Kyrö

The distillery that came out of a sauna.

Like many things in Finland – including half of the population, as its founders hilarously point out – the Kyrö Distillery was conceived in a sauna. In 2012, invigorized by the salutary heat and fuelled by a generous consumption of rye whisky, Mikko, Jouni, Miika, Miko and Kalle, the five founders of the company, had the idea of producing whisky from Finnish rye, a traditional ingredient of the local cuisine that had not been used, up to then, for such purpose. Thus was born the very first rye whisky from Finland.

Soon after, the Kyrö Distillery distilled the first batch of Finnish rye whisky in the city of Isokyrö, located roughly 400 kilometres north of Helsinki. In 2014, the first drinks were served at a pop-up speakeasy bar in the Finnish capital. While the first batch matured in barrels, in 2015 the Kyrö Distillery released a Finnish Gin, which won several awards and helped establish the reputation of the brand. Finally, the long-awaited Kyrö Malt Whisky, the first rye whisky from Finland hit the shelves in 2020. After the pandemic hiatus, in 2024 the distillery honoured its roots with the release of Kyrö Vodka, a modern version of the traditional Finnish spirit.

Besides the aforementioned spirits and a collection of low-alcohol beverages, the core range of the Kyrö Distillery currently comprises four whiskies, all made from 100% malted Finnish wholegrain rye. It is worth mentioning that each of them was awarded at least a Gold Medal at the prestigious 2024 Meininger’s International Spirits Awards (ISW) held in Bremen (Germany), a remarkable achievement for this young Finnish distillery.

Year of foundation: 2012
Address: Oltermannintie 6
City: Isokyrö
Province:
Zip code: 61500
Country: Finland
Phone number: +358 105 677 971
www.kyrodistillery.co.uk
Guided visits? Yes
Wine tourism services? No