Review | Stauning HØST

HØST (pronounced ‘hurst’ and meaning ‘harvest’ in Danish) is the latest edition to the core range of the Danish distillery of Stauning. The whisky is a marriage of their single malt and rye whiskies, which are made using barley and rye grown on two fa…



HØST (pronounced 'hurst' and meaning 'harvest' in Danish) is the latest edition to the core range of the Danish distillery of Stauning. The whisky is a marriage of their single malt and rye whiskies, which are made using barley and rye grown on two farms close to the distillery. The cereals have been floor-malted and kiln-dried at Stauning and then double distilled through their copper pot stills. HØST also features a marriage of cask types - ex-bourbon, heavily charred new American white oak and a small percentage of first-fill ex-Port barriques.

Stauning was founded in 2006 by nine friends and colleagues, and was Denmark's first purpose-built whisky distillery. The spirit was distilled in a converted abbatoir building for the early years before they moved to current larger state-of-the-art distillery. This is one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable distilleries in the world and features several groundbreaking innovations, such as floor malting equipment designed by one of the founders. The annual production capacity is 800,000 litres.

Stauning HØST joins the expressions Rye, Kaos and Smoke in the core range. It is bottled at 40.5% ABV and is widely available in the UK, through both specialist retailers and the Waitrose supermarket, plus selected world markets. The recommended retail price is £45/ €45/ 395 DKK.

Our Tasting Notes

The colour is straw gold and the nose is vibrant and aromatic. There is plenty of milk chocolate and heather honey first up and then a distinct maltiness. Underneath are further aromas of cookie dough, sour cherry and marzipan with hints of dusty wood spices (think of cinnamon especially) and candied orange.

On the palate this whisky grips the tastebuds and is just as lively and expressive as on the nose. The maltiness takes hold first and is quickly joined by some spicy rye notes. This gives a peppery and earthy quality which remains throughout. Some much needed sweetness evolves nicely - think of honey, golden syrup and that milk chocolate from before, plus hints of vanilla custard, cherry jam and juicy red berries. 

The second half of the palate becomes more savoury. The milk chocolate develops to become more reminiscent of dark chocolate, plus woody and earthy spices begin to take hold. Add in a dash of bitter orange oil to add further depth. Late on the woody notes (that cinnamon again plus hints of clove and liquorice root) take hold and dry things out, as does some freshly sawn oak that made us think of pencil shavings.

The finish is of decent length and becomes a little peppery and hot. The woody dryness really begins to grip now, especially once the sweeter and fruiter characteristics have faded. The spice lingers on and is joined very late on by a hint of menthol and eucalyptus.

What's The Verdict?

Stauning HØST sits as the start of the core range of the Danish distillery and it feels like a good metaphor, as this would be a great whisky to try if you wanted to begin an exploration of rye. It demonstrates the characteristics of rye but in a gentle and subtle way. This reminds us of other Scandinavian rye whiskies that we have sampled, which follow a similar track. When compared to the bolder American and Canadian ryes this feels milder but that is no bad thing. This remains flavoursome throughout and would be great when used as the base of a creative cocktail.


Inbox | The Week’s Whisky News | April 5, 2024

Welcome to Inbox – our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to the WFE email. We started Inbox several years ago as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from arou…



Welcome to Inbox - our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to the WFE email. We started Inbox several years ago as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/ piece of news/ PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. 
 
Inbox has taken a two-week break while we were away on a much needed holiday. Here is a round-up of the whisky news that has landed since the last edition ...
 
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The independent bottler of Gordon & Macphail has launched the fourth whisky in its Mr. George Legacy series. The series honours George Urqhart, a legendary figure in Gordon & Macphail's history and widely regarded as 'the father of Scotch single malt'. The bottling features a single first-fill ex-sherry butt that was filled at Glen Grant distillery in 1958, nurtured by G&M for 65 years and then bottled in November 2023. It is released at 56.5% ABV and will cost £7,500.
 


The Spirit of Yorkshire have announced their first special release of the year - the Filey Bay Porter Cask. The new limited edition features spirit distilled in 2018 and filled to ex-bourbon casks that had previously held Rip Curl porter from the brand's sister brewery, Top Wold. In turn, Rip Curl had been matured for 15 months in ex-Filey Bay casks. There are just 2,000 bottles. It is released at 50% ABV and will cost £80.
 


