Whisky Voices: Anssi Pyysing
This interview is part of my ongoing “Whisky Voices” series, where I sit down with leading voices in the whisky world, from distillers and writers to ambassadors and innovators, to capture their unfiltered thoughts on heroes, villains, surprises, trends, and wishes.
For this edition, I spoke with Anssi Pyysing, founder and owner of Teerenpeli Distillery in Lahti, Finland. As one of the true pioneers of Finnish whisky, Anssi has been instrumental in shaping the Nordic whisky landscape. His answers to my five quick questions reflect both his humour and his long-term vision for whisky in the icy North.
Whisky Hero
When asked about his whisky hero, Anssi struggled to narrow it down to just one.
“What a wonderful thing,” he said. “I don’t know… who is a hero of whisky? There are several heroes, I cannot point to anybody exactly as the one.”
It’s a refreshingly honest answer.
Whisky Villain
With a smile, Anssi didn’t point to a distillery or a company here, but rather a type of drinker.
“The whisky villain? I’d have to say the cognac lover,” he laughed. “We have too many of those in Finland.”
A playful jab, but one that speaks to the ongoing friendly rivalry between spirits, and the mission of distillers like Teerenpeli to convert more people to whisky.
Whisky Surprise
Anssi’s answer here was delivered with a metaphor. “That is like .. hmm .. like a marshmallow in a bonfire,” he said with a grin. “Here’s something really special for you.”
True to his style, Anssi hints at the joy of unexpected discoveries in whisky, the moments that make the journey worthwhile.
Whisky Trend
On trends, Anssi took a philosophical view. “With whisky, there are ups and downs,” he reflected. “There are trends and many things that come along, go down, go up. It’s like life in that sense. It belongs to the whisky world. Trends rise and fall, and you never know what the next one will be. That’s just the way it goes.”
Whisky Wish
Anssi’s wish was clear and ambitious. “My wish is very simple,” he said. “I wish that Nordic whisky as a category, as a region, will be a worldwide known region within the next 10 years.”
It’s a powerful goal, and one that distilleries like Teerenpeli, High Coast, Stauning, Myken and others are steadily working toward. With continued innovation and collaboration, the rise of Nordic whisky feels more like a when than an if.
Anssi Pyysing is both a pioneer and a visionary, a man who helped put Finnish whisky on the map and who now dreams of seeing the entire Nordic region celebrated on the global stage. With leaders like him pushing the category forward, that dream seems increasingly within reach.
Kippis, Anssi!
- Thomas
