In our whiskymaking, we realize more than ever that water has
memory. The water, now reborn as a whisky, remembers the river it
flowed in, it remembers the ground the malt grew in and it
remembers the fruit of the oak cask, from when it was but a tree.
These memories are what you find on your nose and on your palate
when tasting the whisky. We like to believe that the water also
remembers its ancestor and creator; the mythical Eiktyrne.
Eiktyrnes first whisky Sid og Vid, named after two of the old norse rivers, saw the light of day on Bergen International Beer & Whisky Festival on February 13th 2015, and was discovered there by the whisky enthusiast, spirits importer and cask expert Jon Bertelsen. He was intrigued. The whisky was launched on the 1st of November and the distillery was joined by Jon Bertelsen, now as the master blender, later on that very same year. His vision for Eiktyrne is to compose a complete whisky where the demands for quality are stressed to the max on every single step. Raw materials. Destillation. Choosing of casks. Maturation. Composition. It could almost be described as composing a musical piece.
Eiktyrne is a Norwegian single malt whisky. Primarily we make two types of whisky destillations; one based on Maris Otter malt from North England, and one based on 100% Norwegian malt with Norwegian Kveik yeast. Nøgne Ø takes care of our Maris Otter, while our Norwegian Kveik comes from Eik og Tid. French Limousin oak casks paints the basic foundation of Eiktyrnes flavour, but to get a full color palette the whisky also spends its last years on different wine casks, fortified wine casks or spirit casks such as; Oloroso, Pedro Ximénes,
The name Eiktyrne is the name of the great deer that stands on top of the Valhalla roof. home of Odin and his fallen warriors and valkyries. This is the golden afterlife of our Norse heritage, and Eiktyrne watches over it all. On this roof he is accompanied by a grand oak tree, from which he feeds on the branches, and his tiny friend the goat Heidrun, which feeds on the leaves. From Eiktyrnes horns drips holy water, down from the heavens and onto our earth – and all of earth’s water comes from his horns.
Eiktyrnes first whisky Sid og Vid, named after two of the old norse rivers, saw the light of day on Bergen International Beer & Whisky Festival on February 13th 2015, and was discovered there by the whisky enthusiast, spirits importer and cask expert Jon Bertelsen. He was intrigued. The whisky was launched on the 1st of November and the distillery was joined by Jon Bertelsen. now as the master blender, later on that very same year. His vision for Eiktyrne is t compose a complete whisky where the demands for quality are stressed to the max on every single step. Raw materials. Destillation. Choosing of casks. Maturation. Composition. It could almost be described as composing a musical piece.
When asked about which “way” he follows, his answer is clear: “I follow the way of the brewers in the first step, on raw materials. The French way in the second step, on choosing the right oak casks and maturation. The Japanese way in the third step, on control and precision. This leaves nothing to coincidence because the great coincidences happens too rarely.”
Eiktyrne is a Norwegian single malt whisky. Primarely we make two types of whisky destillations; one based on Maris Otter from North England, and one based on the Norwegian malt Kveik. Nøgne Ø takes care of our Maris Otter, while our Norwegian Kveik comes from Eik og Tid. French Limousin oak casks paints the basic foundation of Eiktyrnes flavour, but to get a full color palette the whisky also spends its last years on different wine casks, fortified wine casks or spirit casks such as; Oloroso, Pedro Ximénes, Moscatel, Madeira, White Port, Pineau Des Charentes, Jurancon, Rivesaltes, Sauternes, Brandy, Apple Brandy and Bourbon. All of the casks are chosen and supervised by their caretaker Jon Bertelsen. Our distillery is a handcraft distillery, which you may notice in our small stills. The small copper stills secure a high degree of copper contact with the whisky, which helps extract the flavours we aim for from the barley. Our distillation process is a secret, but we can reveal that we distill extremely slowly.
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DET NORSKE BRENNERI AS
Nose
Sugary sweet sherry notes. Hints of something sour or bitter - is this the kveik influence - I believe it is. Then warm and inviting sweetness. Almost a little bourbon like on the nose.
Taste
Full bodied. Again rather sweet sherry notes. Creamy vanilla, earthy cinnamon. Malty with tropical fruits in the background.
