up to ten tonnes of grain can be processed per batch.

In addition to unsmoked malt, Stauning also produces smoked malt. This is dried over locally cut peat, sometimes supplemented with heather. Once a year, a batch is also produced that is made exclusively with heather smoke.

During mashing, the previously coarsely ground malt is mixed with hot water to complete the conversion of starch into sugar. Instead of a classic mash tun, Stauning uses a large-scale system that is functionally reminiscent of a washing machine.

This unusual system dates back to the early days of the distillery, when the founders – who included several engineers – developed a washing machine-like construction for the mashing process. This principle was deliberately adopted in the new distillery in order to maintain the original production method.

Fermentation at Stauning takes around four days, which is relatively long. This extended fermentation period promotes the development of fruity aromas that unfold over a clear grain base. The fermented wash is then sent on for distillation.

Around half of the casks used at Stauning are used casks, including ex-bourbon casks from Maker's Mark and various wine casks. The remaining casks are new oak casks from the USA. The cask store is supplemented by special types of casks such as Mizunara oak and casks that previously contained mezcal, cognac, calvados or vermouth.

Bottling is done manually on site. The distillery relies on a local network of employees, friends, family members and supporters – another expression of Stauning's community spirit.

The Stauning Distillery was founded in 2005 by nine Whisky-loving friends: a doctor, a chef, a butcher, a teacher, a helicopter pilot and four engineers. With no formal training in Whisky production but with great passion, they pursued their goal of creating a wholly Danish Whisky.

In 2015, the beverage company Diageo invested in Stauning as part of its Distill Ventures programme. This enabled the construction of a new distillery with greater capacity. In 2025, Diageo withdrew from the programme due to internal restructuring – a development that also brought about structural changes for Stauning.

The Stauning Distillery is open to visitors and offers guided tours including Whisky tastings. The various experiences and tours can be booked directly via the distillery's website.