As I anticipated in my last post, for my last post dedicated to Rye whiskies, I’ll hop back to old Europe. Today’s review is going to cover Denmark’s Stauning Rye Whisky. I am curious to see how this will compare to its US counterparts: in particular, since the mashbill uses a significant percentage of malted rye, to the New Riff Malted Rye. But I am also excited to try a whisky made using traditional floor malting and direct-fired stills, two techniques used by a limited number of distillers today.
Before I dive into the review, I wanted to take a moment to look at some challenges that Stauning has faced in the past year. In part to give some kudos to Stauning for continuing on their track at a difficult time. But also to reflect on some issues that are affecting other producers.
TL:DR: A solid, moreish malted rye
Score: 6.5, good stuff…and a bit more.
Stauning and Diageo’s Distill Ventures
In April of this year, Stauning announced it was cutting about 25% of its workforce. In the immediate aftermath, there were rumours of Stauning being in dire straits. Once the dust settled, it became clear that the production side was not directly affected. Most of the losses were in the US and in its marketing department. The reason behind this soon became evident: it was related to Diageo’s decision not to bring any new brands in its Distill Ventures startup accelerator program.
Following its founding in 2005, Stauning remained a very small craft distillery until Diageo became a minority stakeholder through Distill Ventures in 2015. That allowed Stauning to build a new distillery, opened in 2018, with 24 pot stills and floor maltings, and also expanded its market reach to North America and Asia. Diageo’s step back caused the decision to scale down the effort in the US, which resulted in the job losses I mentioned earlier.
So, should we worry for Stauning? Not more than we should about the overall state of the industry. The loss of jobs, while always regrettable, makes sense in the context of the disappearance of Diageo’s support. But when it rains, it pours…
European Rye Whisky… or maybe Whisky made from rye?
If the hit from the economic industry downturn wasn’t enough, Stauning, as well as all the European Rye Whisky producers, got hit by the enforcement of a rule which, surprisingly, prohibits whisky makers in Europe from using the term “Rye Whisky”. This pretty nonsensical ruling comes from a 2004 trade agreement between the European Union and Canada, which was not enforced until January of 2025.
Nonsensical in the sense that, while protecting specific geographic indications, say “Canadian Rye” makes sense as a way to protect original products from imitations, protecting a generic term is surreal. Imagine if Europe staked a claim to the exclusive use of the term Wine.
Be as it may, European distillers are clearly fighting the agreement. We’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, different producers have used different strategies. In Finland, Kyrö switched to using whisky made from rye. Today’s whisky in review, the Stauning Rye Whisky, is now labelled as R.Y.E., Danish Rye and Barley. If you’ll excuse me., I’ll keep using the original name,
Stauning Rye Whisky
Specs
Price paid: € 45.17 (on offer)
Batch: 4-2022
ABV: 48%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used and Mashbill: Aged for 3-4 years in new American Oak casks. The mashbill is not disclosed, though it is rumoured to be 70% floor malted rye and 30% floor malted barley.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Pale amber, with coppery highlights.
Nose: The first impression is grainy, like a dusty grain silo. Very quickly, it opens up and turns into fruit and caramel with a good dusting of spice. Cherries and plum, dark caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. There are some of the typical green rye notes, just a touch of mint and aniseed. Then back to grain-driven notes with wholemeal rye bread, and finally a touch of mocha.
Taste and Finish: The mouthfeel is slightly oily but not as viscous as I may have expected. It gives a pleasant waeming feeling. The aroma notes are similar to the nose but leaning more into roasted territory: cherry, coffee, rye bread. There is a very faint touch of workshop funk. Then orange oil, cinnamon. It tastes a bit bitter, but not in a bad way.
It has a slightly disappointing medium-short finish, fading away pretty rapidly. The residual taste is quite similar to what I get on the palate: cherry and coffee, grains, and cinnamon.
Score*: 6.5, good stuff…and a bit more.
This review of the Stauning Rye Whisky falls into the category where the vote does not fully transmit how much I like the whisky. Let’s start with the vote. This is a solid and good dram. A bit straightforward, maybe, and the finish could be better
On the other hand, it is one of those bottles which I have gone back to more than the vote would betray. Probably because of it rather than despite of it. It is the definition of a solid, uncomplicated but very morish spirit. Not everything needs top marks to be a fun dram.
P.S. Stauning announced a rebranding of their bottles earlier this summer. I have not seen the new bottles for sale yet, but I strongly suspect the old “black/seethrough” bottles will slowly disappear. So if you find one of the newer bottles it is the same whisky, just different looks.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the Stauning Rye I enjoyed:
Interested in my take on a specific whisky style? Check the full Journey here and jump to the relevant Chapter.
If you have enjoyed this content, please share a comment below and consider supporting the cost of this blog via the button below