Whisky & Food

Almost every Danish town has a snack shop on the corner with smørrebrød in the window, thin slices of rye bread piled high with fish, egg, or meat. Rye already links bread and whisky in this region, right down to the cask. Pair the topping with smoked fish, and you'll find the perfect companion in the glass: Stauning Smoke. Its floral peat smoke meets the smoke from the fish without overpowering it.

Many Danes consider stegt flæsk med persillesovs their true national dish: thick slices of fried pork belly with a parsley sauce made from milk and butter. All that fat in the dish calls for a counterpart in the glass, and Stauning Rye delivers exactly that with its spicy, almost peppery bite — it cuts through the sauce instead of getting lost in it.

Danablu outmatches most mild whiskies with ease, given how sharp and salty this very robust Danish blue cheese is. A cask-strength single malt from a former sherry cask, though, holds its own. The sweetness of the cask balances the sharpness of the cheese, while both come together on notes of nuts and dried fruit.

Frikadeller, fried meatballs made from ground pork and veal, appear on Danish tables almost daily. They pair well with almost any mild whisky from the region, as long as it isn't too smoky. A simple, unpeated Stauning single malt keeps the juicy meat front and center, complementing it with just a touch of sweet, mild cask character.