Great international recognition for Funen-based Mosgaard Whisky
It is with great pride and humility that Mosgaard Whisky, despite being a very young company, has now joined a small exclusive group of distilleries in the world that supply whisky to the world's largest whisky club, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society - SMWS.
Mosgaard is the 16th distillery in the world outside of Scotland to make it through the critical tasting panel at SMWS and Mosgaard can now supply whisky to the club's more than 37,000 whisky enthusiasts in 21 countries around the world.
SMWS Two casks have so far been selected at Mosgaard Whisky, and the distillery has been assigned its own number to supply the exclusive club's own bottlings, most of which are much older Scotch distilleries. Mosgaard Whisky's first bottling at SMWS is now titled "154.1 Dark Cherry Danish Pastry", with a total of 295 bottles bottled at cask strength of 55.4%. The bottles will be released in connection with SMWS-Danmark's 10th anniversary on September 16, 2022.
The distillery's number now also comes with a seal of approval on the quality of whisky from Mosgaard. The whole process started last year when one of Mosgaard's bottlings was awarded a double gold medal at the world's largest whisky competition, the World Whiskies Awards - in the same competition, Mosgaard Pedro Ximenez was named Denmark's best Single Malt whisky 2021.
The great international recognition led to more international customers becoming aware of the quality of whisky from Mosgaard. Contact was first established with SMWS, who were interested in evaluating Mosgaard's products and this led to the first order to Scotland. In addition to SMWS, Mosgaard has been contacted by Berry Brothers & Rudd - BB&R. BB&R is the oldest English independent bottler, founded in 1698, and today the main supplier to the English Royal Family.
Mosgaard has impressed BB&R, so in addition to supplying casks for bottling, a production collaboration has been initiated where Mosgaard produces a number of casks for BB&R every year, which are stored at the distillery's warehouse in Oure on South Funen. Mosgaard Whisky sees great opportunities in the collaboration with the two independent bottlers. Once a distillery is in their systems, it will automatically open up opportunities for more future bottlings and sales. When the distillery was established in 2015, it was not exactly the dream of the future that Funen whisky would be exported to the whisky's homeland - Scotland.
Jes Mosgaard says - "It's a slightly unreal thought that has now become a reality - when we started the distillery in 2015, it was never in our minds that we would get to where we are today. We are proud that our attention to detail has brought us this far in such a short time."
The current and future collaboration is even more important, as the recognition from two of the world's most reputable whisky bottlers means a lot for more international contacts. Many other whisky bottlers and distributors around the world are looking at what these two companies are doing and which distilleries they select. This makes it a lot easier for Mosgaard Whisky to get in touch with other distributors abroad and thus increase the share of exports of whisky from Denmark.
Mosgaard Whisky was founded by Gitte and Jes Mosgaard in 2015 and released its first whisky in 2019. As something new in the spirits industry, Mosgaard decided in 2015 to focus exclusively on organic products. In the process of selecting raw materials, Jes Mosgaard had learned that there was a surprisingly large difference in the quality of the distilled raw spirit "New Spirit" if it was made organically. The taste was simply more pure and fresh, so today the distillery stands as one of the few distilleries in the world that can deliver organic whisky in volume, with a quality that has proven itself through numerous international medals, and now the recognition from SMWS and BB&R.
At Mosgaard, attention to detail means that not only are the raw materials carefully selected, but the brewery and especially the stills are designed to produce the distillery's signature "sweetness, softness and fruit notes". Jes Mosgaard, with his background as a civil engineer, has used his experience from 25 years in the audio industry to design his own distillery kettles, which are handmade in Portugal. With their specific design, they can contribute to the very special taste that is the basis for the quality.
Mosgaard whisky currently employs 4 people in production, but is planning to expand its whisky production in the near future. There is a lot of interest from abroad, and with several current export markets and new interesting opportunities in Asia, it is important to scale up production to ensure the company's continued growth. With new markets in Taiwan and Japan, Funen whisky will be in high demand in the years to come.
The market for organic spirits is growing in Denmark, and interest in organic spirits is also on the rise abroad, so the sales opportunities in the coming years are considered to be very positive. Organic cannot stand alone, it must go hand in hand with high quality, and therefore recognition on the international markets is very important for Mosgaard. As Jes Mosgaard says "whisky does not automatically become good by being organic, but if you make good whisky, it becomes just a little better by being organic, and that is one of the details that is crucial for us".
Facts about the Scotch Malt Whisky Society - SMWS:
SMWS was founded in 1983 by a group of whisky-loving friends in Scotland, and today is a large organization that has primarily purchased Scotch whisky casks, which are bottled as independent bottlings for SMWS members. Today, SMWS is the world's largest whisky club with over 37,000 members and features very high quality bottlings from over 150 different distilleries. As a relative newcomer, SMWS has also started making bottlings from whisky distilleries outside of Scotland.
Facts about Berry Brothers & Rudd - BB&R:
Founded in 1698, Berry Brothers & Rudd is one of the world's oldest whisky companies, with a reputable headquarters around their exclusive shop on St James's Street in London. Today, BBR exports their own bottlings of wines and spirits, which they select from the best producers. The company's operations span the globe and they are recognized as some of the finest independent bottlers and have been the main supplier to the British Royal Family since King George III.
Facts about Mosgaard Whisky:
Mosgaard Whisky was founded in 2015 by Gitte and Jes Mosgaard, and the distillery is located just outside Oure on South Funen. The couple moved to the area to gain access to the South Funen water, which is an important part of the process and thus the identity of the products. The company currently exports to 6 different countries, with more foreign markets on the way. In 2016, Benny Balle Jensen joined the group of owners and the board of directors so that Mosgaard could expand its production capacity. Today, the board is led by Rasmus Damsted Hansen, CEO of Brewery Vestfyen, who as chairman of the board will help ensure the distillery's continued growth.
