Tasting

Danish whisky rarely tastes of peat smoke, though smoky expressions do exist. More typical is a creamy, slightly sweet base note, brought about by the direct-fired copper pots and the high rye content in many recipes. Add to that notes of honey, fresh bread, and sometimes a hint of clove reminiscent of American rye whiskey.

Stauning Rye shows this style most clearly: spicy, with an oily texture and a long, slightly peppery finish. Stauning Smoke, by contrast, brings the Danish take on smoke to the glass — more floral and less medicinal than Scottish Islay whisky, with a sweet note recalling burnt heather rather than iodine tincture. Braunstein's single-cask bottlings vary widely from cask to cask, since each is bottled individually and usually at cask strength, without any prior blending with other casks.

A simple nosing glass with a narrow opening is enough for tasting, concentrating the aromas before you take that first sip. Hold your nose too close to the rim and you'll mostly smell alcohol. A few centimeters of distance and a slightly open mouth reveal the finer notes from cask and grain instead.

A drop of water is especially good at opening up the bolder, cask-strength bottlings. It makes the roasted notes from the direct-fired pot more accessible without diluting the character. If you're trying Danish whisky for the first time, start with the milder single malt. Only after that is it worth moving on to the Rye or the Smoke, since both taste considerably more distinctive.

Fary Lochan is barely comparable to the others. It's nutty, lightly smoky from the nettle, herbal and grassy — quite different from West Jutland's sweet smoke or the salty edge of some Braunstein bottlings.