Hans Martin Hansgaard, Stauning Distillery, Denmark Artwork

Knock Tales Whisky Podcast with Gordon Bruce

Gordon Bruce is curious about craft. And in Knock Tales, the Knockdhu Distillery Manager and anCnoc single malt whisky maker meets people who know exactly what it takes to make the world’s most beautifully crafted and celebrated products. He’ll be sharing a dram with these fellow craft obsessives to get to the bottom of his favourite topic: ‘making things well’. There’s always meticulous process, traditional skills, impeccably sourced raw materials and a stubborn refusal to compromise. But it’s the personal pride and passion you hear in each story that is the making of a truly great craft product. As Gordon says: ‘Nothing compares to a product that has been made by someone, not just with their head but with hand, heart and soul. This is craft, and I’ll be sharing some great stories and a few secrets from people who, like me, spend their days making things to put out into the world for people enjoy. I do hope you’ll join us!’

All Episodes

Knock Tales Whisky Podcast with Gordon Bruce

Hans Martin Hansgaard, Stauning Distillery, Denmark

January 25, 2023 • Gordon Bruce

Nordic whisky is having a moment. And in this month’s episode Gordon chats to one of its pioneers: Hans Martin Hansgaard, co-founder of Stauning Distillery.

This former teacher clubbed together with a group of friends (a butcher, helicopter pilot, doctor, several engineers and a chef) to found Denmark’s first ever single malt whisky distillery. And why not? They’d heard a radio programme about exactly how Scotch whisky is made and realised that, when it comes to the essentials - the water, the grains, the peat and the sometimes dreich climate – Denmark has it all!

Here Hans shares his fascinating story with Gordon: from devouring books on making whisky the old fashioned way to designing Stauning’s stunning ‘Nordic Noir’ distillery on Denmark’s west coast and winning awards with his first bottlings.

And while anCnoc and Stauning may be over a century apart in the timeline, there’s no difference in the ethos of these two whisky makers when it comes to their craft. It’s all about the beauty of ‘small’ and a making whiskies for the modern age that never lose touch with tradition.