The Irish single pot still brand of Redbreast has released the fourth whiskey into its Iberian Series - the Redbreast Cuatro Bariles Edition. The new bottling will be exclusive to the travel retail sector. It features a combination of four distinct cask types - ex-bourbon, Spanish oak ex-sherry butts, ex-Tawny Port hogsheads and European virgin oak. It is bottled at 46% ABV and will cost €108.
 


The Islay farm distillery of Kilchoman have announced a new addition to their core range - the Kilchoman Batch Strength. It joins the Machir Bay and Sanaig expressions. The whisky has been matured in a combination of re-charred ex-red wine casks, ex-Oloroso sherry butts and ex-bourbon barrels. It has been bottled at 57% ABV and will be available worldwide. A bottle will cost £65.
 


The Highland distillery of Dalmore has launched the second bottling of its prestigious Luminary Series. The Dalmore Luminary - The Rare 2024 Edition has seen Gregg Glass, Master Whisky Maker at Dalmore, and Richard Paterson OBE, Master Distiller at Dalmore, collaborate with Melodie Leung, Director at Zaha Hadid Architects. Leung created the extraordinary sculptural housing for the bottle. 
 
The Rare comprises of a 49-year old whisky, matured in American white oak ex-Bourbon casks and finished in a blend of Port Colheita 1963, Apostoles sherry, ex-bourbon and a unique 1951/virgin oak hybrid cask. Just one bottle exists and will be auctioned by Sotherby's in May. All proceeds will go to the V&A Dundee.


Alongside The Rare bottling, another has been released for worldwide distribution. The Dalmore Luminary - The Collectible 2024 Edition features a small percentage of rare peated Dalmore spirit. The whisky is bottld at 16 years old and has been matured in ex-bourbon and ex-Apostoles sherry casks, plus ex-Tawny Port pipes. There are 20,000 bottles and each will retail for £275.
 


The Speyside distillery of Glenallachie has released a trio of ex-sherry cask whiskies in its Wood Collection series. A second trio will be released later in 2024. The Glenallachie 'Sherry Series' Wood Collection features three single malts at nine years of age - the Fino Cask Finish, Amontillado Cask Finish and Oloroso Cask Finish. All are bottled at 48% ABV and are both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. Each will cost £60.
 


The Danish whisky brand of Stauning has launched a new hybrid whisky featuring single malt and rye. Stauning HØST (pronounced 'hurst' and meaning 'harvest' in Danish) pays homage to the turning seasons and local cereals used to produce the whisky. The single malt and rye whiskies have been matured in ex-bourbon casks with a small percentage of ex-Port barrels. The new expression is bottled at 40.5% ABV and is expected to retail for £45.


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Stauning Whisky Enters International Markets

Stauning Whisky, the oldest Danish distillery, has appointed SipWell as its exclusive travel retail sales and brand building partner across multiple international markets. Sipwell will distribute the brand’s whisky to its network of travel retail stores and partner sites around the world. The agreement goes into effect immediately and will include global hubs such as […]


Stauning Whisky, the oldest Danish distillery, has appointed SipWell as its exclusive travel retail sales and brand building partner across multiple international markets.

Sipwell will distribute the brand’s whisky to its network of travel retail stores and partner sites around the world. The agreement goes into effect immediately and will include global hubs such as airports, tourist centers, etc.

Andrew Torrance, who signed the agreement on behalf of SipWell brands considered Stauning as a “fabulous addition to our portfolio – the Stauning team is justifiably highly-rated for its innovative engineering, fermentation and a boldness in whisky making that is setting new standards.’ 

Sipwell is a distributor of spirits and beverages on a global scale and services many brands of whisky and other alcoholic drinks such as wine, and gin.

For his part, Keiran Cusker, global head of sales at Stauning, expressed satisfaction with the partnership.  Calling it a necessary move to ‘simply take our unique whiskies around the world with the help of the SipWell team.’ 

He also focussed on the long-term goals of the distillery, saying that “We are not slowing or stopping the innovation and will be bringing more specials and limited edition Danish creations to market. It’s also important to us that SipWell wants to tell our story and help us grow lifelong advocates for Stauning Whisky.’

Stauning Whisky is a well-known distillery in Denmark, located in the western part of Jutland just south of a small village called Stauning near Skjern. The company was named after the town. The distillery was founded in 2005 by nine Danish whisky enthusiasts and is the oldest whisky distillery in Denmark.

