The most important key to cultivating our land organically and regeneratively is also one of agriculture's oldest lessons: Vary what you grow on your fields, grow what the soil benefits from. Our fields, like everything else in life, go through a cycle, and with a varied crop rotation, each crop can both give to and take from the soil, leaving it in a different state than when it was last cultivated.
Many whisky connoisseurs view barley as the “king” of whisky grains. A single malt whisky is only made from barley, but on our farm, we can only grow barley on about ¼ of our fields each year if we want to contribute positively to the development of our soil. If we grew barley on the same fields year after year, we’d eventually end up with exhausted soil and an overgrowth of weeds. It may look nice, but it would hardly be profitable. Fortunately, there are endless flavor combinations to be found in rye, spelt, and other grains that complement barley.
Rye is fantastic for supplementing barley.
Denmark’s national grain thrives in our northern climate because it’s cold-resistant and resilient. It is frugal and excellent at combating weeds. Plus, it tastes fantastic with exotic spices – just think of the taste of a slice of freshly baked rye bread.
Another key player in crop rotation is wheat. It thrives right after grass. One of the oldest types of wheat is spelt. It had a renaissance in the 2000s when its different gluten structure and rich flavor in bread were rediscovered. When we use it in whisky, we get fresh, fruity, and floral notes that often remind us of the blooming heather of the hearthlands of the national park here in Thy.
We push the boundaries and experiment when we mix different grains to create new and exciting combinations.
Spelt-Rye is an excellent example of this. The spicy, floral, and peppery character of rye is embraced by the sweetness of spelt, which also contributes a creamy and soft texture. When we mash rye, it tends to turn into porridge, but the large amount of husks in the spelt helps us filter the wort.
Rye and spelt are joined by a touch of malted barley. The malted barley is rich in enzymes, which rye is very poor in, and these enzymes convert the barley starch into sugar during mashing. This sugar is what the yeast ferments into alcohol.
These three musketeers—rye, spelt, and barley—are the result of crop rotation on our fields as part of our regenerative and organic farming practices. This trinity is aged in new American oak barrels, forming the backbone of our take on a genuine Nordic rye whisky. We call it Spelt-Rye, naturally organic.
