Arctic whisky from Myken arriving soon

The wait is almost over. In just a few days the first official bottling from Myken distillery, will hit the shelves. Myken is located north of the Artic circle off the coast of Norway (see more here). On Friday September 7 they will release the Myken Arctic Single Malt 3 YO 1st Edition. This is a 50 cl bottle, with a retail price of NOK 3990! Ooops!

So, why this "extreme" price tag? Well, here are a few points that might explain it:

• It is the very first official release. Many other distilleries have done the same thing, expecting (rightly so) that the first release will be a collector's item.
• It will give the collector's and other crazy people something to fight over until the next release hist the shelves in November (see more below).
• Why leave all the profits for the bottle flippers? If you sell this cheap, the flippers will resell it at a high price immediately.
• The total outturn is just 10 bottles.
• Each bottle comes in a handmade case made from driftwood and sealed with "kveiteline" which literally translates as "halibut line". Must be some weird fisherman's thingy..

The release coming up in November will be a lot more accessible, in more ways than one. Firstly it will be priced below NOK 1000 per bottle. Secondly the outturn is expected to be around 700 bottles.

The second release is tentatively named Myken Arctic Single Malt Whisky, Pineau de Charentes-finish. I suspect Meatloaf has taken on a part-time gig as Marketing Director at Myken, with a long name like that. Anyways, it has been matured for 2 years in 200 litre ex-bourbon casks from Maker's Mark, and then finished for a little over a year in a 350 litre Pineau des Charentes cask.

So, there you have it. More Norwegian Arctic whisky, coming right up!

Sláinte! - Thomas