Kyrö Distillery set out in 2014 to showcase what northern winter rye, grown in Finnish fields, really tastes like. This project required us to re-think how whisky is distilled and combine elements from US, Canada and the UK to eventually put together our own methods, equipment and style of making whisky. Our principle has always been to experiment with distilling rye, whether it is for whisky, gin or other products, but turning Finnish rye whisky from a dream to an established product or even a category has always been our long term goal. Now we are a team of around 35 and we are thrilled to launch our full core range of whiskies in the fall of 2023.
Our distillery is in an old dairy in Isokyrö, Finland, next to the Kyrö river. Our rye is planted in the fall and shelters beneath snow to start growing in earnest right after the snow melts and the soil thaws out. The short summer is offset by the 22 hours of sunlight per day we get in the height of Summer meaning we grow small but incredibly flavorful rye. We have been lucky to receive local support from farmers who have been keen to increase their crops of the heritage Finnish rye Reetta variety for us. We have also been able to convert all of our production and building heating (it gets cold in Finland!) to be powered by local biogas made mainly from food production waste. Both our environment and our local community have always been integral parts of not only making but enjoying our products and I personally welcome all Summerton Whisky Club members to visit our distillery and sample local nature and hospitality.
In our production we started out by distilling everything in a 1200 litre Kothe-made copper pot still. Executing both the wash and spirit distillations for our rye whisky and distilling our gin in the same still was a silly operation in the beginning. Fortunately we have been able to complete two major expansions, one in 2016 and one in 2019 to first install a separate whisky production line with double pot stills and later expand to a new distilling line featuring 9000 liter and 7000 copper pot stills for wash and spirit distillation. Our principle of getting the maximum taste out of our rye grains has always included malting our rye and not filtering anything during the process. All the solids go through mashing, fermentation and distilling to make sure we get all the taste stored in the outer surface of our husk-less rye.
Our journey of turning Finnish rye into beautiful spirits has just started, but we have already been fortunate to win recognition in Finland and abroad. Kyrö has won various international whisky competitions since its conception, most recently the 2023 Great Taste awards where Kyrö Malt won 3-stars, the highest accolade in the competition. Similarly, it scored ‘Gold Outstanding’ with an impressive 98/100 points at the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC). The full Kyrö product range, which also includes gins and a dairy cream, is admired and valued as a guarantee of quality and exceptional character globally.
