Stauning KAOS

Profile: The Stauning RYE at a glance

• Nine friends, one vision - the result: an authentic Danish whisky
• The Stauning distillery on Ringkøbing Fjord in Denmark
• Own malt floor and 24 small, direct-fired copper pot stills
• The nine friends' joy of experimentation: whiskies with a clearly Danish character that aromatically reflect their origins

Portrait: What makes the Stauning RYE different.

Four engineers and a teacher meet , a chef, a butcher, a helicopter pilot and a doctor... 
In the case of Stauning, this is not a joke, but the beginning of an extremely successful journey into the world of single malt and co. 
In 2005, the nine friends came together - equipped with a wealth of experience from a wide variety of professions, just not in whisky production. But that in no way stopped the adventurous Danes from putting a common vision into practice: making whiskeys with a distinctively Danish character. 

“It captures the smell of the land, the dunes, the heath and the wind. A whisky that reflects the place: open, wild, relaxed, pure,” enthuses whiskey author Dave, for example Broomon Stauning. Since the first bottling in 2011, the Young Rye, the distillery has achieved international recognition from the Danish west coast. Now the standard range consists of RYE, KAOS and SMOKE (previously PEAT) in the larger 0.7 liter bottle in a completely new design available.

Their story begins in an old slaughterhouse in the small town of Stauning, which was converted into a distillery with an experimental entrepreneurial spirit. From the labeling machine made of Lego to the “malt turner”, the founders built a lot of things themselves and used what was available. Such as a meat grinder for grinding the grain.

With its own malt floor or the 24 small, direct-fired pot stills made of copper, Stauning still uses a mixture to this day classic methods that were lost in the course of industrialization in combination with new ideas. Since 2018, they have been at home in the iconic new distillery with its striking silhouette, which makes all the steps in whisky production clear through its large windows.

The nine friends' joy in experimenting also extends to their Danish whiskeys. Their goal: Whiskies with a clearly Danish character that aromatically reflect and celebrate their origins. The basis for Stauning production is therefore everything that grows around the distillery: locally grown barley and rye, peat from the Klosterlund Museum, which documents Denmark's peat extraction, heather.

The distillation over an open fire gives the partly smoked New Make deep, complex aromas. It reaches full maturity in Bourbon Barrels and Virgin Oak Casks or in barrels pre-filled with Mezcal, Cognac, Calvados, Rum or Vermouth. 

The third whisky in the group is KAOS - basically everything Stauning does in one bottle. A little smoke, a little spice, sweetness and a lot of complexity come together in an extremely versatile whiskey. To do this, the distillers mix RYE with smoky single malt whiskies from the distillery. The name KAOS is based on Thorvald Stauning, who used the slogan “Stauning or Chaos” used to get re-elected as Danish Prime Minister in 1935.

What defines Stauning is no longer just in the bottle. The new bottles represent the history of the distillery on Ringkøbing Fjord - elaborately illustrated by the Danish artist Asbjørn Staunstrup Lund. The oblique coating in matt black is based on the striking angles of the distillery building. The best thing: Despite more content, the likeable Danes are largely sticking to their pricing.

Tasting Notes: This is what the Stauning KAOS tastes like

• Nose: Grains, chocolate, oak, caramel, cinnamon and campfire introduce the complex enjoyment
• Palate: The taste of KAOS is reminiscent of a smoked chocolate bar with notes of nougat, caramel, licorice, sweet apple and oak
• Finish: the long, smoky finish is characterized by vanilla, orange, tobacco, dried red fruits and more oak