Finish
Medium long finish. Hints of oakiness now. Not a whole lot of development.
“Well, I like it! Score 84/100”
whiskysaga.com
“Love this whole experimental series. I was a little surprised that Jon Bertelsen (the master distiller at Det Norske Brenneri) chose to use small sherry casks that are this active. To me they seem to mask some of the influences of the malt and the kveik that Jon really wanted to showcase. I am sure he has a plan, so we shall just have to wait and see what happens next year!”
Nose
Sugary sweet sherry notes. Hints of something sour or bitter - is this the kveik influence - I believe it is. Then warm and inviting sweetness. Almost a little bourbon like on the nose.
Taste
Full bodied. Again rather sweet sherry notes. Creamy vanilla, earthy cinnamon. Malty with tropical fruits in the background.
Finish
Medium long finish. Hints of oakiness now. Not a whole lot of development.
Written by Thomas Øhrbom at Whisky Saga
Nose
Mild chocolate, rich caramel, dried fruits. Hints of cut grass. With time a soft oakiness. Very balanced, soft and appealing nose.
Taste
Very rich and complex. Cool, with a sugary sweetness. Dried fruits, mild spices and hints of mint.
Finish
Medium long finish. Greener still now, but it retains the rich and somewhat spicy fruitiness.
“Score 86/100”
whiskysaga.com
“Well, this is a countdown I will be following closely!”
Nose
Mild chocolate, rich caramel, dried fruits. Hints of cut grass. With time a soft oakiness. Very balanced, soft and appealing nose.
Taste
Very rich and complex. Cool, with a sugary sweetness. Dried fruits, mild spices and hints of mint.
Finish
Medium long finish. Greener still now, but it retains the rich and somewhat spicy fruitiness.
Written by Thomas Øhrbom at Whisky Saga
Taste
Creamy ground and dried apricots, peaches and plums. Balanced between fruit and spice.
Written by Thomas Øhrbom
at Whisky Saga
Taste
Creamy ground and dried apricots, peaches and plums. Balanced between fruit and spice.
Written by Thomas Øhrbom at Whisky Saga
Nose
Nuanced, cool, and slightly peppery aroma of malt, grain, dried fruit, cask, a little camphor, vanilla, and herb.
Taste
Full-bodied, long, and malty with hints of dried fruit, oak, vanilla, some spices, and herbs.
“Score 86/100”
whiskysaga.com
“Well, this is a countdown I will be following closely!”
Nose
Nuanced, cool, and slightly peppery aroma of malt, grain, dried fruit, cask, a little camphor, vanilla, and herb.
Taste
Full-bodied, long, and malty with hints of dried fruit, oak, vanilla, some spices, and herbs.
Finish
Medium long finish. Greener still now, but it retains the rich and somewhat spicy fruitiness.
Written by Thomas Øhrbom at Whisky Saga
Nose
Nuanced aroma of light malt, cask, dried fruit, and citrus, a little vanilla, honey, and camphor.
Taste
Full-bodied and complex with hints of light malt, dried fruit, barrel spices, a little caramel, and nuts.
“Score 86/100”
whiskysaga.com
“Well, this is a countdown I will be following closely!”
Nose
Nuanced aroma of light malt, cask, dried fruit, and citrus, a little vanilla, honey, and camphor.
Taste
Full-bodied and complex with hints of light malt, dried fruit, barrel spices, a little caramel, and nuts.
Written by Thomas Øhrbom at Whisky Saga
Nose
Caramel, rich vanilla and rowan berries. Rich and velvety soft.
Taste
Medium body. Rather sweet; dried fruits and caramel notes. Creamy. Somewhat green in style.
Finish
Medium to short finish. Sugary sweet. Dry-ish now. Ginger and cinnamon. Some oakiness.
“Score 86/100”
whiskysaga.com
“Well, this is a countdown I will be following closely!”
Nose
Caramel, rich vanilla and rowan berries. Rich and velvety soft.
Taste
Medium body. Rather sweet; dried fruits and caramel notes. Creamy. Somewhat green in style.
Finish
Medium to short finish. Sugary sweet. Dry-ish now. Ginger and cinnamon. Some oakiness.
Written by Thomas Øhrbom at Whisky Saga