
Rye, like its cousins wheat and barley, emerged from the Levant millenia ago and slowly spread into Europe. Although it grows perfectly well in warmer climates, rye truly outshines other grains in central and northern Europe because it can thrive in any kind of soil or cold weather. It was in these regions that rye became not just an important crop but a cultural icon. And it was people from these regions who brought rye to North America, where it gave its distinctive flavor to America’s burgeoning whiskey industry. Since then, the fortunes of rye — both the grain and the whiskey — have ebbed and flowed. Today, the production of rye whiskey is sprouting up back in Europe as distillers begin to turn to this hardy and locally beloved grain to craft new styles of whiskey, exploring flavors, sustainability, and cultural roots.
The History of Rye
Wild rye is indigenous to the Anatolian peninsula where it was cultivated in the early Neolithic period. Although rye grows well in a variety of difficult conditions, it never enjoyed the popularity of its nearby cousins, wheat and barley. In fact, rye first spread from its homeland not as a favored crop but as a weed, hitching a ride as a stubborn stowaway while other grains spread into Europe. Still, because of its hardiness and resilience, rye found pockets of success in remote areas where it was chosen by farmers with poorer soils. But that popularity was not widespread.
Pliny the Elder, the famous Roman statesman and naturalist, knew of peoples who grew rye near the Alps, but he described it as “a really awful grain… only employed to avert famine.” Pliny’s attitude was common among the Romans, and it was this prejudice (and the agricultural policies it spawned) that kept rye cultivation to a minimum. This changed when the wheels began to come off the empire, and farmers, free to make their own choices, began to adopt rye as a main crop. This was especially true in Central and Northern Europe, where rye thrived in the cold climate and marginal soils, easily outperforming other grains. “One could argue that rye allowed us to colonize the northern latitudes because it’s something that can grow up there pretty easily,” explains Dr. Laura Valli, researcher at Washington State University’s Breadlab.
In these northern latitudes, rye was transformed from Pliny the Elder’s “awful” subsistence crop into a vital, highly prized grain, treasured for its hardiness as well as its bold flavor. Here, rye is still an important aspect of culture and identity. Hans Martin Hansgaard, co-founder of Stauning Whisky in Denmark explains, “Most Danes eat rye bread every day. It’s really a national food, something we treasure highly. The French have their baguettes and Italians their ciabatta, and in Denmark we have rye bread.” Many from Finland, Estonia, Germany, and elsewhere around the north would claim rye as a cultural icon as well.
It was these rye enthusiasts from Europe who brought the now-iconic grain to North America. Rye thrived in the American Northeast and became a staple crop. Here, the industrious early farmers also began to ferment and distill their bountiful rye harvests, paving the way for modern American rye whiskey.
For a few hundred years, the story of rye diverged. In Europe, rye maintained its status as a cultural cornerstone for many people as it continued to be used as a crucial ingredient in daily bread. In North America, rye consumption increasingly took a liquid form. Rye grain has continued to lose acreage to barley, wheat, and corn, but rye whiskey has maintained its status as an all-American whiskey, second only to bourbon. Today, these two stories are reconverging as European distillers, inspired by American rye whiskey, their own cultural heritage, and the increasing importance of sustainable agriculture, are creating something new: European rye whiskey.
New Whiskey From an Old Grain
For many European distillers, American rye whiskey was quite literally the inspiration for their own endeavors. Hans Martin Hansgaard explains that they began with barley at Stauning but decided they wanted “to explore other types of whiskey, and the first whiskey that came to mind, because we had a love for American whiskey, was rye whiskey.” He goes on to explain, “I remember at that time, the Old Van Winkle Rye was very easy to get and they were very cheap… I was drinking a lot of these at the time and fell in love with American rye.”

Kalle Valkonen, head distiller at Finland’s Kyrö Distillery, shares that the whiskey that inspired Kyrö’s founders was Rittenhouse Rye — and, fittingly for a Finnish distillery, that inspiration took place in a sauna. For Kirsty Black, master distiller at Arbikie Distillery in Scotland, American rye and curiosity brought rye to the table. “The thought of producing rye began, as with many things we do at Arbikie, with the question ‘Why not?’” Black muses. “We all liked drinking American rye whiskey and as a farm distillery we have the land to explore such possibilities to innovate.”
Despite the American inspiration, all of these distillers set out to make something unique to their place. Valkonen explains that Kyrö decided to use 100% malted rye and produce their spirit on pot stills. “We didn’t know exactly what we were going to get when we first started,” remembers Valkonen, “because you couldn’t really get your hands on a glass [of whiskey] made like that.” Although malting rye grain for whiskey is unusual in the United States, it’s surprisingly common now in Europe. The rye at Stauning in Denmark is malted, partly because that distillery was already set up for single malt production. “We have a beautiful floor-malting facility, so we started floor malting our rye grain as well,” explains Hansgaard. “We treat it exactly like our single malt.”
Another distillery using malted rye is across the North Sea in England: Oxford Artisan Distillery. “We like to use a bit of malted rye because that brings more spiciness and freshness, more herbal,” says Chico Rosa, head distiller at Oxford, “and I think that’s truer to the field itself, and the field is what drives us.”
