Trying some Bivrost Spirits on the 17th May

15:30
maj 17, 2023

First of all – Gratulerer med dagen – to all my Norwegian friends and readers!

For those of you who might not know what the 17th May is about, it is Norway’s Constitution Day and usually full of celebrations, folk dress (bunad), parades and food for those who celebrate it. I only wish us Swedes had a similar thing for our National Day as Swedish people don’t usually wear folk dress for any occasions, but our midsummer celebration is a little bit similar besides that.

Bivrost Spirits were visiting Edinburgh and hosting a little meet-and-greet at Usquabae for an opportunity to meet them team and try some of their spirits.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of the team before so it was lovely to see them again as well as meet some new faces – and of course to try some of the spirits I’ve not yet had a chance to sample.

One really interesting whisky they had brought was Vanaheim, a single malt influenced by Teak Casks amongst other things and I’ve never come across a whisky that has had so much apple pie on both the nose and palate. If you want to try just one thing from Bivrost and want it to be really curious – then I’d recommend Vanaheim. I’m contemplating buying a bottle because this is exactly the type of curiosity I like having on my shelves. And in particular when it is Nordic!

I also tried the cask matured aquavit which is really approachable and easy to drink. Definitely one of those aquavits that you could just sip neat – and if you are looking to get into aquavits this could be a good one to start with.

I also tried the Asgard whisky which has pleasant woody notes, some soft tropical tones and a vanilla character – and further down you can ready about another whisky, called Helheim.

I’m planning a trip to the North of Norway at some point after the wedding, so fingers crossed that I can visit the Aurora Distillery where the Bivrost Spirits have their home in a not too distant future.

Helheim Arctic Single Malt Whisky

The current range of whiskies that Bivrost are releasing are named after the 9 worlds of Norse mythology. I’ve already written a bit about Vanaheim earlier, but I was thrilled that I got to take some samples home and amongst them was this bottle of Helheim. This is the sixth whisky in the series of nine and it’s been made with nordic barley, fermented with glacial meltwater and matured in crocodile charred ex-bourbon and ex-Islay casks.

The nose has hints of coffee, tobacco, bonfire and soft vanilla and the palate continues in a similar fashion. I can see why this one got to be called Helheim as it has a smoky, dark element to it and Helheim is of course the land of the dead so it all makes sense. The palate is softer than the nose implicates and also has a green fruits tone underneath the smoke which feels like dry coal and bonfire. This would be a really pleasant whisky to bring in a hip flask for a hike and to enjoy whilst grilling hot dogs or meats over an open fire.