Scan Magazine | Special Theme | A Taste of Denmark
Jakob Stjernholm with whisky.
Jakob and Andreas in barley field.
Farming in high spirits Nicolaj Nicolajsen, his daughters and their husbands are the seventh and eighth generation of the same family to run Gyrup farm in Thy, Jutland. Nestled in between the Limfjord and the North Sea with fields in Thy National Park, the farm is a traditional, organic Danish dairy farm with a twist: Gyrup has been producing top-notch whisky for the past decade, which the Whisky Bible’s Jim Murray has praised to the skies.
periment and have fun with the different processes. Hopefully, we’ll get to play a part in determining what defines Danish whisky in years to come.”
By Louise Older Steffensen | Photos: Thy Whisky
As an organic farmer, Nicolajsen had always had a keen interest in heritage grain varieties. He had experimented with several at the organic farm, particularly barley, and sold his grain to Danish mills and malt producers, before finally giving in to his passion in 2009. He shipped off his barley to a German malting facility, then to his friend Anders at Nordisk Brænderi for distillation, poured the precious drops into wooden casks, and crossed his fingers. In 2014, the family was delighted to present to the world 336 bottles of single malt Fad No 1, which received a silver medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. “It is quite an unusual endeavour for a Danish farmer,” says Nicolajsen’s sonin-law, Jakob Stjernholm, “but when Nicolaj got going on this idea, we just had to get involved. My wife and I and my 68 | Issue 109 | February 2018
sister- and brother-in-law raced to move back to Thy to be part of this adventure.” In 2016, the family felt ready to ship off their Fad No 3 for judgement from the famous British whisky connoisseur Jim Murray. To their astonishment, Murray awarded Thy Whisky elite status with a score of 93.5/100. Each subsequent year’s product, based on different barley strains from the farm, has received similarly high scores. Whisky aficionados have started to flock to Gyrup to sample their wares. Gyrup is currently expanding to include its own on-site malting facility. “I’m really grateful to the growing movement emphasising local produce, excellent ingredients and creativity,” Jakob muses. “Customers today are very open-minded. Danish whisky is not yet a rigidly established product, and that allows us to ex-
Jakob explains what is what with whisky: - Must be made exclusively from grain; single malt exclusively from malted barley. - Must have aged in wooden casks for at least three years. - Based on the same malting, mashing and fermentation processes as beer. - Extra flavours cannot be added to whisky – different tastes derive entirely from the types of grain, malt and casks used.
Web: www.thy-whisky.dk Facebook: thywhisky