When the Vikings landed at Lindisfarne in 793AD, the inhabitants of Scotland must have been quaking in their boots at the all-too-real prospect of losing their worldly possessions to the fearsome raiders.

Today, well over 1,000 years on, the Danes have robbed the Scots of yet another of their most precious accolades: their reputation as the world’s best whisky-maker.

Alex Munch, the co-founder of Stauning Whisky, cannot quite believe it, reports BT. His whisky, Whildt!, was voted last week as the best on the planet at the World Whisky Awards in London.

Hobbyists to heroes
The Danish distillery, based in Rinkøbing, Jutland, was founded by Munch – who hails from Stauning, hence the name – and a group of friends.

The whisky-lovers originally used an old abattoir to make the first batches of the fiery spirit back in 2005, and since then they have turned their hobby into a booming business.

The award-winning whisky is, to be precise, a single-malt rye whisky. “It has a soft and mild flavour,” explains Munch.

“It tastes of rye, brown sugar, umami, hot chocolate, coffee and a little spicy pepper, vanilla and wood, but not too much wood.”