High up in the Arctic Circle at Aurora Spirit, a band of innovators is creating craft whisky under the glow of the Northern Lights.
Experts sing the praises of Scandinavian spirits, and Norwegian composer Alexander Aarøen Pederson has even written a 45-minute symphony inspired by the world’s most northerly distillery, Aurora Spirit.
Situated 600 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, Aurora Spirit opened in 2016 under the brand name Bivrost – it translates as shaking path in Norwegian – and produces award-winning whisky, gin (ideally served with four raspberries and six blueberries), aquavits and Arctic herbal liqueur Blot, which means sacrifice. Shaking Path is the route that the heroic dead Vikings took to Valhalla and the afterlife. The bridge to the next world leads through the curtain of the Northern Lights.
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The distillery at Aroybukt at the foot of north Norway’s Lyngen Alps now offers an all-year-round Arctic Whisky Experience in the Aurora Oval with accommodation in fjord cabins – one even has a private jacuzzi. Between December and March, there are day tours from Tromsø.
Aurora Spirit CEO Tor Peter Christensen used to be the MD of a company producing eco-toilets. The biggest challenge was raising investment money, he recalls. “We went to several banks who thought we were kidding – trying to make money on spirits in the most alcohol-conservative country in the world.”
He says the inspiration for the distillery came following a trip to the Scottish island of Islay in 2013. “It was interesting to see the production of whisky in a remote setting. The link between whisky production and tourism was one which we wanted to nurture while supporting the local community. We took three days to build the basic structure in temperatures around -17°C. From mid-November to the end of January, we get no light whatsoever. In few places do you appreciate the seasons so intensely.”
His distillery, which is on an old Cold War NATO base, recently released Bivrost Alfheim Single Malt Whisky, named after the Land of the Elves, home to the Ljósálfar (light elves) and Dökkálfar (dark elves). Alfheim is a maritime world, ruled over by the god Freyr. He rides the golden boar Gullinbursti and the amphibious Skíðblaðni. Freyr was the god of peace and prosperity and was often associated with male virility, sunshine and fair weather, according to Christensen.
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Norway’s newest whisky is handcrafted within the Arctic Circle at 69°N. The malt is made from Planet and Popino Nordic barley, diluted with glacial meltwater from Elvejordvannet. The spirit has been matured in carefully selected ex-Bourbon casks and Virgin casks, made from French, American, dwarf chestnut and Colombian oaks. It was allowed to mature in tunnels beneath the old military base and a modern Viking longhouse.
Other key players in Aurora Spirit include co-founder Colin Houston, MD and cask manager of Aurora Spirit UK, who is based in Inverness. “There is nothing better than being in the hot tub at the distillery in the middle of the Arctic winter, dram in hand, the Northern Lights dancing overhead,” he says.
Houston owned an independent wine and spirits business in Edinburgh before joining VisitScotland. His great-great-grandfather was chairman of Bulloch Lade Distillery, which owned Islay’s Caol Ila. As cask manager, he is in charge of the purchase, maturation and finishing roles, balancing stock for future productions and exclusive cask releases. Also on the team is Neil Cameron, former head distiller at Glenturret, who advises Aurora’s distiller, Janis Sloka. Casks come from the Speyside cooperage Craigellachie.
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“The whisky is fruity with elements of the Lowlands, Highlands and Speyside but is still distinctly Arctic,” says Cameron. “There is a purity to the ice and snow that imparts into the whisky through cask storage less than ten metres from the Arctic Sea and the use of glacial meltwater. Everything is hand-crafted under the glow of the Northern Lights.”
When Aurora launched its first whisky, Bivrost Niflheim (meaning ‘world of fog’), the first bottle was sold for €8,000 (US$8,648), making it the most expensive Norwegian-produced alcoholic drink ever. The distillery, which also boasts a tasting room with grandstand views of the Aurora Borealis, now takes part in Tromsø’s annual January Arctic Whisky Festival and is six triple-distilled malt whiskies into its Nine Worlds of Norse Mythology series, with the most recent offering, Bivrost Helheim, released this past November.
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