Tighter Links Between Farm and Flask
The fields that drive the production of whiskey at Oxford are heirlooms of the past. The grain sown by the farmers who grow for the distillery are mostly old landrace varieties, adapted to local conditions and passed down for generations. “These varieties grow as high as two meters tall [and] develop a long, thick straw stem that’s also promoting deeper roots,” explains Rosa. “So each plant will have more access to nutrients in the soil.”
Unlike the ancient grains that tower in these fields, the farming techniques practiced by Oxford’s farmers are new and innovative. “We don’t like to intervene in the ecosystem that much,” explains Rosa, “so we broadcast or direct drill to minimize soil movements… and by not touching the soil, it basically continues with its ecosystem of fungi, mycorrhizae, and worms, so there’s really active organic material and biological activity in the soil.” This intact ecosystem provides habitats for native species, especially important pollinators.
Despite these advantages, risk-averse farmers can be hesitant to attempt new methods. But the distillers at Oxford are committed to their system. “We just give the seed to the farmer and the farmer grows for us under our own protocol,” says Rosa. “The farmer is not paid by yield or by ton but is paid by the acre.” This farm-forward approach is still a novelty, however. “There’s a big disconnect between distillers and farmers in the UK and across Europe,” laments Rosa.

Some distilleries are trying to reconnect these two groups, including Islay’s Bruichladdich, which is well known for spotlighting island farmers. “We had started a conversation with [local farmer] Andrew Jones asking, what could he do? What can he grow that we could essentially be the end market for?” explains Bruichladdich Distillery manager Allan Logan. “And we looked at different cereals, wheat, rye, and oats. Rye stood out because it helped his crop rotation and soil fertility because rye is more prone to put nitrogen back into the soil.” This practice of crop rotation helps prevent the buildup of disease and weeds and improves soil health. Rye can be an especially beneficial crop to include in the rotation. “It’s a great crop for our farm,” explains Arbikie’s Kristy Black, “it’s quick to establish in winter reducing erosion, has deep roots which improves soil structure and drainage, and early ripening in the summer.”
In addition to local grain, some European distillers are utilizing other local ingredients and practices. Kyrö offers a Smoke Wood Rye Whiskey made with smoked grain. “It’s an old tradition in Finland,” explains Valkonen. “The rye was harvested quite late in the fall, and it was quite rainy at those times normally, so they used special barns which were heated with alder wood fires without the chimney, so all the smoke stayed in.” This smoked grain was traditionally used to make a smoky rye bread, popular in eastern Finland. Today, it’s used to make a unique, smoky rye whiskey.
For another taste of Finland, Kyrö also offers a Peat Smoke Whiskey, which uses locally harvested peat.“The peat represents what kind of vegetation we have here,” says Valkonen, “a lot of heather, different kinds of moss, and pine resin. It’s more of an herbal smoke than this kind of heavy mineral peat.” Across the Baltic Sea, Denmark is also rich in peat lands. For peated whiskey at Stauning, their distillers found an unusual source. “For many years we got it from a local peat museum that dug up peat for the sake of tourism,” says Hansgaard.
Fitting In
Distillers across Europe are certainly making great rye whiskey with new and exciting flavors, but the future of this new and undefined category is difficult to predict. Production at Oxford Artisan Distillery continues to increase dramatically. “Five years ago we were around 100 acres, and nowadays we are at about 2,400,” says Chico Rosa. Farther north, in Scotland, rye remains a small part of Bruichladdich’s portfolio. “We haven’t expanded beyond the one farmer yet,” explains Logan. “If we suddenly get 20 local farms growing for us, all with 10 or 20 acres, suddenly we would have quite a big proportion of production. So we’re having that conversation behind the scenes about where do we go next with this. Do we want to pursue that, and can rye be a bigger part of our portfolio, or is it always going to be niche?”
This question is especially difficult in Scotland, where “Scotch whisky” is synonymous with lighter blended whiskies or single malt made from 100% barley. “We have no intention of negatively impacting the category of Scotch whisky, so everything we have done has been within the rules of the Scotch whisky regulations, however, it is still a new take on whisky,” says Kirsty Black. “We have made sure we are transparent throughout, sharing the crops and varieties used all the way down to the fields that they were grown in. We know that rye was historically used in Scotland, and we feel this is a great opportunity to bring this grain back to our farms and our whisky.”
Outside of Scotland, even without historical whiskey expectations, introducing a new kind of whiskey can still be a challenge. “We got really popular with our gin and many [Finnish] people still don’t even know that we produce whiskey as well, because any kind of advertisement for hard liquor is forbidden in Finland,” laments Kalle Valkonen. In Denmark, Hans Martin Hansgaard says, “There might be some lack of knowledge about rye whiskey in Denmark, but as soon as people try it, they can immediately taste that this is good whiskey.” Many European rye distillers are having great success outside of their home countries, especially in Germany and even back in the U.S., the homeland of rye whiskey.
Despite these challenges, European rye distillers are poised to make a big splash on the global whiskey scene. With the cultural importance of rye in many countries and the positive impact rye as a crop can have for farmers and the environment, there is more reason than ever for new distillers to explore this resilient grain.