VISITING STAUNING DISTILLERY
This was a memorable visit for us as it was our first as a business, and marked the start of our journey in partnering with distilleries for The Heart Cut.
Our love of Stauning began back in 2016 when we met the team at the F1 race in Monaco - tasting their whisky overlooking the harbour was quite a moment! Since then Stauning distillery has become globally sought-after, especially with bartenders, and has been awarded numerous accolades- including ‘World’s Best Single Cask, Single Rye’ and Sustainable Distillery of the Year at the 2023 World Whisky Awards.
Following an early morning flight from London City, we indulged in our daily dose of cardamom rolls and set off on an hour’s drive through the rugged Nordic landscape to reach Stauning Distillery. The distillery stands majestic and almost other-worldly in contrast to the fields around it, yet blends perfectly with Denmark’s architectural style.
As we pulled into the driveway, we encountered their original distillery, housed in an old farmhouse, now transformed into their visitor’s centre.
It was at this point that we met Alex Munch, Co-Founder and CMO, who guided us around the distillery.
The tour was incredible, especially as at every turning point you could see the influence of the four engineers within the founders’ fold, reflected in the bespoke equipment created to craft the style of whisky Stauning is known for. A great example of this is their malting house, where they’ve designed machinery to efficiently floor malt 100% of their grain - a feat that only 8 distilleries in Scotland do.
After a traditional Danish lunch down at the harbour, we returned to the distillery for the final stop on the tour - the warehouses. Here we were met with row upon row of casks, a secret bar hidden behind one of the rows (a dream!), and of course, no warehouse tour would be complete without a tasting. This time, the tasting consisted of casks laid out for us to sample and choose from. After much deliberation, we settled on cask #1 - a heather-smoked single malt, finished in a Madeira cask, that left us spellbound!
We wrapped up the day in the cozy village of Skjern (would recommend!), and the next day drove to Billund to visit another essential in the area - the Lego House! Since we had a few days off work, we continued on to Copenhagen for endless walks, amazing restaurants, and multiple pitstops in cocktail, wine and whisky bars. Naturally our first stop was Ruby (hyperlink), and our first drink…The Fairground, a milk punch with Stauning Rye.
Travelling there
Fly into Billund, hire a car, and if you have the time post-trip fly out of Copenhagen. We went for 5 nights, but you could do it in 1 or 2.
The drive to Copenhagen takes about 3.5-4 hours and is a very easy one to do (Don’t forget to have a little childish snigger as you drive through Middelfart)
Where to stay
We stayed at the Hotel Skjern, which has a great restaurant + bar - good for a drink to unwind post-distillery. Hotel Fjordgaarden in Ringkobing is also close by.
In Copenhagen we stayed at Hotel SP34 which we’d stay at again - great location near to the Meatpacking district.
Fun things to do
Set aside around 2 hours for the distillery tour, which you can book here - and do head down to Restaurant Stauning Havn at the harbour for a traditional herring lunch
Don’t forget to visit the LegoHouse while in Billund!
If you do have time to visit Copenhagen on the same trip, we’ve put our favourite spots on this map
Looking for more inspiration? Check out the ‘Somebody Feed Phil’ notes on his eating adventures around the city
(Note - we haven’t been to Aarhus but we hear that’s also a great city to visit)