Stauning Makes Debut On Ocado

Danish-produced whisky Stauning has made its debut on the UK-based online grocery store, Ocado, which launched in the UK in September 2020. Available on Ocado will be Stauning’s core portfolio of Rye, Kaos, and Smoke along with Stauning’s Research Series, consisting of Bastard and El Clasico. Stauning’s collection will all be made available for $73-76 […]

Danish-produced whisky Stauning has made its debut on the UK-based online grocery store, Ocado, which launched in the UK in September 2020.

Available on Ocado will be Stauning’s core portfolio of Rye, Kaos, and Smoke along with Stauning’s Research Series, consisting of Bastard and El Clasico.

Stauning’s collection will all be made available for $73-76 per 700ml bottles.

Stauning Offers Rye Finished In Sweet Wine Casks

Denmark-based distillery Stauning has released Sweet Wine Rye – a limited edition rye whisky matured in sweet wine casks. Stauning Sweet Wine Rye was aged three years in new American oak casks, followed by two years in a trio [Marsala, Gewürztraminer and Romandalo] of sweet wine casks, bottled at 46% alcohol by volume [92 proof] […]

Denmark-based distillery Stauning has released Sweet Wine Rye – a limited edition rye whisky matured in sweet wine casks.

Stauning Sweet Wine Rye was aged three years in new American oak casks, followed by two years in a trio [Marsala, Gewürztraminer and Romandalo] of sweet wine casks, bottled at 46% alcohol by volume [92 proof] and is said to contain notes of caramel, cinnamon, fruit, ginger and vanilla.

Only 2,909 bottles of Stauning Sweet Wine Rye are being made available in Denmark for $110 per bottle.

Virtual Tastings – August 2021

We’ve had a bit of time off our virtual tastings recently – with bars reopening we want to encourage folks to (safely) get back out there. However, in August we’ve got a tasting that we…

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – Virtual Tastings – August 2021

We’ve had a bit of time off our virtual tastings recently – with bars reopening we want to encourage folks to (safely) get back out there. However, in August we’ve got a tasting that we could only ever do virtually – a gathering of rye whisk(e)y people from Kentucky to Melbourne.

August’s Line-up

Rye So Serious?

25 August 2021, 7-8.30pmRye so Serious? with Billy Abbott (me, UK), Troels Knudsen (Stauning, Denmark),  John Schutt (Michter’s, USA), Dave Mitton (Lot 40, Canada), Andrew Fitzgerald (The Gospel, Australia), Paul Hletko (FEW, USA) and Christian Perez (Arbikie, Scotland): When I was asked to come up with a rye line-up for a tasting, I submitted my dream list to the events team, not expecting everyone to come back and say yes. Rye whisk(e)y has become huge over the past decade, spreading from the USA (where it has a longer history than bourbon) to the rest of the world. Despite being a relatively young spirit outside of the USA, there’s already a huge amount of variation in styles and flavour, and in this session we’ll taste our way around the world with people from the distilleries on hand to answer our questions. A tasting that I’m really looking forward to, both as host and as someone tasting along with everyone else.

The tasting will be up on Facebook live for anyone to watch, but if you want to taste along, make sure you grab a tasting pack:

Buy the tasting pack >

Coming up soon

We’ve not got any more virtual tastings in the diary at the moment, but that’s because we’ve got shows galore over the coming months.

Happening as I type, we have our inaugural Rum Show – virtual for this first year. It’s too late grab tasting packs to taste along live, but you can still pick up a ticket to watch along with the tasting sessions and catch up with any tastings you miss…or tasting packs that you pick up for later.

Next we have Whisky Show. Last year’s virtual show was so good, that we’ve decided to run both a physical and online show in parallel. The in-person show is from 1-3 October 2021, with the virtual side running through those three days and on until Friday 9 October. We’ve recently released a few more in-person tickets (we’re following government guidance on numbers of people, and we’re releasing tickets as that changes), so if you’d missed out before, you’ve got a second change to grab a ticket.

And finally for this year: Champagne Show. This year not only sees us move back to having an in person show, but also to a new venue: One Great George Street, where Whisky Show: Old & Rare 2020 took place. We liked the place so much, we’re now dragging Champagne makers there for an evening of great fizz on 29 October 2021. Tickets and full details are available from the show website.

We’ve got plans for next year, so keep an eye on the site – there’s much more to come…

Originally published on The Whisky Exchange Blog – Virtual Tastings – August 2021