Berry Bros & Rudd offers a trip to Scandinavia

We usually write here about Scotch whisky, occasionally about American or Irish whiskey, occasionally about whisky from other countries. However, there are many indications that it is high time to reorient the course a bit and look more often at what is happening in terms of whisky in countries not necessarily associated with the liquor.

Renowned British bottler Berry Bros & Rudd has just bottled its second batch of Nordic whiskies from distilleries in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. What's more, judging by the locally enthusiastic reviews these Scandinavian whiskies are getting, a lot is lost on those who pass by them indifferently. The new set includes whiskies from the Stauning (Denmark), Teerenpeli (Finland), Thy (Denmark) and Smögen (Sweden) distilleries. The set is completed with blended malt whisky, a blend of malt distillates from Scandinavian distilleries. All whiskies have been bottled without dilution (cask strength), and the number of bottles is limited by the content of the single cask from which they were bottled (single cask).

Set Nordic Cask #2 consists of the following whiskeys:

Stauning 2017, 58.9% vol., is a rye whisky matured in a fresh American oak barrel, subjected to final maturation in a hogshead moscatel wine cask. She spent 12 months in it. Stauning is a distillery founded in 2005 in Denmark. Stauning conducts its own malting of grain on a traditional malting floor, has alembics heated by direct fire, and bottles its whisky on site at the distillery.

In its bouquet, the whisky offers notes of spice, black pepper, dried fruits, leather, tobacco and a hint of vegetal accents. In the taste we can expect spices, licorice, aniseed, dates, milk candy, roasted peanuts, ginger, gingerbread and sandalwood.

Teerenpeli 2013, 59.9% vol., is a single malt whisky, i.e. made on a malted barley base. Matured in a single oloroso sherry hogshead barrel. Teerenpeli is one of the doyens of Scandinavian distilling - this Finnish distillery was founded back in 2002. It started its business as a restaurant, a restaurant brewery, and finally a distillery in Lahti. It now operates in one of the industrial parks in its suburbs.

The whisky's aroma offers notes of balsamic vinegar, Greek yogurt and beeswax, but develops towards icing, hazelnuts, cinnamon, pralines and figs. On the taste we can expect hints of dry sherry, roasted hazelnuts, bitter oranges, raisins, vanilla, nutmeg, roasted almonds and a slight earthiness.

Thy 2019, 57.6% vol., is another single malt based on smoky barley malt. Quite unusually, however, the smoked malt was not peat, but beech wood. The whisky is a blend of two quarter cask casks, one from 2017 and the other from 2019. A year before bottling, their contents were poured into a single refill hogshead barrel. Danish distillery Thy began operations in 2010 as an extension of the Stjernholm family's farm activities. As a farm distillery, Thy does everything itself, including growing the grain and malting it.

The bouquet of Thy 2019 whisky from Berry Bros & Rudd features wood smoke with notes of licorice and aniseed, some resinous notes, juniper, hazelnuts, fudge, orange peel and rose petals. In taste, expect notes of cough syrup, herbal smoke, fruit, citrus, melon and apple compote.

Smögen 2012, 59.6% vol., is a single malt whisky, matured in a single oloroso sherry hogshead cask. Smögen distillery has been operating in Sweden since 2010.

The bouquet of Smögen 2012 whisky promises notes of roasted hazelnuts, maritime in character with peat, jerked beef, grain, pepper, moss and earthy elements. On the palate we can expect accents of kerosene, soot, salty licorice, some fruit, fennel, tarry oak, light saltiness, olives and charcoal.

Vindöga Blended Nordic Malt, 59.7% vol., is a blend of malt whiskies from Smögen, Teerenpeli, Fara Lochan, Mosgaard, High Coast and Mycenae distilleries. Some of the distillates were matured in sherry casks including a sweet Pedro Ximénez type sherry. High Coast distillate, on the other hand, is a whisky intensely smoked with peat smoke.

Here in the bouquet we can expect notes of strawberries, candied cherries, barbecue smoke, dried peaches, nutmeg, some ash, shoe polish and soy sauce. On the palate, accents of nuts, sherry, candied strawberries, mocha, chocolate truffles, furniture polish, smoke, olive brine and crushed black pepper should reveal themselves to us.

Prices of individual bottles within the series range from £140 to £165.


[16.09.2022 / photo: Berry Bros & Rudd]