In a milestone for Danish whisky, ten of Denmark's distillery distilleries have come together to create the Danish Whisky Manifesto.
Through the manifesto, the group aims to both strengthen and protect Danish whisky as a category developed by Danish distillers over the past two decades. Producers whose whisky abides by the principles set out by the manifesto will be able to use the 'Authentic Danish Whisky' logo.
The 10 founding distilleries are whisky makers from across Denmark: Copenhagen Distillery, Fary Lochan, Knaplund Distillery, Nordisk Brænderi, Nyborg Distillery, Sall Whisky, Stauning Whisky, Thornæs Distillery, Thy Whisky Distillery, and Ærø Distillery.
The group hopes that the manifesto will lead to an eventual protected geographical indication (GI) for Danish whisky, to protect it as a category internationally. GI has been a frequent source of discussion in the whisky world in recent years; Wales achieved a GI for its single malt whisky in 2023, while the English Whisky Guild's GI proposal is currently undergoing public consultation.
Hans Martin Hansgaard, co-founder of Stauning Whisky, explained: "The Danish Whisky Manifesto is inspired by the Nordic Kitchen Manifesto that launched in 2004 and helped define a new culinary tradition in Denmark. With the whisky manifesto we are defining what Danish whisky is."
The Nordic Kitchen Manifesto was founded by leading chefs, including the founders of Copenhagen restaurant Noma. Its aim was to establish a distinctly Nordic cuisine, an approach from which the Danish Whisky Manifesto has taken inspiration.
"We need to strengthen the story of Denmark," commented Danish minster for urban and rural affairs and tourism Morten Dahlin, "including the story of our food, gastronomy, and our cultural history as an agricultural country. A strong narrative is crucial for attracting tourists to Denmark."
According to the manifesto, in order to be eligible for the 'Authentic Danish Whisky' badge producers must follow the following principles:
- Danish whisky must be mashed, fermented, and distilled in Denmark
- Danish whisky must age for at least three years in Denmark
- Danish whisky is made from Danish cereals — if not, it must be clearly stated
- All cereals, malted or unmalted, may be used
- Different types of distillation equipment may be used
- Various types of wood may be used in cask maturation
- The addition of colorants, flavourings, or sweeteners is not allowed
The manifesto also says that from 2030 Danish whisky will be required to use cereals that are 100 per cent of certified Danish origin, and if cereals of other origin are used the bottle label must state what they are.
Further regulations are applied to categories within Danish whisky: Danish single malt whisky must be distilled from 100 per cent malted barley, while Danish rye whisky, wheat whisky, oat whisky, and whiskies made of other cereals must be distilled from a mash containing at least 51 per cent of the stated grain.
Although the manifesto acts as a set of regulations, the distillers behind it are keen to highlight how it enshrines innovation as a key tenant of Danish whisky. "I'm very proud of our Danish Whisky Manifesto. It is both a call to protect the authenticity of Danish whisky and to promote the innovation and the re-thinking of traditions that has defined the work of Danish whisky distillers since the founding of Danish whisky twenty years ago," said Jakob Stjerholm, who acts as group chair.
Stjernholm is the master distiller and managing director of Thy Whisky, a single-estate distillery. Thy Whisky has garnered international acclaim recently, having been awarded World's Best Wheat Whisky in the World Whiskies Awards 2025, among other accolades.
He continued: "Today, Danish whisky is sold in several markets and has won numerous awards internationally, and our products can proudly compete in quality, originality, sustainability, and design with whiskies from any other region of the world. We are now moving closer together as an industry to promote Danish whisky as an exciting new category in whisky and a new region to explore and visit."
That a strong Danish whisky category will support tourism in Denmark is something Dahlin and Hansgaard also state. "Both Danish and international consumers are increasingly seeking authentic products with transparency about ingredients and production methods," Hansgaard said.
"This is part of the reason why we welcome over 20,000 visitors annually to our distillery in Stauning. But there’s still a huge potential to strengthen the story of Danish whisky abroad. The new manifesto will help us do just that."
For Stjernholm, a key feature of the manifesto is the way the preference for Danish grains ties the whisky to its country's produce. He added, "I'm very excited that Danish whisky is to be made entirely in Denmark and from Danish grains. By this, we are taking origin and transparency one step further than any other whisky region. Promoting honesty about our production that I believe that consumers are expecting from us as an industry but rarely get. But most of all, it is about quality and originality.
"For Thy, as a single-estate farm distillery, we grow and malt our own grains. We have experienced first hand the wide undiscovered space of creating flavour and quality through choices in barley and grain varieties, malting recipes, smoking sources etc. I believe that farming, grains, origin, local sourcing and sustainability will become more and more important in the years to come. We intend for Danish whisky to be at the forefront of this agenda."
