VISITING KYRÖ DISTILLERY, FINLAND
In February 2023 we flew to Finland for the weekend to visit Kyrö Distillery. What we’d instantly say is - Finland is stunning in winter, but my god it’s cold! The temperature was around -7°C (14°F) - perfect sauna (and whisky!) weather you could argue, and great that they had a sauna at the distillery itself for a post-tour relax and warm up.
As we had a small travel window, we only went for 2 nights, but would 100% go for longer next time as it’s a beautiful country. Delicious food, lovely people and a stunning landscape are but a few things we could mention. We landed late on the first night in Helsinki and stayed at a hotel near the airport (which, yes, also had a sauna) before hiring a car in the morning and driving 5 hours north to Isokyrö. The drive was beautiful - through snowy fields and with frozen lakes at every turning point. Each of these lakes was signposted as a ‘swimming’ spot, and if we go again in the summer, we’d definitely take a day or so to do the drive, stopping along the way for a dip or three.
Five hours later, we finally reached Isokyrö, a quaint municipality in Finland housing just under 5,000 residents. Our journey led us to the Kyrö Distillery, where we wasted no time embarking on a tour guided by Kalle Valkonen, the production manager and one of the founders.
Kyrö Distillery has remarkably blended past and present as it’s grown and seamlessly integrated itself into the surroundings.
Evolving from a distillery housed in the old dairy building to a purpose-built distillery right on the premises. The old dairy building had found a new purpose as their office, visitor centre and lab.
Read more about some of the specific production details for Kyrö Distillery here.
Following the tour, we settled into their guesthouse on-site, where we had the cask tasting and stayed for the evening. They have a restaurant on site (available for group bookings) that highlights local produce and also a bar for a post-tour whisky sour or gin + tonic.
The following day (post-sauna and a snowy dash back to the guesthouse), we drove back down to the airport, stopping at Frantsilan Kehäkukka near Kyrökoski for lunch - a very homely vegetarian cafe on the banks of Pappilanjoki River. As we said, it was a short and sweet visit, and one that led to us picking The Heart Cut bottling #3 from Kyrö Distillery!
Travelling to KYRÖ DISTILLERY
A couple of options - fly into Helsinki, hire a car and drive the incredibly picturesque route 5 hours north to Isokyrö, or fly into Vaasa (domestic flight from Helsinki) and drive/taxi down from there. We did the first option - and even though the drive was long we’d 100% do that again.
Where to stay
As mentioned, we stayed on site in the Kyrö distillery guesthouse. If we hadn’t, we would have stayed up the road in Vaasa where there are many hotel options.
Fun things to do
Well, a tour and tasting at Kyrö Distillery, of course! They’re open for tours on Saturday afternoons—find out more about them here.
If you have some more time, spend a few days in Helsinki before or after visiting the distillery. As we didn’t make it there on this trip, we’ve asked around and compiled some very highly recommended places on this map - a list of highly rated coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and things to do.
So there you have it. Our guide to Kyrö distillery and Helsinki which should keep you busy. And don't forget to try out something tasty from the Kyrö Distillery range when you're there.
