Hven, Seven Stars No. 3 Phecda, Single Malt, 45%

My stand out whisky at the recent Whisky Birmingham show – held annually in March – was none other than this gorgeously rich, dark & heavy malt.

Hailing from a picturesque Swedish island nestled in the Oresund Straits just north of Malmo & Copenhagen.

The island is called Hven.

The distillery is called Hven.

And the way to pronounce Hven is demonstrated by this piece of Eurotrash pop with it’s instantly sing-along-can’t-get-the-words-out-of-my-head-catchy-tune-vibe going on as in The Macarena or Agadoo – complete with obligatory kitsch dance moves.

I give you Karen Paolo – Ven Ven Ven.

Ven in Spanish – which is the official language in Chile where the singer is based – happens to mean ‘come’.

Well I first came across The Spirit Of Hven on the Amathus stall at the very enjoyable Birmingham show. Amathus being the importer & distributor of Hven – and other fine malts – in the UK.

There were 2 expressions to sample from the Hven Distillery range of organic barley made single malts produced with no carbon filtration, no chill filtration and no added colouring.

Tycho’s Star c/othewhiskeynut

Tycho’s Star – named after the famous astrologer Tycho Brahe whose scientific work was conducted on Hven in the late 1500’s – was an instantly attractive softly peated single malt. Soft & smooth with subtle flavours and a well balanced feel.

It’s star mate – as the No. 3 Phecda release also follows in the astral theme being named after one of the seven stars that make up The Plough constellation which is prominent in the Northern sky at night – is much more my style of whisky.

Phecda No 3 c/othewhiskeynut

Big, bad & bold.

There was a noticeable waft of smoke on the nose – the official tasting notes suggest BBQ.

The taste exploded on the tongue – young, strong , fresh & meaty.

A bit like a bold teenager full of vigour & vitality. Bursting with self confidence & self belief. Unashamed by their youthful exuberance and unabashed by their posturing & strutting.

Awsome!

To use a term that’s crept over the Atlantic and is now in common use by my grandkids.

‘Come to Hven’ is what this whisky is saying.

Sounds good to me!

Sláinte.