today I will have a closer look into those three Whiskies:
Stauning Rye Virgin American White Oak 3yo Vintage 2015 Bottled 2018
Stauning Rye ex-Belize Rum Cask 3yo Vintage 2016 Bottled 2019
Stauning Rye Tequila Cask Finish Cask# 3375 Vintage 2018 Bottled 2022
I got these samples from a bottle share in China.
What are my expectations? Not really have expectations. I had only one Stouning till now so lets see if those are different from that one. I really looking forward to try them. But first give them some time in the glass to breath. In this case considering the age I will let them breath for at least 10 minutes.
During that time I will not have it covered.
I will try them side by side to be able to directly compare them.
Let’s see if they can surprise me and that hopefully in a positive way 🙂
Appearance:
Color: all three appear in bright copper. Less oily as the streaks on the glass flow down Quite fast. I use a kind of Snifter glass for this tasting.
Nose:
VO Cask Version: 83/100 points
Rye is definitely the first flavor which reaches my nose. Followed by some fruits, mossy oak and a smell of fermentation. Hay come later as well as cereals. The alcohol is a bit stinging and adds a bit spicy peppery flavors to it. In the background a bit sweetness can be found.
Rum Cask Version: 82/100 points
Rye and tropical fruits are the first flavors I get here. What I can recognize here already is that this one is much more mild than the VO version. A bit sweetness in the background can be found here as well. Later some floral notes and cereals appear.
Tequila Cask Version: 62/100 points w/o water – 69/100 points with water
Total 65.5/100 points
Vinegar, …………and a lot of vinegar more. Damn!!! Maybe there are some fruits as well but that vinegar smell is so intense that I really can’t tell for sure. 62 points here are the absolute maximum I can give. I have dark vinegar at home that smells much more pleasant than this Whisky.
So I am going to add some drops of water to it. Since the ABV is high enough to do so it should help – hopefully!
It helped a bit. the vinegar smell is still there but definitely not that strong anymore. Now also some more favors come through. The fruity notes becoming more strong. Some rye and oak show up as well. In the background I get some fermented fruits.
Taste:
VO Cask Version: 85/100 points
sweet fruity rye flavors. The fruity flavors are definitely here the most noticeable once. Some oak flavor show themselves. What I appreciate here is that I don’t fine here the fermented flavor I found in the nose. Pleasant palate.
Rum Cask Version: 84/100 points
Rye and some tropical fruits I get her at the beginning. then it becomes sweet and also some oak shows up combined with some floral notes. To the end becoming a bit tart.
Tequila Cask Version: 81/100 points
In the first moment the vinegar flavors are strong here as well but by far not as strong as in the nose. The fruity flavors appear also more strong and make this malt a bit more pleasant to drink specially because now also some sweet flavors appear together with some herbs. Also fermented, really fermented fruits show up.
With water I don’t notice any noticeable change in the flavor profile.
Finish:
VO Cask Version: 84/100 points
Woody oaky in the finish with anise flavor. But also the rye and fruity flavors show up. The length is short to medium.
Rum Cask Version: 83/100 points
Very mild finish with rye and vanilla as well as some yellow fruits. The length is also short to medium.
Tequila Cask Version: 83/100 points
Strong herbal finish packed with nice oak flavors. Some fruits and a bit rye. with water there is no change in flavors or length. The overall length I would say is medium to long. What in this case is not bad.
Conclusion:
that was a really interesting side by side tasting.
The VO version is definitely my favorite of all 3 and also the best Stauning I have tried so far. From this one I even would consider buying a big bottle one day.
The Rum cask comes in at second place. I find the fruity flavors more nice than the once in the VO, but the lower ABV pays here it’s toll and make it too mild -or more boring- depends on which expression you like more. But it is not a bad Whisky for sure.
The Tequila cask ………………………………………………..
well, that is again a candidate for the category either you love it or you hate it.
For me the finish was really interesting in this Whisky -in a really good way- and also the best part of it. The palate one could also describe as interesting, but it was for my taste a bit off.
Totally off for my taste was the nose. Directly after pouring the dram and smelling on it I only could smell vinegar. I even let my daughter smell on all three and the Tequila one she thought was the worst smell. Same accounts for my wife’s point of view even she usually don’t like Whisky.
So yes, from the nose point of view I’m on the haters side when it comes to the Tequila one. The finish however was really interesting and for this I would recommend to try it. Maybe you’ll like the nose as well…..who knows? Tastes are different and there is no wrong or right. It just couldn’t convince me.
Overall I give the VO Version: 84/100 WhiskyYoda points
Overall I give the Rum Version: 83/100 WhiskyYoda points
Overall I give the Tequila Version: 75/100 WhiskyYoda points w/o water
and 78/100 WhiskyYoda points with water
here are some more detailed bottle information:
| Brand | Stauning | Cask/Batch# | n/a |
| Series | Rye Cask Finishes | Vintage | 2015 |
| Region | Denmark | Bottled | 11.2018 |
| Bottler | Distillery Bottling | Age | 3yo |
| Type | Rye | Non-Cillfiltered | n/a |
| Casks | Virgin American White Oak | Natural color | yes |
| ABV | 50% | Whiskybase ID: | 121732 |
here are some more detailed bottle information:
| Brand | Stauning | Cask/Batch# | n/a |
| Series | Rye Cask Finishes | Vintage | 2016 |
| Region | Denmark | Bottled | 07.2019 |
| Bottler | Distillery Bottling | Age | 3yo |
| Type | Rye | Non-Cillfiltered | yes |
| Casks | ex-Belize Rum Cask | Natural color | yes |
| ABV | 46.5% | Whiskybase ID: | 134143 |
here are some more detailed bottle information:
| Brand | Stauning | Cask/Batch# | 3375 |
| Series | ROMBO 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY | Vintage | 03.2018 |
| Region | Denmark | Bottled | 02.2022 |
| Bottler | Distillery Bottling | Age | NAS |
| Type | Rye | Non-Cillfiltered | yes |
| Casks | Tequila Cask Finish | Natural color | yes |
| ABV | 59.3% | Whiskybase ID: | 198882 |