Nordic Whisky #245 - Bivrost Niflheim Arctic Single Malt Whisky

Bivrost Niflheim Arctic Single Malt Whisky, 3 YO, 46 %

Here it is, the first single malt whisky release from the world’s northernmost whisky distillery, Aurora Spirit. They are located in Lyngen, outside Tromsø, Norway. The whisky in question is a 3 YO named Bivrost Niflheim Arctic Single Malt Whisky.

There will be two releases a year for the coming five years, all named after the nine worlds of Norse mythology. The next release this year will probably be a peated release. Later in the series we will most likely see the use of Sauternes casks, Madeira casks, Port casks and Aquavit casks.

The malt used is from Viking Malt in Finland. They cooperate with local brewery Mack for the wash.

A few more production details:

YEAST: Brewers yeast. Saccharomyces eubayanus, Lager yeast.

MALT: Pilsener Malt, made from Planet and Popino nordic barley.

WATER: Water sourced from Elvejordvannet, which receives melted glacier water from the Lyngen alpine range.

DISTILLED: Distilled 3 times in our copper pot/column still. Average distillation time ranges between 8 – 10 hours, average strength heart collected of undiluted new make is around ~75% ABV.

The Bivrost Niflheim Arctic Single Malt Whisky is a triple cask matured whisky. It started off in 50 litre virgin oak casks, then it was transferred to 190 litre 1st fill bourbon barrels, then finally finished in 250 l ex-oloroso casks.

The total outturn is 1622 bottles (50 cl). The bottles numbered 1-20 should have gone on auction April 24 - this is delayed for a few days due to a cyber attack on the auction house.

The rest of the bottles go on sale on May 8; with an allocation of around 800 bottles for Norway and the rest divided on Germany, the UK and Sweden.

The Bivrost Niflheim Arctic Single Malt Whisky will sell in Norway at NOK 700 (11888502) per 50 cl bottle.

Nose: Light and elegant nose. White and black pepper, cinnamon and vanilla. Lots of fruits, both dried fruits and fresh tropical fruits. Mild oakiness as a “spice”. With time nuts and honey as well. It comes across as well balanced and older than it is.

Taste: Medium body. Leaning towards the spicy side - still with black pepper as the main component. Balanced out with fruitiness (although less so than on the nose) and medium sweetness. Dry in character. It does seem to hold back somewhat. It is a bit restrained - like it wants to reveal more but does not quite get there.

Finish: Medium to short finish. More caramel, oak and vanilla now. Relatively short finish, but that is to be expected.

Comment: Great nose, mature beyond its years. Highly drinkable for a 3 YO. Well done! Now we wait for the next Aurora Borealis blessed Arctic whisky!

Score 84/100

Tor Petter W. Christensen, CEO at Aurora Spirit AS.

Sláinte!
- Thomas