Stauning Tequila Finished Danish Rye Whisky Review

Stauning Danish Whisky
Rye Whisky
Single Cask
Aged in a Virgin Oak Barrel for 4 years
Finished in a Tequila Barrel for 6 months
Floor Malted Rye
114 Proof
MSRP: $79.99
Review

Please enjoy our Stauning Tequila Finished Danish Malted Rye Whisky review!

Danish Malted Rye?

Have you ever had a Danish malted rye whisky? I had not, and I am embarrassed to say that I never knew such a spirit existed. However, when I stopped into First Fill Spirits in Saratoga Springs, NY, back in November and was offered a taste, I was intrigued. Not only is this a Danish rye, but it is made with local rye which was floor malted at the distillery! And if that were not enough to make this rye unique, after aging for four years in a heavily charred virgin oak barrel, it was then finished for 6 months in a used Tequila barrel!

The Stauning Whisky Distillery

Needless to say, I had to learn more about the distillery where this Danish malted rye was made. Stauning Whisky’s Distillery is located in west central Denmark. The business was originally founded in 2005. At that time, the distillery was located in an old butchery, and had 2 small pot stills. In 2018, Stauning built and moved into a much larger distillery. However, as they wanted to maintain the same flavor and character of their whiskies, instead of switching to a large still, they installed 24 small stills instead. Those small stills are all gas fueled direct fire pot stills, similar to what they were accustomed to using at their original distillery.

In addition to running all those stills, the folks at Stauning Whisky also floor malt their own locally grown grains. The malted barley and rye are then dried in a kiln that uses peat as its heat source. According to the folks at Stauning, their peat has a different character than that from Scotland. They describe it as having a “gentle mix of earthiness, cacao, with a dried floral edge, and a sweet back note”. Also, Stauning whiskies are double distilled. So, considering all of these factors, one would expect Stauning whiskies to be quite unique.

Mash Bill

• 70% malted rye
• 30% malted barley

Tasting Notes – Stauning Tequila Finished Danish Malted Rye Whisky

Let’s taste it:

🛏 Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

👉🏻Nose: Pears, sweet raisins, lightly toasted bread; hint of fresh butter and fresh sweet blueberries, too; sweet simple syrup; mild alcohol
👉🏻Taste: Fairly sweet; fruit notes, again reminiscent of lightly toasted buttered raisin bread; a little dryness and light smoke are in the background
👉🏻Finish: Lingering sweet flavors; building white pepper spice; increasing dryness and mild smoke; long finish; pleasant warmth

Not Your Average Rye

I have to say, when I first tried this Stauning rye, I did not pick up that it was peated. For that matter, it is difficult to pick up that it is a rye. It is much sweeter and fruitier from the start than the typical rye. Only as the spice grows in the finish does the rye character become more evident. I am assuming that is due to the fact that this whisky is made from malted rye, which generally has a very different character than unmalted rye. The fairly hefty amount of malted barley also likely plays a role; and the pot still, too.

Then There’s The Raisin Bread

Until I get to the spice in the finish, Stauning Danish Malted Rye finished in a Tequila barrel reminds me quite a bit of lightly toasted, buttered, raisin bread. That’s a flavor profile I occasionally get from pot still distilled bourbon, but really not so much from a rye; I love it!

This Rye Is A Single Barrel

I must point out that my bottle of Stauning Tequila Finished Malted Rye is a single barrel, and in fact a store pick by First Fill Spirits. So, I can not really speak to their regular release. However, the reviews that I have read of the their standard malted rye do mention similar fruit flavor characteristics. Therefore, my review may serve as a bit of an introduction to that version as well. Having said, that, I believe there are other Tequila barrel finished Stauning ryes out there, as well.

Conclusion

For full transparency, I have little experience with Danish whisky. However, I am assuming that a pot distilled floor malted rye finished in tequila barrels is not typical of the Danish Whisky style? Nonetheless, it has certainly whet my appetite to try some additional whiskies form Stauning, as well as Denmark in general. Have you tried Danish whisky? What did you think?

We hope you have enjoyed our Stauning Tequila Barrel Finished Danish Malted Rye review! Would you like to read about another tequila finished rye? Check out our Sagamore Spirit Tequila Finish Rye Review!

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!