Stauning Whisky: The Whisky War

On June 14th, 2022, the Foreign Ministries of Denmark and Canada finally sealed a peace treaty, settling a 90-year-old conflict named ‘The Whisky War’. This happened just four months after multi-award winning Danish Stauning Whisky started a plea campaign, encouraged the industry to halt production till peace was a reality, and even offered their distillery as neutral ground for diplomatic negotiations. The Whisky War is originally a dispute about the 0.50 sq mile, uninhibited Hans Island, positioned in the strait that separates Ellesmere from Northern Greenland. Since 1932 Hans Island has been claimed by both Canada and Denmark (on behalf of Greenland). It earned its name when Canadian representatives left bottles of whisky to the Danes who reciprocated by leaving bottles of schnapps.